The Huskies fought for a 12 point lead over the Bisons with less than ten minutes left to play but stumbled when it was time to close out the win.

The University of Manitoba Bisons may have had the Winnipeg home crowd on their side during the Canada West semi-final game but the Huskies had history on theirs — the Huskies had not lost a post-season game to the Bisons in 40 years. That changed on Nov. 1 when the Bisons defeated the Huskies 37-36 in a rousing contest that went right down to the wire.

With the loss the Huskies’ hunt for the Vanier Cup, and their season, comes to an end.

The semi-final matchup was shaping up to be a close affair after the Huskies and Bisons split their two meetings during the regular season by finite margins. The Huskies won the first meeting 36-34 on Sept. 7 while the Bisons took the second 33-26 on Oct. 18. Even with the expectations of a good match-up, the quality and the drama of the game was electrifying.

It looked to be smooth sailing for the home team going into halftime with a 17-5 lead, but after the break the Huskies roared back with seventeen unanswered points. The comeback started with a 61-yard pass from quarterback Drew Burko to Kit Hillis that cut the deficit to 12-17.

The momentum continued for the Huskies and Denton Kolodzinski connected on a 43-yard field goal to bring the Dogs within two. The Huskies continue to dominate the third quarter with a six play 90-yard march downfield that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Hillis. Going into the fourth quarter, the Huskies had changed their fortune to lead 22-17.

The Huskies started the final quarter with the same impressive form they ended the third, as Burko connected with Mitch Stevens for a 50-yard touchdown pass to push the visiting team ahead 29-17. The Bisons finally found their way back to the scoreboard when quarterback Jordan Yantz found Nic Demski for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Mitch Hillis hauled in his second touchdown pass of the night, this time a 46-yard toss from Burko to give the Huskies a sizeable 36-24 with less than ten minutes left on the clock. A Bison comeback from this far back didn’t seem likely but the home team kept plugging away. At the ten minute mark Yantz sent a 13-yard pass to Demski to cut the lead to 36-31 for the Huskies.

After forcing a punt on the Dogs’ next possession, the Bisons took back the ball and immediately began storming downfield. The home team pushed for a seven play 65-yard drive that ended when Yantz found a sprinting Demski on the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown. Now leading 37-36, the Bisons gambled on the two-point conversion but were unsuccessful.

The Huskies got the ball back with 1:23 left on the clock and needed to put points on the board. With two seconds left the Huskies were at the 44-yard line. Kolodzinski stepped up for the field goal. A low snap seemed to throw of Kolodzinski’s kick and the attempt fell well short. With the miss, the Bisons had narrowly earned a 37-36 win and a berth into the Canada West final.

With the loss the Huskies’ post-season woes continue. This is the the fifth consecutive year the Dogs have fallen in playoffs and since 2007 the team is a mere 1-7 in playoff games.

The Huskies will no doubt look to break the streak next season but they will be without key players. This was the last game for receivers Garrett Burgess, Mitch Stevens and Jeff Moore; offensive linemen Mike Fuller and Lane Bryksa; linebacker Richard Zacharias; defensive linemen Joel Seutter, Zach Hart and Ben Rush as well as defensive backs Seamus Neary, Braxton Lawrence and Tyler Robson.

Despite the disappointing finish, many Huskies players posted impressive stats on the night. Burko completed 28 of 47 passes for 502 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

Kit Hillis was the top receiver, hauling in nine receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown while Mitch Hillis recorded eight receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Stevens added another two catches for 101 yards and 1 touchdown.

Shane Buchanan had 12 carried for 61 rushing yards and Kolodzinski went 2-3 in field goals.Richard Zacharias and Brad Kotania recorded 5.5 tackles. Seamus Neary added 4.5 tackles and Dylan Kemp and Keegan Arnyek had one interception each. Joel Seutter had 3.5 tackles and one forced fumble in the game.

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Photo: Beibel Lu/Manitoban