The Bisons women’s hockey team had had a rocky start to the 2026-27 season. Prior to facing the Alberta Pandas on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Wayne Fleming Arena, the herd had three losses and one win in the conference.
In the first period of the Friday game, the Bisons had difficulty passing the puck forward, likely because the Pandas were guarding the blue line, resulting in successful intercepts by the Pandas.
These initial challenges did not matter. The Bisons were able to take advantage of the first power play that they received around the four-minute mark when Norah Collins scored the first goal, assisted by Dana Goertzen and Shayna Bannister. To score the goal, Collins had faked a move inside, only to move outside to gain space, smashing the puck into the top shelf.
Before the Pandas could equalize, forward Sophia Heidinger scored another goal from the point for the Bisons around the 15-minute mark.
The Bisons were now up 2-0.
For the rest of the period, the Bisons sustained pressure on the Pandas’ defence. They also did a wonderful job with their forechecking and backchecking, not to mention that they were exceptionally strong during all the face-offs in the circle.
In the second period, Kelsey Huibers scored another goal for the Bisons using her pace to capitalize on the screen created by the Pandas’ defensive players, stretching the lead to 3-0. The herd’s domination in this period was quite apparent, with 20 shots on goal compared to nine shots on goal by the Pandas.
The Bisons were winning most of the battles at the wall, which allowed them to regain possession and control the tempo of the game. The wingers for the Pandas were having difficulty finding open spaces where their defence could safely pass the puck to them. At the same time, the herd was better with the recovery of the puck and regrouping, reducing their chances of getting exploited by the Pandas.
In the third period, around the 19-minute mark, Bisons athlete Brynn Hannula scored into an empty net. The game ended with a 4-0 win for the Bisons.
The Bisons women’s hockey head coach Jordan Colliton said that despite having a great start, she was not pleased with certain opportunities they gave to the Pandas.
Despite her concerns, Colliton did have praise for her squad when talking about the first power play in which the Bisons had scored, stating, “I thought we did a great job [at] reading seams and attacking the net.”
When talking about keeping the offensive pressure high even with a two-goal lead, Colliton said, “We never know who’s going to win or when the momentum is going to shift.” She also praised the Pandas goalie Misty Rey, saying, “Their goaltender made some really good saves.”
The Bisons went on to win the game on Saturday by 3-1.
One thing to consider is that the Pandas have a new coaching staff. Leah Copeland was announced as the interim head coach on May 21. Given the time Copeland had for the recruitment process, it may be premature to attribute the outcome to her system.
On the other side, Colliton took the Bisons to U Sports national quarterfinals in her first year as coach. It will be interesting to see what the team will be able to do this season with her system.
The Bisons will play against the Trinity Western Spartans on Oct. 30 and 31 in Langley, BC.
