The Bisons women’s hockey faced the Trinity Western Spartans on Feb. 21 at the Wayne Fleming Arena and ended up losing 3-1.

In the first period of the game, the Bisons and the Spartans exhibited a strong defensive focus, resulting in a relatively slow start to the match. Although there were a few penalties, neither team capitalized on the power play, as both went scoreless for most of the period. The Bisons’  goaltender, Emily Shippam, faced nine shots and stopped eight, while the Spartans’ Kate Fawcett was similarly tested, stopping all six shots she faced. Despite the defensive tightness, the Spartans managed to break the deadlock with a late goal by Chloe Reid, assisted by Jordyn Matthews and Presleigh Giesbrecht. This goal, scored just before the period ended at 19:56, provided the Spartans with a crucial momentum boost heading into the second period.

In the second period the Spartans’ Matthews was penalized for holding, giving the Bisons a power play. The Bisons scored their first goal of the period to tie the game 1-1, with Sadie Keller scoring, assisted by Hanna Bailey. Near the end of the period, the Spartans’ Ashley Breitkreuz was penalized, giving the Bisons another power play opportunity. The period ended with no further goals, leaving the score tied going into the third.

In the third period, the Bisons’ Keller was penalized for cross-checking, giving the Spartans a power play opportunity. The Spartans took advantage, with Kyra Anderson scoring a power play goal, assisted by Kara Yackel and Kelsey Ledoux, to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. The Bisons then pulled their goalie in an attempt to tie the game, but the Spartans sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from Yackel, making it 3-1. The game ended with a 3-1 win for the Spartans, with both teams accumulating similar penalty minutes throughout the game.

The Bisons showed great determination throughout the game, outshooting the Spartans 37-24 and maintaining strong offensive pressure. For the Bisons, the standout performance came from Keller, who scored a goal and contributed to the team’s efforts. Goaltender Shippam faced 23 shots against and saved 21, finishing with a solid performance despite the two goals allowed.

In a post-match interview, when asked about the team’s approach heading into the second period, interim head coach Jordy Zacharias stated, “we had a ton of offensive zone time in the first period, and we just had a bit of a breakdown at the end in our defensive zone. So going into the second, it was about cleaning that up a little bit, working from the defensive zone up, and making sure we were trying to capitalize on those opportunities and not be so much on the perimeter in the offensive zone.”

Regarding the decision to pull the goaltender in the final minutes, she explained, “if we can try and tie it up there, sometimes that’s the way it goes. But with that extra man advantage, you try to capitalize.”

When asked about adjustments for the upcoming games Zacharias emphasized the importance of capitalizing on scoring opportunities.

“I think a little bit more net-driving. That’s how we got our goal,” she said.  “So it’s about getting those rebounds.”

As for standout performances, the coach highlighted Kylie Lesuk saying, “she’s fast, she’s all over the puck, she’s really driving the team. Just because you don’t score a goal doesn’t mean you’re not impacting the game, and I thought she impacted every shift that she was out there.”

The Bisons faced the Trinity Western Spartans again on Saturday, Feb. 22 for game two of the Canada West quarter-finals and won the game 2-1 in the third round of overtime.

Game three against the Trinity Western Spartans on Feb. 23 led to a 5-2 win for the Bisons, resulting in their advancement to the Canada West semifinals.