The University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team had some inspired goaltending in their weekend set at Lethbridge, earning back-to-back shutouts with 4-0 and 1-0 victories, respectively.

After losing four games in a row dating back to last month, the Bisons have turned their season around. Head coach Jon Rempel’s squad has now captured five straight wins, improving their record to 7-5 on the season.

 

Friday

Last season the herd swept the Pronghorns 4-0, averaging four goals per game.

Manitoba didn’t take long to reignite the form displayed in 2014-15 versus Lethbridge. Forward Kayleigh Wiens took an early lead for Manitoba when she beat goaltender Alicia Anderson down low.

Forward Charity Price has been playing with a hot stick as of late, and notched goals in the second and third periods. She has now recorded four points in the past two games.

Courtlyn Oswald also added to the 4-0 victory, scoring in the second period. Her individual effort gave her two goals in as many games.

Goalie Rachel Dyck posted 26 saves and recorded her first shutout of the season. The goose-egg was under siege when Caitlyn Fyten and Alexandra Anderson took body-checking minors just 29 seconds apart in the middle frame.

Dyck kept her composure and closed out the second with 22 saves after two periods, while her backline held Lethbridge to four shots in the third.

Her opposite number Anderson handled a barrage of shots in the third period when she made 18 saves in the frame. The CIS rookie – who impressively went 7-1 to start the season- totaled 28 saves on 32 shots.

 

Saturday

Both coaches opted to swap their goalies for the second game of the weekend. Jessica Lohues was in place of Anderson, while Amanda Schubert started for the Bisons coming off a shutout victory against Calgary two weeks ago.

For the seventh consecutive game the Bisons opened the scoring, courtesy of Alana Serhan. Her second goal of the season was scored on a screened Lohues six minutes into the first period.

Wiens, the opening scorer from Friday’s game, nearly doubled the Bisons’ advantage when she partially broke away shorthanded to beat Lohues, but not the post.

Similar to the previous game, Manitoba’s blue-liners came up strong for their netminder. Lethbridge was held to one shot on goal in the opening 12 minutes, and just four shots in the final frame.

The Pronghorns did generate a golden opportunity to level the game on a five-on-three power play, yet Jocelyn Sabourin’s shot clattered the frame and stayed out.

Lohues starred in goal against an attack-minded Bisons squad, producing 33 saves on 34 shots, but in the end, Serhan’s first period goal was enough to clinch a 1-0 victory for the herd with Schubert posting 20 saves for her second consecutive goose-egg.

The third-year goaltender has now assembled a shutout streak of over 120 minutes, dating back to a third-period goal from Mount Royal on Oct. 17. The Bisons have also shut out their opponents for the third consecutive game, the first time they have done so since 2008-09.

Manitoba will visit the Saskatchewan Huskies next week, before returning home to host the Regina Cougars ahead of the Christmas break.