WINNIPEG – Making a splash in the first weekend of her U SPORTS career,
Elizabeth Lang scored her second goal of the season for the University of Calgary Dinos in a 4-1 setback to the Manitoba Bisons at Wayne Fleming Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Manitoba scored twice in the opening frame en route to the win. Both goals in the first 20 minutes came from the Bisons line of Sheridan Oswald, Lauryn Keen and Natasha Kostenko.
Manitoba carried their momentum from last night's contest into the opening 20 minutes of Game 2, outshooting Calgary 14-4 while controlling play in the neutral zone.
Their first chance to get on the board came three minutes in, as forward Karissa Kirkup was sprung on a partial breakaway, however she was stopped by Dinos goaltender
Kelsey Roberts.
Manitoba would score the eventual game-winner just 46 seconds later though, as Kostenko banged in a rebound in front of the Calgary net to make the score 1-0.
The hosts would add to their lead with just over a minute to play, as Keen intercepted a puck in the neutral zone and found her line mate Oswald, who was stopped on her first attempt by Roberts, but not her second to make the score 2-0.
The Dinos best chance to get on the board in the first period came 11 minutes into the contest, as Lang found
Delaney Frey on a two-on-one, but Manitoba goaltender Lauren Taraschuk got her right pad over to keep the visitors off the board.
Manitoba continued to be aggressive on the forecheck to start the middle frame. Defender Erica Rieder, forward Jordyn Zacharias and Oswald all had solid chances in the opening eight minutes, but were shut down by Roberts.
Calgary turned the tides in the final 10 minutes of the second period however, with a number of chances in the Bisons zone.
The first came from forward
Rachel Paul with eight minutes to go, who had an open net but shot the puck just wide.
The Dinos continued to press and would gain a power play with 7:38 left, after Kostenko was called for tripping. The visitors would make no mistake with the man advantage, as Lang went top shelf on a cross-ice pass from
Paige Michalenko with 6:49 to go, trimming the score to 2-1.
Calgary went back to the power play with five minutes remaining in the second, but were unable to tie the contest as the Manitoba penalty kill was up to the task, preserving a one-goal lead through 40 minutes.
The hosts dictated the pace of play in the final 20 minutes, earning three power play opportunities. They would make the score 3-1 on their second opportunity with the extra skater, courtesy of defender Lauren Warkentin at 8:13.
The Dinos were smothered offensively for the most part. Their best chance to narrow the deficit came nine minutes in, as forward
Chelsea Court broke in tight, but was stopped by Taraschuk.
The Bisons would cap the game with an empty netter courtesy of forward Madison Cole, as they finished the opening weekend 2-0.
Next up for Manitoba is a road tilt with Alberta on Oct. 12-13, while Calgary will host Saskatchewan that same weekend, looking for their first victory of the 2018-19 campaign.
