Alyssa Etsell, Bison Sports Information
WINNIPEG — The University of Manitoba Bisons clinch the title of Canada West regular season champions for the first time in history with a shutout 6-0 win against the University of Calgary Dinos Friday night (Feb. 9) at Wayne Fleming Arena.
With the win, Bisons remain first in the conference a record of 18-5-3-1 and push their win streak to eight consecutive games. Calgary will move to 7-17-1-2.
"Overall, I'm pretty happy," said Bison head coach Jon Rempel of the win. "I thought we did a pretty good job, we managed the puck pretty well… we [just] needed to be patient."
Rookie Lauren Taraschuk clinched her fifth shutout of the season and remains at number two in the conference in that category. Kelsey Roberts saved 24 shots for the visitors.
Last time Calgary faced Manitoba, the Herd swept the Dinos with 4-2 and 3-1 wins at Calgary.
With under three minutes left in the game, Natasha Kostenko netted her fourth goal of the year and the home team's sixth of the game, off assists from Sheridan Oswald and Lauryn Keen. The Herd's fifth goal was an Alana Serhan shot from Mekaela Fisher.
Earlier in the third, with help from Jenai Buchanan and Charity Price, Nicole Carswell poked in a loose puck from a scramble in front of the net just three minutes into the period.
In the second period, a Buchanan wrist shot from Jordyn Zacharias sailed right into the back of the Dino net, moving the score to 2-0 for Manitoba. With a clink off the post, Keen netted another goal for the Herd after a drive from the right side. The assist on the third goal went to Alexandra Anderson and Kostenko.
Shots after the second were 25-6 for the home team.
After a slow start, opportunities were aplenty for the Bisons late in the first period. A buzzer-beater from Caitlin Fyten with under one second left weaved through the crowd of players and clinched a one-goal lead for the Herd. Kostenko got the assist.
Both teams will close out the regular season tomorrow (Feb. 10) at the Wayne Fleming Arena at 1 p.m. CT. Watch the game live online at canadawest.tv.
Three Stars:
1. Natasha Kostenko, Manitoba (1G, 2A)
2. Jenai Buchanan, Manitoba (1G, 1A)
3. Lauryn Keen, Manitoba (1G, 1A)