WINNIPEG – The University of Manitoba Bisons got quite a scare, but were still able to pull out the win in the end, edging the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 5-4 Saturday evening.

The No. 4-ranked Bisons got goals from five different skaters. Leanne Kisil, Chantal Larocque, Amy McQuoid, Stephanie Messner, and Katherine O’Rourke all potted goals while Dana Hoogsteen made 14-saves for the win.

“That’s the hallmark of this team. I’ve preached it all year, depth and balance,” said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel. “One line maybe isn’t going or has an off-night, another line picks it up. I had a kid that’s hardly played at all this year, Amy McQuoid. Scores a big goal in the second period. That’s what you need to have on a team that can go a long way.”

Scoring for Saskatchewan was Kelsey Tulloch, Kristen Graham, Jackie Makaruk and Shaye Christiansen. Vanessa Fredrick stopped 21 shots in net for the Huskies. The loss drops Saskatchewan to 6-9-3. Good for fourth place in the Canada West standings.

Manitoba improves to 15-2-1 as they continue to slug it out with the No. 2-ranked University of Alberta Pandas for top spot, whom they’ll play next weekend, in Edmonton. It could be a weekend series that decides first place and who gets home ice-advantage for the playoffs.

“They’re always ready to play,” said the Bisons captain, Kisil. “They’re a hard-working team. We just have to make sure we’re ready to play mentally and physically. Just make sure we bring it.”

The shut out streak came to an end early, exactly two minutes into the game. Dayna King backhanded a blind pass from the corner on net, but it paid off as Tulloch was on the doorstep to deposit the puck for her eighth goal of the year. That goal ended 185:24 minutes of shutout hockey for the Bisons. It was a streak that saw the goalie tandem of Hoogsteen and Stacey Corfield combine for three-straight shutouts.

Just under four-minutes later, Kisil evened the score. With a delayed penalty being called against the Huskies, Kisil found a loose puck in the slot and rifled it high over Fredrick’s blocker. Kisil’s goal came at 5:56. It was her third goal of the season.

Larocque’s goal came at 13:47 of the first period. Both sides had a player in the box and were playing four-on-four hockey. Meghan Ross threaded a pass from the left wing through to the right side of the net, and Larocque one-timed it home for the go-ahead goal.

Saskatchewan got it back, early into the middle frame. Similar to the Huskies first goal, Makaruk shot it from a bad angle on the right wing. Hoogsteen made the initial save for the Bisons, but Graham was there to whack it home. Graham second of the season tied the score 2-2 at 1:49 of the second.

The Herd regained the lead when McQuoid snapped one through Fredrick’s five-hole from the left face-off dot. McQuoid’s first goal of the season came at 9:55. Before the end of second, Manitoba added one more. On the powerplay, Larocque passed from behind the Huskies net to the front where Becca King was stationed, but instead she let it go through her legs, for a streaking Messner who blasted into the Saskatchewan net. Messner’s sixth came at 16:55.

O’Rourke scored on a two-on-none, created by Kisil. Kisil forced the Huskies defence to cough up the puck at the Bisons blueline, then poking it free to O’Rourke. The two Bisons skated in on Fredrick and O’Rourke held, going five-hole to put Manitoba up 5-2. Her fifth of the season came at 7:41 of the third.

Saskatchewan gave all Manitoba could handle in the waning minutes scoring twice before the end of regulation. First Makaruk backhanded a shot from the slot that found eyes and the back of the net. That came with 4:14 remaining. Then with the goalie pulled and an extra attacker on the ice, the Huskies pulled within one with 12-seconds remaining. There was a scramble in front of the Bisons goal and Christiansen found the loose puck for fourth of the year.

Next for the Herd, they’ll travel to Edmonton for a two-game series, with the No. 2-ranked Pandas, starting Friday. Saskatchewan will travel to Lethbridge to take on the Pronghorns.

Brant Batters, Bisons Sports