LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Manitoba Bisons Kate Gregoire (Ste. Anne, Man.) scored with 1:43 remaining in regulation to force overtime, and then secured the two points when Ashley Keller (Winnipeg) scored in overtime to give the Bisons the 3-2 victory over the Spartans Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
 
TWU's Amy Potomak (Aldergove, B.C.) had two points on the afternoon with a goal and an assist while Kate Klassen (Chilliwack, B.C.) also scored to lead the Spartans. Keller got the game winner for the Bisons, while Sarah Dennehy (Winnipeg) and Gregoire also scored for Manitoba.
 
TWU's Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 21 saves in the OT loss, while Manitoba's Kimberley Davidson (Kamloops, B.C.) made 20 saves to earn the win.
 
The single point gives the Spartans a record of 11-11-4 for 26 points and a tie for fifth place with the Calgary Dinos. Manitoba is in seventh place at 11-12-1, just three points back of the Spartans and Dinos. The Saskatchewan Huskies are currently in fourth place with 27 points. All three teams have two games in hand on the Spartans.  
 
AS IT HAPPENED
With 26 seconds remaining in the opening period TWU's Potomac nearly put the Spartans on the score sheet when her shot from the left dot rang off of the right goalpost and rebounded back across the goal line without crossing into the Manitoba net. TWU ended the first period with a 10-7 edge in shots on net.
 
Potomak opened the scoring when her shot from the point beat Manitoba's Davidson to put TWU up 1-0 at 15:13 of the second period. TWU ended the period with an 8-5 edge in shots on goal.
 
Manitoba's Dennehy scored off a scramble in front of the TWU net after the Spartans were unable to clear the defensive zone to tie the game at 1-1 at 10:33 of the third period.
 
TWU's Potomak got the Spartans the lead back when she skated up the left side to beat the Manitoba's defence and cross in front of the Bisons net to find an open Klassen sitting by the left right post. Making the score 2-1 with 5:53 remaining in the game.
 
Manitoba pulled their goalie with 1:50  remaining to get the extra attacker. Seven seconds later the Bisons Gregoire took a wrist shot that just managed to get over the TWU goal line before the Spartans Fawcett could catch the puck.
  
Manitoba's Keller got the game winner 2:31 into the overtime period when her hard shot found the top corner over the blocker of TWU's Fawcett to give the Bisons the two points with the OT victory.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Jean LaForest
"I thought we played really well. I thought we played better today than we did yesterday, especially with a quick turnaround."
 
"The girls played really well. Especially in the second period. We were all over them and we outshot them and out-chanced them, but they are a good hockey club. I don't want to take anything away from them at all. There is a reason that we are fighting with them and U of C for playoff spot. Two of the three of us are going to make it and hopeful, we are there at the end of the day. Today was great. If we play like that. I can't fault our effort or our execution. If we do that on a regular basis I think we are a team that is definitely moving forward. I'm not happy with the outcome, but happy with our overall game. If we use this game as a template, we will be successful more often than not."
 
On dropping the game after leading late into the final period.
"It's sports and it's circumstances. We have a 2-1 lead, they pull their goalie and score that goal six on five. And whether it was controversial or not that's neither here nor there. It is what it is. And then we get into overtime and we had a missed assignment and they score their goal."
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans defeated the Bisons 2-1 in 2OT last night at the George Preston Arena.
• TWU finished the afternoon outshooting Manitoba 22-20.
• The Spartans finished the afternoon 1/6 on the power play, while the Bisons finished 0/2.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish Canada West conference play next week with a home-and-home series against the UBC Thunderbirds. TWU will head to UBC on Friday, February 3 at 4 p.m. and then return to Langley to finish off the season with a game at the Langley Events Centre at 12 p.m. Both games can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
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