WINNIPEG, Manitoba– Trinity Western fifth-year forward Kyra McDonald (Inuvik, NT) scored her eighth of the season to give the Spartans a 5-4 overtime win over the Manitoba Bisons Friday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man. The win improves the Spartans to 11-9-1-0, while the overtime loss moves the Bisons to 6-8-2-3.
 
The Spartans rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit to take a 4-3 lead midway through the third period. The Bisons' Aimee Patrick, with her seventh of the season, tied the game with 57 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
 
Also scoring for the Spartans were second-year blueliner Chayce Kullman (Bragg Creek, Alta.) with her second of the season, fourth-year blueliner Presleigh Giesbrecht (Gretna, Man.) with her fifth of the season, fifth-year forward Kailey Ledoux (Saskatoon, Sask.) with her third of the season, and third-year defender (Fort St. John, B.C.) with her first of the season. Also scoring for the Bisons were Sophia Anderson with her first of the season, Dana Goertzen with her fourth of the season, and Louise Fergusson with her first of the season.
 
Trinity Western fifth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 26 saves in the Spartans' win. Manitoba's Emily Shippam made 29 saves in the Bisons' overtime loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish off the weekend series with the Bisons at the Wayne Fleming Arena tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CT). The match can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"One word sums up this one. "GRIT". We have been talking a lot about this, and tonight we defined it. A huge obstacle, being down 3-0, but we never gave up. We stayed positive and focused on our identity, and found joy in the process, and slowly chipped away with big goals and depth scoring. Proud of these girls. We will enjoy it and learn from our mistakes and grow for tomorrow with a good video session and fight again with team GRIT to get a sweep."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had the better of the Bisons in shots on goal, 7-6, in the opening period. TWU trailed 2-0 after the first period. Manitoba's Sophia Anderson opened the scoring with a power play goal at 2:55. Dana Goertzen followed up at 5:08 to put the Bisons up 2-0 early.
The Bisons added to their lead early in the second period when Louise Fergusson put Manitoba up 3-0 with a power play goal at 7:09. The Spartans finally got on the board at 9:53 with Chaycde Kullman scoring on the power play. Giesbrecht made it a one-goal game with her shot from the point at 19:51, as TWU trailed 3-2 after two periods. The Spartans outshot the Bisons 13-9 in the second period.
The Spartans continued to rally with Ledoux tying the game at 6:21 of the third period. Ditner got the Spartans their first lead of the game at 13:39 of the period. It looked like TWU had a regulation win, but Manitoba's Patrick scored with an extra attacker at 19:03 to tie the game and send it into overtime.
TWU outshot Manitoba 6-3 in the extra period and were finally rewarded with McDonald's goal at 4:30 to give the Spartans a 5-4 overtime win.
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Bisons 34-30.
• TWU was 1-5 on the power play, while Manitoba finished 2-6.
• The Spartans are currently 6-10 lifetime against the Manitoba Bisons.
• Last year, the Spartans were 1-3 in conference play and 1-2 in the playoffs against the Bisons, including a triple overtime 2-1 loss, which saw Kate Fawcett make a Canada West record-breaking 71 saves.
• Last week, the Spartans swept the MacEwan Griffins, winning 4-1 and 3-2 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• Last week, the Bisons swept the Saskatchewan Huskies, winning 4-1 and 4-0 on the road at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon, Sask.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  
 
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