ELMIRA – The No. 7 seeded Manitoba Bisons out-shot the No. 2 seeded Concordia Stingers 24-21, but it was the RSEQ champs who capitalized in timely moments, knocking off the Herd 3-1 in the U SPORTS national quarterfinals on Thursday.  
 
Manitoba moves to the consolation side of the bracket, where they will face off against the loser of No. 3 seeded Guelph and No. 6 seeded Waterloo in the semi-final at 10 AM ET on Saturday.
 
Brenna Nicol scored Manitoba's lone goal in the third period and was named the Herd's Player of the Game. It was her ninth point of the post-season, tying her for second in single-season playoff scoring for the program.
 
Goaltender Emily Shippam made 18 saves, while Canada West All-Star Aimee Patrick tied for the game lead, with four shots.
 
The two sides traded quality chances in the opening ten minutes, but it was the Stingers who got on the board first, and never trailed afterwards.
 
Juliette Leroux intercepted a pass at centre ice, which resulted in a two-on-one with teammate Audrey Clavette. The pair went tic-tac-toe in front of Shippam, with Clavette putting the puck away 8:14 into the first period.
 
Six minutes later, captain and U SPORTS Player of the Year Jessymaude Drapeu netted the game-winner, putting away a cross-ice one-timer on a feed from Second Team All-Canadian Emilie Lussier.
 
The goal wasn't without controversy. Bison Sadie Keller had surged into the Stingers end, and was taken down by a cross-check behind the net, but no call was made. The ensuing turnover resulted in Drapeau's goal shortly after.
 
Drapeau added her second of the game with less than seven minutes to go in the second, tapping home another one-timer, once again off a feed from Lussier.
 
Despite the score, Manitoba -- making thir first appearance at nationals since 2019 -- had a number of quality looks, controlling possession for extended stretches thanks to an assertive forecheck.
 
They won a number of puck battles behind the net, and Patrick and Norah Collins – who both scored ten goals in the regular season – were buzzing in front of the Stingers net throughout, especially in the opening 20 minutes where Manitoba recorded 11 shots. The pair of forwards fired multiple quality chances on net that resulted in loose pucks which Manitoba nearly scored on.
 
The Herd's best chance in the first period came thanks to the work of Patrick, who skated powerfully past two Stingers through the neutral zone, getting a quality shot off. The puck banked off the side of the net and right to defenceman Hanna Bailey, whose shot from the slot with bodies in front beat Stingers goalie Jordyn Verbeek, but sailed just wide.  
 
Shippam was also solid throughout all 60, making countless clutch saves. She stopped a variety of two-on-ones, including two blocker saves on two odd-player rushes in the first period.
 
After hammering away all game, Manitoba was rewarded in the third with a goal on the powerplay.
 
Collins' initial shot was stopped in close, but Nicol kept pushing, getting her stick on the puck with all kinds of chaos around her to narrow Concordia's lead to two just under two minutes into the frame. It was her fourth goal of the post-season, and ninth point, which was a career-high (playoff or regular season).
 
The Herd continued to pepper Concordia with shots in the third, including a challenging wrist shot from Patrick, who once again beat her opponent to the puck in the neutral zone. But Verbeek made the stop, and the Stingers survived a furious Bisons attack to advance to the semi-finals.