MHKY: Manitoba pounces on Cougars at home

MHKY: Manitoba pounces on Cougars at home
Austin Frame, Bison Sports
 
WINNIPEG - The University of Manitoba Bisons men's hockey team was victorious over the University of Regina Cougars by a score of 8-6 on Friday night at Wayne Fleming Arena. 
 
With the win, Manitoba improves to 13-8-2 while Regina falls to 3-18-2 on the season. In addition, the Bisons clinched a 2018 playoff spot with the home win and other CW results during the day.
 
Manitoba scored by committee, getting points from 13 different players and dominated throughout long stretches of the game between the two prairie rivals.
 
"It shows depth, we had a variety of guys scoing in different ways " said Bisons Head Coach Mike Sirant after the game.
 
Regina would get on the board early in the first period as Ben Duperrault beat Bisons Goaltender Byron Spriggs after taking a breakaway pass from Austin Bourhis who had just stepped out of the penalty box. 
 
The Bisons did not wait long to respond however as Blake Heinrich potted a feed from out of the corner from Quinton Lisoway at the 7:07, and the hosts would also get contributions from Micheal St. Croix and Liam Bilton throughout the middle part of the period, and were capped off by Bilton's second of the game, coming shorthanded at 13:28 to give Manitoba a 4-1 lead going into the first intermission. 
 
The second period started off with the Herd pushing the pace for the opening minutes of the period, but Regina would answer with a quick goal off the stick of Landon Peel, once again on a breakaway at the 5:23 mark. 
 
Much like the first, Manitoba answered quickly and often as Quinton Lisoway, Brad Bowles and Brett Brooks all made good on opportunities to give the Bisons the 7-2 before Burns would answer back late in the period to make it 7-3 heading into the third period.
 
Regina and Manitoba would trade goals back and forth throughout the third, with Regina's goals coming from Peel, Mcphee and Stephen Langford while Heinrich tallied another for Manitoba.
 
"We need to better, we know we need to be better defensively tomorrow" said Sirant.
 
The two teams will meet again once again tomorrow afternoon, January 27 at Wayne Fleming Arena at 1 p.m. CT.
 
Three stars
1st - Liam Bilton (Manitoba - 2G, 1 A)
2nd - Landon Peel (Regina - 2G, 1A)
3rd - Blake Heinrich (Manitoba - 1G, 1A)