The University of Regina's men's hockey team trailed Manitoba 3-0 at the first intermission, but the Cougars came all the way back and won 5-4 in a shootout on Friday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.
It marked the second straight Friday that the Cougars erased a 3-0 lead to force overtime, but
Brandon Holtby and
Conner Chaulk helped write a different conclusion to this game than last week's double-overtime loss at Mount Royal. Holtby stopped all five Manitoba attempts in the shootout, and Chaulk rocketed a shot off the left post and in to give the Cougars a huge late-season victory.
"Obviously it's not ideal to be down three after the first period," Cougars head coach
Todd Johnson said with a chuckle. "But the guys have shown their character all year to not quit and battle back, and we did that again today. (Brandon) Holtby made some key saves early in the second to keep it a three-goal game, and I thought (Tanner) Nagel played his best game with us so far. He created chances, was good on the PK, and just worked really hard all the way through."
Manitoba's three first-period goals were all scored within a span of just 1:22 late in the opening frame as Adam Henry, Josh Tripp, and Dylan Thiessen all scored for the Bisons.
But the Cougars battled all the way back, first getting on the scoreboard midway through the second when
Tanner Nagel slid a pass over to
Tate Coughlin on a shorthanded 2-on-1. Coughlin scored, and just a couple minutes later Chaulk forced a turnover in the Manitoba zone and fed
Bryce Platt for the rookie forward's first career Canada West goal.
Arthur Miller's goal tied it up late in the second period, and the Cougars were able to respond again in the third. Manitoba's Devon Skoleski gave the Bisons a 4-3 lead six minutes into the final period, but Cougar captain
Tristan Frei's deflection just seconds into a power play knotted the score back up at 4-4.
The score stayed that way through regulation and both the 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 overtimes. The Cougars successfully killed off well over two minutes of penalties in the extra sessions, as they were assessed minors late in the third and with 45 seconds to go in the second overtime.
Coupled with UBC's loss to Saskatchewan on Friday, the win moves the Cougars up into the sixth and final Canada West playoff position with five games left in conference play. Both Regina and UBC have 17 points on the year, but the Cougars have the tiebreaker over the Thunderbirds on head-to-head results.
The Cougars and Manitoba will play an afternoon game on Saturday to finish off the weekend series. Game time is scheduled for 2:00.
