Women's hockey travels to meet Manitoba Bisons in CW Final

Women's hockey travels to meet Manitoba Bisons in CW Final

CLICK for vs MANITOBA Canada West FINAL Game Notes

Canada West Final
Game Information

Date March 2-4
Time 7PM/7PM/5PM
Location Winnipeg, MB
Venue Wayne Fleming Arena
Series ('99)  MAN leads 61-31
         PLAYOFFS MAN leads 8-1
         Current Streak MAN W 1
         Last Meeting Jan. 13, 2018
             SSK 0 @ MAN 1

5 Things

  1. Saskatchewan appears in the Canada West Final for the first time since 2013-14, when they captured the program's first-ever conference championship in a series that saw a total of eight overtime periods against Regina.

  2. The last time Saskatchewan and Manitoba met in the playoffs was in 2015-16. The Bisons won a five-overtime Game 3 to take the series, as the two teams broke the record for the longest game in Canada West history.

  3. The teams split their season series two games apiece. Jessica Vance started for the most recent series, stopping 41 of 43 shots (.953 SV%).

  4. Both teams have already booked a ticket to the U SPORTS Championship, with the Canada West banner helping to determine seeding for nationals.

  5. Vance stopped 49 of 50 shots in the semifinal round vs, while Manitoba's Lau en Taraschuk stepped in for Games 2 & 3 to stop 52-of-53 shots. 

By The Numbers

149:02 - Total time played the last time the two teams met in the playoffs - a Canada West record.

10 - Shutouts by Jessica Vance this season.

2 - Total combined goals allowed over four playoff games by Jessica Vance and Lauren Taraschuk. 

15 - Shots from Kaitlin Willoughby in the playoffs, most among all playoff skaters.

Scouting The Bisons

  • The Bisons have two top-five regular season scorers on their roster. Jordyn Zacharias finished the year in third with 21 points while Alanna Sharman was a point behind in fourth. Five of Zacharias' 12 goals are game-winners. Both forwards had six points during a four-game point streak Feb. 2 to Feb. 12.

  • Manitoba finished the year on a 9-0 win streak before losing the first game of their semifinal series to the UBC Thunderbirds. 

  • The Bisons power play, which fires at 18.1%, is among the best in the league, boosted by a 21.8% rate on the road. Their 14.8% at home is tilted much closer to the league average. The team went cold in the semifinal round, failing to score on four opportunities.