WINNIPEG- After a narrow, hard-fought 3-2 loss to the Calgary Dinos on Friday night, the University of Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team was back inside Wayne Fleming Arena on Saturday for the second game of their crucial two-game weekend series against Calgary. 
 
With two games in hand, Manitoba, who came into the game sitting in seventh place, entered their Saturday afternoon match up three points back of the Trinity Western Spartans for the sixth and final Canada West playoff spot.
 
The Bisons outshot the Dinos 44-19 in the matinee affair but it was Calgary goaltender Gabriella Durante who stole the show, making all 44 saves to shutout a desperate Manitoba team by a final score of 4-0. 
 
"Their goalie stood on her head all game," commented Bison goaltender Emily Shippam. "We were moving the puck downhill all game and that is really all you can ask. In the second and third period especially we really stepped it up. I think we deserved that one but it doesn't always go your way. We still have a shot next weekend, which is what all our focus will be on now."
 
Both teams brought the same defense-focused attitude from the previous night, playing to a 0-0 tie through the first 20 minutes. The Bisons were put under significant pressure however, forced to kill off an extended 5-on-3 power play after back-to-back penalties from Jessica Haner and Kate Gregoire mid way through the frame. Shippam made several tricky saves in the period to help her team keep the game scoreless. 
 
It took until 6:56 left in the second period for Calgary to finally break the 0-0 deadlock when Alli Burrow flew up the left side of the ice before finding Rebecca Clarke with a pass, wide open to the left of Shippam. Clarke made no mistake putting the puck into an empty cage for her seventh of the year. The third-year forward had tallied her sixth of the year the previous night for what eventually was the game-winner the 3-2 win for the Dinos. 
 
Despite another scoreless period for Manitoba, they still had significant amount of sustained pressure in the offensive zone but were unable to solve Durante, who, through the first 40 minutes of play, had recorded 28 saves compared to 11 for the Bisons' Shippam. 
 
Less than a minute into the final period, Burrow recorded her second point of the game and her 12th goal of the season to extend the Dinos lead to 2-0. 
 
The Herd had a chance to pull themselves back to within one after Calgary was called on a tripping penalty. Manitoba kept the pressure on during the power play and the rest of the game but still weren't able to get the puck past Durante. 
 
Burrow added her second and third goals of the game on the empty net late in the game to seal the 4-0 win for her visiting squad. 

"Biggest thing for us will be to stay connected," said Shippam, speaking to the teams final two games coming up next weekend. "Even the difference from last night to today, you could tell our passes were on the tape, we were communicating out there more. That is how we will be successful, that is how we will win games."
 
Next weekend Manitoba will travel to face the Alberta Pandas for the final two games of their regular season schedule, with a playoff spot on the line. If they win both games, they will edge past Trinity Western for the final playoff spot.