After a crushing 7-1 defeat in game one on Friday, the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team proved they deserved to stay in the playoffs for at least one more night by defeating the Huskies 4-1 on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The Bisons needed a win to remain in the Canada West semifinal series at Rutherford Rink, and with four different players counting goals, they surprised everyone with an upset win.
After a scoreless first period, Manitoba got on the board first, scoring at 11:26 in the second period. Ian Duval picked up a loose rebound let out by Huskies netminder Ryan Holfeld and flicked it past him into the net.
Manitoba made it 2-0 on an early third-period power play when Dane Crowley shot five-hole and squeaked the puck through Holfeld’s legs.
The Huskies mounted a comeback attempt midway through the final frame with a Zak Stebner point shot while the Dogs had a man advantage. Stebner’s goal cut the Bisons’ lead in half but the Bisons stripped the Huskies of that momentum less than one minute later when Matthew Lowry scored to restore Manitoba’s two-goal lead.
Manitoba added an empty-net goal with 51 seconds left in the game to finalize the score.
Bison goalie Jesse Deckert made 33 saves in the win, while Holfeld stopped 21 of 25 shots.
After a seven-goal night on Friday, the Huskies will need that same offensive push in game three to continue to the next round.
Game three is Sunday at 7 p.m. in Rutherford Rink. The winner of the series will face the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton in the Canada West final. Alberta swept their semifinal series against the Calgary Dinos in two games.
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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf