By: Alyssa Etsell, Bison Sports Information
WINNIPEG— No. 2 University of Manitoba Bisons ended a five-game winning streak for the Mount Royal University Cougars with a shutout women's hockey win, 1-0, Friday night (Jan. 19) at Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.
With the home win, Manitoba moves their record to 13-5-2-1. MRU falls to 6-12-3-0.
Both goalies were strong in the nets as Bison rookie Lauren Taraschuk stopped 14 shots for her third conference shutout of the season and second consecutive SO for the Bisons.
Cougar Zoe DeBeauville blocked an impressive 31 shots on net.
The Bisons played a strong offensive game in a tight checking contests as they had several scoring chances and continued to make smart plays with the puck.
"That's probably the best game we've played in the second half start-to-finish team wise. Second period is the best period I've seen us play in a long time," said Bison head coach, Jon Rempel. "Played smart, played disciplined—all the stuff you've got to do here."
Erica Rieder chipped the first and only goal of the game just 37 seconds into the third period, with help from Allison Sexton and Alanna Sharman.
The Cougars picked up the pace in the third and pressed for the equalizer with a powerplay midway through the third, but couldn't tie the game despite a couple of close-in opportunities.
Despite an offensive surge which saw the Bisons drive up the shots on net 26-9, DeBeauville stayed a wall to keep the game scoreless through the first two periods of play.
Mount Royal came into the second on the penalty kill and their closest chance at a goal came early in the middle frame. Nicolette Seper passed across the net to Reanna Arnold off the rush but Taraschuk shut it down with an impressive blocker save.
Earlier this 2017-18 season, Mount Royal dropped a weekend sweep to Manitoba at home.
Both teams face each other again tomorrow at Manitoba starting at 1 p.m CT. Watch the game live online at canadawest.tv.
Three Stars:
1. Erica Rieder – Manitoba (Game-winning goal)
2. Zoe DeBeauville – MRU (31 saves)
3. Lauren Taraschuk – Manitoba (Shutout 14 save win)