Box Score A massive third period helped the Mount Royal Cougars come back from 2-1 down and break the Manitoba Bisons' hearts by a score of 4-2 Friday night at Wayne Fleming Arena.
 
"It's very disappointing. Very disappointing for our guys who worked so hard tonight," said Manitoba Head Coach Gordon Burnett after the game.
 
The first period saw the Cougars show off their speed and tremendous passing game as they hemmed the Bisons in early, but solid defensive positioning and aggressive goaltending by Kolby Thornton helped keep the Cougars off the scoresheet. As the period went on, a Colton Veloso breakaway and a couple accurate passes to the front of Mount Royal goaltender Shane Farkas' net nearly put the Bisons on the scoresheet, but the period ended without a goal.  
 
Mount Royal eventually opened the scoring almost seven minutes into the second period. After a net-front scramble in the Bisons zone, Thornton was down on his knees with lots of congestion in front. The puck slipped out of the pile to third-year winger Robbie Holmes, who fired a shot through the crowd and into the mesh. 
 
The Bisons were held off the scoresheet for the next ten minutes, up until a wild sequence of Manitoba offence. The team had a 3-on-1 entering the Mount Royal zone, and Dylan Thiessen was robbed by Farkas. Thiessen took a cross-ice pass that should've given him a wide-open net, but Farkas got his body across and stabbed out his blocker to punch the puck out of the air and keep Mount Royal on top. 
 
Seconds later, however, the puck came back into the zone on the sick of Hayden Ostir on the right-wing with Tony Apetagon going to the net. Ostir slid the puck to the middle, and Apetagon laid his stick blade down to make a mind-blowing tip up into the top of the net. The Bisons bench exploded after the play, which tied the game at one. 
 
"Guys are happy for him, and you work on those types of entry plays all the time and to see them transfer into a game is important for us," said Burnett about the play. 
 
The Cougars later had a chance to take the lead as Winnipeg-born d-man Michael Ladyman had a breakaway, but couldn't find daylight past Thornton, who finished the game with 34 saves. 
 
"He gave us a chance to win tonight, made some big saves [. . .] we're happy with his performance," said Burnett. 
 
In the third, a perfect bounce gave Manitoba the lead. Defenceman Evan Toth fired a shot that hit Farkas and went wide, but Colton Veloso took a bounce off Wayne Fleming Arena's lively end-wall and stuffed it into the other side of the net past a surprised goaltender. The Bisons were on top 2-1 five minutes into the third. 
 
Multiple times Friday night, the Cougars showed deadly offensive-zone puck movement. It was on full display after a holding penalty gave them the man-advantage midway through the third. Connor Bouchard finished off the sequence by sniping one into the Bisons net with Thornton down and tied the game. 
 
Two and a half minutes later, Mount Royal was right back on the powerplay. Thornton, who's impressed the Bisons this season with aggressive goaltending, came out to make a save, but Bouchard was able to find Jaden Senkoe back-door for another goal. The Cougars, who finished the night two-for-four on the powerplay, had a 3-2 lead. 
 
In the dying minutes, the Bisons pulled Thornton and created some pressure in the offensive zone but missed the net twice. The puck rattled around the boards and the Cougars jumped on it before skating to centre. Holmes iced the game with an empty netter, his second tally of the night. 
 
"That's a good hockey team that executes and we need to match their level of execution and find a way to score some five-on-five goals," said Burnett about the Cougars.
 
Manitoba and Mount Royal will face-off again tomorrow at 3 pm.