CALGARY – A strong effort from the University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team powered them to a 4-2 win over the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

The win keeps the Dinos firmly in fifth place in the Canada West standings, moving them to 9-12-2 for the season, while the Bisons drop to 6-14-0.

"The game had highs and lows, but it was great to have opened up the scoring," said team captain Dana Wood, who scored the first goal of the game.

The Bisons started the game strong offensively, but the Dinos were able to take the lead with a shot by Dana Wood eight minutes into the first. Assisted by Courtney Kollman on her way off the ice, Wood came out of the box and took the puck high, beyond Bisons goaltender Meagan Relf's reach.

"It's the worst feeling ever when you're in the box, so to come out and score, going from the lowest to the highest was really special," added Wood.

Elizabeth Lang was able to take advantage of a six-on-four caused by a delayed penalty, taking a slap shot from the blue line just as a Manitoba penalty ended, bringing the score to 2-0 at the end of the first.

Jess Martens increased the Dinos lead six minutes into the second, skating out in front of Relf and using the back of her stick to tuck the puck in between the pads.

The Bisons were able to get back into this one just after killing off a Dinos power play. Jena Barscello guided the puck through a mess of players and past Dinos goaltender Gabriella Durante's elbow and into the top corner of the net.

Manitoba continued to push the Dinos into the third, with Ashley Keller narrowing the Dinos lead. After a shot attempt by Louise Fergusson, Keller was able to make the rebound by pushing the puck between Durante's pad and the post, cutting the score to 3-2.

Evelyn Lawrence was quick to respond, taking advantage of the Dinos power play to widen the lead back to two points. After a slap shot attempt from Wood, Lawrence was able to nail the puck through the open back door for the first goal of her young U SPORTS career.

Despite a penalty-riddled final 10 minutes of the game and a Bisons empty net, the Dinos were able to keep the score at 4-2 to finish the game.

"When we faced the team earlier in the year, it was a rough weekend for us, so it felt good to get the win today," concluded Wood.

It's a short turnaround for Saturday's rematch, as the Bisons and Dinos are right back at it at 2 p.m. from Father David Bauer Arena. Saturday will also be the final home game of the season for Calgary, celebrating their seniors before the game.

-UC-