The No. 1-ranked Alberta Golden Bears were tested by the hometown Regina Cougars but managed to prevail 2-1 thanks to a goal from T.J. Foster late in the third period.
Jordan Hickmott and Foster both scored for the Golden Bears, while Cougars rookie
Tyler Giebel scored his first-career Canada West goal in the loss.
Both goalies were exceptional in net, with
Lucas Gore (pictured) stopping 37 shots for Regina and Kurtis Mucha making 22 saves for the visitors.
Alberta dominated the possession in the first period and got on the board when Jordan Hickmott broke in on a rush and managed to beat Gore with a high shot to the short side. Thomas Carr was awarded the assist on Hickmott's eighth goal of the young season.
Tyler Giebel scored his first goal as a member of the Cougars with 4.8 seconds left in the first period.
Cody Fowlie fired a long shot towards the net and Giebel jammed it in from the doorstep to tie the game 1-1. Fowlie and
John Sonntag were credited with assists on the play.
Alberta's speed was on display in the second with multiple odd-man rush chances, but Gore stood tall in net.
Late in the period the Cougars started to display a more physical style of play, with both
Troy Hunter and
John Sonntag landing big hits on Alberta players.
Foster scored with 3:27 remaining in the third period on a hard drive towards the net. The low shot squeezed through Gore's pads and the Golden Bears took a 2-1 lead. Dylan Bredo collected the assist on the goal.
The Cougars went to the powerplay with 2:24 left in regulation but failed to muster any solid chances, even when Gore was pulled for an extra attacker.
Alberta improves to 4-1 with the win and the Cougars fall to 0-5.
The two teams will square off again tomorrow at 7 p.m. at The Co-operators Centre.
