While the men’s hockey team was busy drubbing the Regina Cougars, their female counterparts had more than their hands full when they visited the Co-operators Centre in Regina for games on Nov. 23 and 24.
Friday night saw the Bisons grab the lead in both the first and second periods through goals from Nellie Minshull and Kyleigh Palmer. But Regina evened the score each time, eventually taking the lead in the third period. A goal by Kayleigh Wiens with 7:21 to play in the third would tie things up 3-3, sending the game to overtime. The winner went to Regina, as Carleen Meszaros scored for the Cougars late in OT to give Regina a 4-3 win. Dée-Ana Marion turned aside 28 of 32 shots in the effort.
On Saturday night, the Bisons outshot Regina 26-19, but lost the battle on the scoreboard. It was 3-0 Cougars before the Bisons could respond with a pair of their own from Kayleigh Wiens and Sara Barnabe in the second period. The Bisons kept it close until the Cougars put the game to rest, as Paige Wheeler scored her second of the game into an empty net with 24 seconds left in the game to make it a 4-2 final score.
Leiette Klassen stopped 15 of 18 shots – including a penalty shot by Stephanie Sawchuk in the first period.
The Bisons will next travel to Edmonton to take on the Alberta Pandas. Alberta sits in third in Canada West with 18 points, while the Bisons sit in last place, two points out of a playoff spot.
