The University of Regina's men's hockey team scored the first five goals of the game and rolled to a 6-3 victory over Manitoba on Saturday afternoon to complete a weekend road sweep over the Bisons.
Tanner Nagel,
Arthur Miller, and
Conner Chaulk all scored to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead after the first intermission and goals by
Ty Barnstable and
Tate Coughlin pushed the Regina advantage to 5-0 through 40 minutes.
Manitoba scored twice in the span of two and a half minutes midway through the third to make it 5-2, but Nagel's second of the game – scored on an empty net as Manitoba pulled the goalie with seven minutes to go – restored a four-goal cushion for the Cougars.
Brandon Holtby got the start again in the net for the Cougars, making 40 saves to register his sixth victory in eight starts since the December break.
The four-point weekend not only moves Regina two points clear of seventh-place UBC, but also brings the Cougars to within two points of Manitoba. The red-hot U of R squad will close out the Canada West schedule against the top two teams in the conference standings, as the Cougars play host to Alberta twice next weekend before finishing off the year with a home-and-home against Saskatchewan.
NOTES: UBC plays Saskatchewan on Saturday night in Saskatoon, then play Lethbridge twice on the road before hosting Mount Royal to finish off Canada West play ... Manitoba has a similar remaining schedule to Regina's, as the Bisons host Saskatchewan next weekend before facing Alberta on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 in Edmonton ... Nagel, Chaulk (one goal, one assist), and
Bryce Platt (two assists) also registered multi-point games in the win.
