WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Manitoba Bisons used strong goalkeeping and timely goals to defeat the Trinity Western Spartans 2-1 at the Wayne Fleming Arena Friday night in Winnipeg, Man. The loss drops the Spartans to 6-16-1, while the win improves the Bisons to 8-14-1.
 
TWU's lone goal came from third-year forward Kyra McDonald (Inuik, NT) at 9:30 of the second period, while Samantha Sichkaruk at 18:04 of the first period, and Kate Gregoire, with the game-winner at 16:09 of the second period, had the goals for Manitoba.
 
The Spartans got 35 saves from third-year Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) in the TWU loss, while Emily Shippam was solid in net, stopping 19 of 20 shots for her second straight win.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans held a 5-0 lead in shots on net for the vast majority of the opening frame. They also successfully killed off a five-on-three, including a breakaway, but could not beat Shippam, who made it 32 straight saves dating back to her shutout last Saturday against Calgary.
 
Trinity Western had two partial breakaways in the span of a minute, including a brilliant chance off a turnover by Kyra McDonald 12 minutes in, but Shippam made the blocker stop.
 
The final two minutes were all Manitoba, as they out-shot TWU 6-0, scoring the game's first goal along the way. Two Spartans ran into each other in the neutral zone, with Norah Collins picking up the loose puck, deking out a Spartan along the way.
 
She then fed Samantha Sichkaruk on a three-on-one and she made no mistake with a wrist shot that beat Fawcett for the lone goal of the opening period.
 
The Spartans tied things up just under midway through the second. A shot from the blue line was stopped by Shippam, but McDonald was able to corral the loose puck in front after a few whacks from both sides to level the score.
 
The Herd re-took the lead with four minutes to go, thanks in part to Sarah Dennehy, who stole a loose puck in the neutral zone, using her speed to drive near the crease.
 
With patience and vision, she found line mate Julia Bird with a no-look pass. Bird then flipped the puck to Gregoire, who went bar down for the eventual game-winner.
 
The Spartans had an early chance in the third to tie the game on another partial breakaway, this time from Olivia Leier, but Shippam was up to the task, closing the five-hole.
 
With five minutes to play, the visitors once again had a golden opportunity, this time on their lone power play. Multiple shots were rocketed from the left wing, but each sailed wide as the Bisons closed out the one-goal victory.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Peter Hay
"Tough 2-1 loss tonight. Once again hard work didn't result in enough goals. We came out firing in the first 10 minutes of the first period and then we gave them back momentum with two bad penalties along with two bad red line turnovers. We fought hard to the end but came up short once again. We just can't afford any mistakes with the lack of scoring we are currently dealing with. If we don't get the split tomorrow we will need a small miracle to get into the playoffs. Good news is there is still hope if we win tomorrow. It sets up to be the biggest game of the season."
 
NOTABLE

• Manitoba outshot TWU 35-20, with the Bisons finishing 0/5 on the power play and the Spartans finishing 0/1.
• Last week the Spartans lost two to previously No. 4 UBC, 6-0 on Friday in Vancouver, B.C., and 4-1 on Saturday night in Langley, B.C
• Last week the Bisons split with the Calgary Dinos, losing 4-2 on Friday, and winning 1-0 on Saturday on the road in Calgary, Alta.
• The Spartans are 3-6 lifetime against the Bisons.
• In their last series with Manitoba on November 3 and 4, the Spartans split with the Bisons losing 1-0 and winning 3-0 at home in Langley, B.C.

 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and the Bisons will go at it again tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CT) with post-season implications at stake. The game 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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
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