CALGARY – After grabbing a gutsy, 4-2 victory last night, the University of Manitoba Bisons completed the weekend sweep over the University of Calgary Dinos, scoring three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the Father David Bauer Arena.
"Last night, I thought it was one of the best games we've played all season; the speed was high" said head coach
Danielle Goyette. "Today, we were not as good as we were yesterday. If we clean up the bad decisions we made, we can play with them, which is the positive thing about this weekend."
After a slow start for both sides, the Dinos opened the scoring for the second straight night. After a save by Bisons goalkeeper Lauren Taraschuk, Delaney Frey picked up her own rebound behind the net and banked the puck in, as Taraschuk pulled back her left pad and kicked the puck into her own goal. That tally was Frey's second in three games.
The lead was short lived, as the Bisons tied the game 1:07 after the opening goal.
Canada West leading scorer Jordan Zacharias finished off a 2-on-1 rush following a Dinos turn over, quickly ending the Dinos lead.
The Bisons late in the period looked primed to take the lead at the end of the first, as Zacharias was seeking her second tally of the period. Paige Michalenko was the lone defender back, with another Bison looking for a pass but Micahlenko played the odd-man rush perfectly, preventing a scoring chance and keeping the game tied heading into the second.
The Bisons grabbed the lead 13 minutes into the middle stanza, as Courtlyn Oswald picked up her third goal of the season. Off a turnover, the puck squibbed right into the slot for Oswald, who was initially robbed by Kelsey Roberts, put after another chance on the doorstep, Oswald buried the puck, taking the 2-1 lead.
Carrying the lead into the third, Venla Hovi iced the game for the Bisons halfway through the period. After stealing a breakout pass, Hovi made a quick move before beating Roberts five-hole, making it 3-1.
The Dinos tried pulling Roberts with just under three minutes to go, but the Bisons shut the gate defensively, closing out the victory.
Kelsey Roberts, once again faced a flurry of shots, stopping 38 of the 41 pucks her way. Despite the scoreline, Goyette was still impressed with her goaltender: "When your goalie is stopping 70 to 75 pucks a weekend, sometimes it's not going to go as well. I don't think she let us down. She's been there for us for so many games [this season]."
Next week, the Bisons will host the UBC Thunderbirds while the Dinos and University of Lethbirdge Pronghorns will have a home-and-home split before heading into the Christmas break.
"Next week for us, it's a big weekend. We're playing Lethbridge, and we're fighting to stay in the top six, our goal is to be [there] before Christmas. If we play the same way we did last night against Lethbridge, we'll have a good chance to win. At the same time, we have to put more pucks to the net. We have to start creating."
-UC-
