WINNIPEG – A multi-point night for Rachel Gottfried and Norah Collins and the first goal of the season for Ashley Keller secured an important comeback win, 5-3 for the Manitoba Bisons against the Regina Cougars on Friday night at home.
 
The win gives the Bisons 28 points on the season. They are four up on Regina for a quarterfinal home playoff series with four games to go.
 
"Today was a lot more about mental focus rather than physical play," said interim Head Coach Jordy Zacharias.
 
"Today was about coming in and being fierce and bold with the puck and feeling confident. It was fun to see them rewarded for that."
 
The Bisons looked to respond after their loss yesterday night, falling 2-1 to the Cougars.
 
The key action of the first occurred with just two minutes to go in the period. 
 
The Bisons had two chances to put themselves on the board, after captain Kylie Lesuk and Dana Goertzen were set up in front of the crease. But Regina netminder Arden Kliewer is up to the task, making a key double-save.
 
The excitement immediately swung the other way. Pippy Pritchard beat the Manitoba defenceman to the puck, and expertly stick-handled her way past Manitoba goaltender Emily Shippam, putting the Cougars up 1-0.
 
Goals were littered throughout the second period, with Manitoba out scoring Regina three to one.
 
A numbers-up opportunity for Manitoba at the beginning of the period allotted time for forward Dana Goertzen to play the puck to the point. It landed at the stick of Lesuk, who backhanded the puck over the Regina goalie's shoulder for her fifth goal of the season.
 
The Bisons kept up the intensity, eventually finding their second goal halfway through the period.
 
Another smart play by Goertzen set up her second point of the night, as she found teammate Sophia Anderson at the slot, giving the Bisons the lead.
 
Regina found a response minutes later. After an initial shot from Cougars Jules Stokes was saved by Shippam, Cassidy Peters pickws up the rebound to level the scoring.
 
However, Manitoba were determined to finish the period on their terms. A quick transition gave space for Brenna Nicol to feed Collins in front, tipping it past the Regina goalie to give the Bisons the lead once more.
The goal was Collins' 10^th of the season, as she became just the 16^th player in program history to score at least ten goals in a season.
 
Manitoba continued their dominant display in the third.
 
Collins got her second point of the night by speeding past the Cougars' defenceman, setting up Ashley Keller to net her first goal of the season.
 
The goals kept coming for the Bisons, as they found the back of the net once more through Sadie Keller.
 
Forward Aimee Patrick fed Keller on the backhand, which left her alone in front of the net. She took her time to place it past the Regina goaltender, scoring the Bisons' fifth of the night.
 
This was Patrick's 17th point of the season, which tied for seventh in points scored throughout Canada West.
 
Manitoba was relentless for the duration of the period, lapsing only in the final minute. Regina capitalized for their third of the game in a three on one, converted by Cougars defenceman Jules Stokes, her second point of the night.
 
The Bisons closed out the game without any other blips, winning the 5-3 thriller.
 
This game was crucial in keeping Manitoba second in their division, now four points above the Cougars in the standings.
 
"It's about a lot of those mental pieces right now for the group," said Zacharias regarding heading into next week's games against the Alberta Pandas. "The takeaway is having that belief that they can put a full game together, and hopefully, extend that to the full weekend."
 
The Bisons head on the road next week to face off against the Pandas at 8 pm CST.