Hailey Dirk, Cougars Athletics

CALGARY – Saturday, at the Flames Community Arenas, the Mount Royal Cougars' and the Manitoba Bisons' women's hockey teams played a rematch, following a 4-1 Bisons win on Friday. Despite the Cougars starting strong and gaining the lead early eventually the Bisons took over, winning 4-1 again.

Cougars' head coach Scott Rivett said the Bisons goalie, Lauren Taraschuk made the difference.

"We made some great shots, and had some great opportunities, but when she needed to she made the saves that mattered to win."

From the opening puck drop, the Cougars rushed the Bisons net, but their play was quickly turned around by the Bisons defence. Later, on a power-play, Manitoba closed in on Cougars goalie Emma Pincott while her stick had been knocked aside but was unable to capitalize as Mount Royal narrowly avoided conceding an early goal and it was the Cougars who struck first. With less than five minutes remaining in the period, Camryn Amundson powered past a Manitoba defender and rifled a backhander short side past Taraschuk to give the Cougars the lead for the first time this weekend.

Going into the second period with a one-goal advantage was a confidence booster for the Cougars, and the puck flew freely through all corners of the ice. This confidence, however, wore off when Bisons' forward Alanna Sharman slapped a puck past Pincott, evening out the score. Tensions erupted in the final seconds of the period, but the score remained 1-1.

Returning to square one, both teams had a shot at victory in the third period. However, the Bisons lead the charge, and Sharman scored a second goal for her team. The Bisons continued their scoring streak as Lauryn Keen made it 3-1 and Jordyn Zacharias sealed the Cougars' fate with an empty netter.

The Booster Juice Players of the Game were Camryn Amundson from the Cougars and Alanna Sharman from the Bisons. The Bisons will play the Regina Cougars on Jan. 18 and 19, while the Cougars will play the Alberta Pandas.