By: Austin Frame, Bison Sports Information

WINNIPEG - The No. 2 University of Manitoba Bisons shutout the Mount Royal Cougars by a score of 2-0 in women's hockey on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20) at Wayne Fleming Arena.

Bisons goaltender Rachel Dyck stood tall for Manitoba with a her second shutout this season, continuing the teams current shutout streak to 181:12 minutes and with the victory Manitoba improves their record to 14-5-2-1 while the Cougars drop to 6-13-3-0.

"Rachel has really turned it around from I would say the Lethbridge series in the first half, the team has confidence playing in front of her, they know she is going to make most of the stops" said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel.

This was the third win in a row for Manitoba, and it completed the season sweep of Mount Royal.

The Bisons got the scoring underway early as Sheridan Oswald beat MRU goaltender Emily Severson with a shot from the slot just 1:10 into the contest with the assists going to Natasha Kostenko and Lauryn Keen. Manitoba continued to press Mount Royal throughout the first, heming the Cougars in their own end for long stretches of the opening period.

The second period saw MRU match the Bisons intensity from the first with the two teams trading numerous quality scoring chances at both ends of the ice. However Manitoba would once again score the only goal of the period when Kostenko scored her 2nd goal of the season off a scramble in front of the net after a point shot from Lauren Warkentin at the 16:56 mark of the middle frame.

The third period saw Manitoba push the pace as poured shots on Severson and continued to grind the game down with a relentless forecheck.

Mount Royal's next action will be Thursday, Jan 25 at the Calgary Dinos at 4 p.m. MST, while the Bisons travel west next week for a series with the Regina Cougars starting Friday, Jan 26 at 7 p.m. CT in Regina.

THREE STARS

1. Natasha Kostenko - Manitoba (1 G, 1 A)

2. Sheridan Oswald - Manitoba (1 G, 1 A)

3. Rachel Dyck - Manitoba (10 Save Shutout)