Box Score Game Summary

The University of Regina's men's hockey team clinched its best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series in two straight games after defeating the Manitoba Bisons by a 1-0 score on Saturday night at the U of M's Max Bell Arena.

Adam Ward made 33 saves to record the shutout for the Cougars, while Dillon Johnstone scored on his own rebound midway through the third period to record the game's only goal.

The Cougars will now advance to the Canada West semifinals, where they'll square off with the No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears in a best-of-three series at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton.

Ward kept the Cougars in the game in the first period, as Manitoba outshot Regina by a 12-2 margin and had three power play opportunities including a 46-second two-man advantage. The Bisons continued to pepper Ward in the second, but the third-year goalie made 15 saves in the middle frame to help maintain the scoreless draw through two.

Less than three minutes after Johnstone's goal in the third, Regina rookie defenceman Dylan Chapman was assessed a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct, but the Cougars were able to kill off the entire penalty. Manitoba took a penalty for too many men with 37 seconds remaining in the game, hindering the Bisons' chances of a last-minute rally.

Saturday's win gives the Cougars their first playoff series victory since 2004, when Regina swept Manitoba at home in the Great Plains Division semifinal. The win is the U of R's first victory in a playoff series on the road since 1996, when the Cougars defeated the Bisons in three games to win the East Division final and advance to the conference championship series.

The Cougars will now turn their attention to Alberta, which had a bye this weekend after finishing in first place in the conference during the regular season. The Golden Bears won three of the four matchups between the two teams during the conference schedule.

NOTES: Including a 6-5 overtime non-conference win by Alberta at the THAA Challenge Cup in January, four of the five games between the Cougars and the Golden Bears this season have been decided by a single goal.