WINNIPEG – The Mount Royal Cougars came back from 3-0 down, scoring four in a row, including the game-winner in overtime to beat the Manitoba Bisons 4-3 on Saturday night at Wayne Fleming Arena. Manitoba fell to 3-2-1 on the year while the Cougars improved to 4-4.
 
Kyle Walker connected with Teague Patton on an odd-man rush to close out the contest for the visitors. Braden Holt made a career-high 51 saves in the loss and Blake Swetlikoff scored twice for the Bisons.
 
Despite the loss, the Bisons took three of a possible four points against a nationally ranked opponent who advanced to the Canada West final, and nationals a year ago.
 
"It's a really good team. They're a top team in the country. To get three of four points is a good step for us," said Bisons head coach Gordon Burnett.
 
"To lose the way we lost hurts for us. I told the guys after, it's a lesson we need to learn. The way we play, we have to understand that we need to play no matter if the score is 3-0, 10-0 or 0-0, we have to play the same way. We can't take our foot off the gas pedal when it's 3-0."
 
The Cougars put 14 shots on net but were unable to solve Holt in the first period, while getting some help from the iron.
 
Holt stopped a partial breakaway from in close just prior to the midway point, and in the final minute, Justin Lies' shot with an open cage clanged off the crossbar.
 
The Herd on the other hand, cashed in. One of the fastest lines in the conference, of Skyler Bruce and Dawson Pasternak at wing, and Jonny Hooker at centre made it 1-0, flying into the offensive zone and connecting from in close.
 
After a quality chance a second prior, Hooker raced to corral the puck, getting it to Bruce behind the net, who then dished a backhand pass back to the captain, who went top shelf for his fourth goal of the season for the lone goal of the period, with 3:56 to go.
 
The two sides combined to light the lamp four times in the second period in an offensive frenzy.
 
The Herd went up by three on two goals by ECHL veteran Blake Swetlikoff, the first two of his U SPORTS career. He made it 2-0 less than two minutes into the period on a beautiful forehand-backhand finish, and seven minutes later he cashed in as part of Manitoba's second unit on the power play, blasting a rebound off a shot from Caden Zaplitny.
 
It was the sixth special teams tally on the year for the Herd, second in Canada West's East Division.
 
"The puck movement is good. We're not just getting it and dusting it off and getting back in our spots. When we get them on the run we try to keep them on the run. It's worked out that we've been able to score," added Burnett.
 
"In the first week we'd already added more goals than we ever did last year with our second unit, if you will. The nice thing is we can show two looks with the two different units. It keeps the opponent off balance so they have to understand the personnel and adjust."
 
But Mount Royal pushed back, commanding the action for vast majority of the final ten minutes of period two.
 
Less than a minute after Swetlikoff's second goal, Josh Tarzwell got his side on the board with a beautiful wrist shot that went top corner, and the Cougars capitalized with nine minutes to go, as Alex Izyk tapped in a rebound that beat a sprawled Holt to cut the host's lead to one entering the break.
 
The game would have been tied if not for a bevy of enormous saves in the final minutes from Holt. His most notable stop came with 2:19 to go, as he denied Tarzwell on a one-timer on the power play with his blocker, stretching left to right.
 
The Cougars had another excellent chance to level the score with 39 seconds left in the second, but Spencer Moe's shot into an open cage rattled off the post, looped around and somehow stayed out of the net.
 
An odd bounce off Holt's chest protector went the way of the Cougars two minutes into the third, ultimately sending the game to OT after Jayden Wiens got his stick on the loose puck.
 
Both sides had great chances to score the winner in the third. The Cougars had the best opportunity, and thought they cashed in with 4:34 to go, but Walker's marker on a one timer from the blue line was called off due to an offside.
 
Walker got the last laugh in the extra session, closing the game out off an odd-man rush just under two minutes in. His cross-ice feed found the stick of Teague Patton for the game winner.
 
Manitoba travels to play Saskatchewan next week while Mount Royal is on the bye.