Mike Still, Bison Sports
WINNIPEG — Rookie Erin Fargey registered her first career U SPORTS win and shutout on Sunday afternoon at Wayne Fleming Arena, stopping 16 shots as the No. 2 ranked Manitoba Bisons got past the Mount Royal Cougars 2-0.
"We have three really good goaltenders in there that can all get the job done for us, and I kind of felt it was time for Fargs to take the ball and run with it," Manitoba head coach Sean Fisher said postgame.
"She's a Calgary kid so she knows some of the kids on that team, so she probably had a little extra incentive to go out and play hard today and I'm happy for her."
Manitoba dictated the pace in the opening ten minutes of play, utilizing a strong forecheck and team speed to generate some quality chances.
One of the hosts' better opportunities came seven minutes in, as forward Makaela Fisher was able to get to a puck that was dumped into the Cougars zone and fed it in front to forward Emilie Masse, however Mount Royal goaltender Zoe De Beauville held her ground.
The Cougars first shot didn't come until halfway through the period, however they picked up their play offensively shortly afterwards, thanks to multiple forced turnovers in the Bisons zone.
Mount Royal's best chance to crack the scoreboard came with 6:40 left, as defender Daria O'Neill broke in on a two-on-one, but her shot was stopped by the pad of Fargey.
Manitoba also took a double minor penalty with 3:09 to go in the first, however their special teams did an admirable job blocking the shooting and passing lanes while limiting the Cougars to a few shots on net.
Both sides continued to operate at a high pace in the middle frame, but neither side could find the scoreboard, thanks in part to strong play in net.
Forward Jordyn Zacharias had an excellent chance to open the scoring on a delayed penalty to the Cougars, as she broke in on an odd-woman rush seven minutes in, however her shot from the slot was stopped by De Beauville.
Manitoba native Tatum Amy sped in on a two-on-one herself nine minutes into the period, but Fargey was up to the task to keep the score level.
The Cougars took a penalty two minutes into the third period, however it was the visitors who had the best chance to score, as forward Morgan Ramsay intercepted a puck in the neutral zone and was sprung on a breakaway, but Fargey made the pad save.
After even more back-and-forth play, Manitoba was able to break the scoreless tie, as forward Madison Cole slipped a wrist shot past De Beauville on a screen at 10:10 for the game-winning goal.
Mount Royal attempted to pull their goalie in the final two minutes in order to get the extra skater on the ice, however the Bisons held possession in the offensive zone, forcing De Beauville to stay in her crease until the final ten seconds. Defender Alexandra Anderson would then put the game on ice with an empty-netter.
With the win, the Bisons advanced to 5-2-1-0, while the Cougars fell to 2-5-0-1. Next weekend is the bye weekend, as all teams will be off. Manitoba is back in action on the Nov. 9 weekend taking on Lethbridge at home, while Mount Royal will host Calgary.