‘We proved we can play with the best teams in the country’

A piece of Emily Shippam wanted to be upset when the Manitoba Bisons returned home from Vancouver with a silver medal on Monday. She and the rest of her teammates flew west for the weekend with golden aspirations and hopes of writing the perfect ending to what has been a season for the books.

Then again, there was too much to be proud of to hang their heads, and potentially a happier ending yet to come.

So while the Bisons were swept by the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds in the best-of-three Canada West women’s hockey championship finals, there were more positive takeaways than negative.

They had nearly pulled off a season-long comeback and punched their ticket to the program’s first national championship tournament since 2019, which will go in Waterloo, Ont., March 19-22.

“We kind of said all weekend, ‘Obviously, did we want to win? Yes, but I think ultimately, there’s that sense of pride within our group that not a lot of people expected us to be in this position to still be playing at this point in the year,’” said Shippam, the Bisons goaltender who turned away 20 of 21 shots she faced in the 1-0 championship-deciding defeat.

“So I think while, yes, we came up short… we proved we can play with the best teams in the country.”

There is merit to the Bisons’ underdog mentality.

It was a program with one playoff series win in the last six years, ushering in a new era with young head coach Jordan Colliton and eight players in their first year with the team.

The Bisons started 1-7-4 out of the gate, but turned the season around in the second half, going on a 9-1-2 charge up the standings to secure the final playoff spot in Canada West. They rode that heater to road series victories against Alberta — the program’s first playoff series victory away from home in a decade — and Mount Royal before putting up a tough fight against the Thunderbirds.

“I think ultimately, there’s that sense of pride within our group that not a lot of people expected us to be in this position to still be playing at this point in the year.”

Colliton, who has a history of helping turn programs around in her decade behind the bench, admitted the team’s sudden turnaround even caught her off guard.

“Did I think that we’d be in the national championship, competing for it in my first season? No, but I believe that the style and my philosophy could lead to that at some point. I think it’s just a testament to our group and the commitment of our team to buy in and do the things that we asked them to do, and that’s all. That’s why we are where we are right now,” she said.

“It’s the most fun I’ve had coaching ever, honestly, and it’s because of the players in that room. They make my job enjoyable, and because they’re willing to make mistakes, they’re willing to try, they’re willing to ask questions and understand what we’re trying to do. And they go all in.”

The Bisons’ second-half resurgence can be credited to a lot of things, but it starts between the pipes, where Shippam has put together a tremendous stretch of play.

The fourth-year netminder from St. Mary’s, who started the most games of any goalie in Canada West this season, allowed two goals or fewer in nine of her last 14 starts against conference opponents.

“She’s been great,” said Colliton. “She has such a great maturity to her game and just her personality. She brings a great mindset to our group, just her leadership, her calmness, and she brings that to her game.”

“It’s the most fun I’ve had coaching ever, honestly, and it’s because of the players in that room. They make my job enjoyable.”

Shippam posted a .900 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against average in eight playoff contests.

“In the net, we know that she’s going to make the saves that she needs to make and a few that she shouldn’t make, and that’s all that you want from a goaltender, is someone that competes hard, who plays for the team, who you know is going to give her best effort any given day,” said Colliton.

“With her behind us, it gives our group a ton of confidence to make a few mistakes, and it’s OK, because our goaltender is going to make those saves.”

Shippam has welcomed the pressure. She helped Manitoba to its first playoff series victory in six years last season, and now she’s been the backbone of a storybook run.

“I see it as a privilege. I mean, to have that trust and that belief from not only just the coaches, but I think more importantly from my teammates,” Shippam said. “I watch the work that my teammates put in every day, and I know they look to me and see the same. So I think it’s just mutual trust in each other and in how badly we want to compete and do our jobs.

“It’s been really cool that obviously I’ve been able to step into a bigger role, especially this year, and that we’ve made it this far.”

Shippam assured the Bisons don’t believe they are playing with house money. They feel they’re as deserving as anyone to win a national championship, and now they will try to prove it.

“We were talking about it (Monday): it doesn’t really matter which team we meet up with, because I think our team has such a strong identity and in the game we play and how hard we like to compete, and I think it doesn’t matter if we play the eighth seed or the one seed,” Shippam said.

“I think that’s scary for any team that has to play us.”

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