Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 6/3/2009 (4651 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The University of Regina Cougars scored twice in the first minute-and-a-half and hung on the rest of the way to defeat the Bisons 3-2 in front of a boisterous Max Bell Arena crowd that included drum-beating and trumpet-playing engineering students, minor hockey players and even a guy in a Santa hat.
The win gives Regina a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series.
"Going down 2-0 that early in the game definitely sets you back. Then you're chasing and trying to come back from behind so we've got to come up with a better start than that," said Bisons forward Calin Wild.
"Now we've got our backs against the wall. The guys know what they've got to do. Everyone, including myself, needs to be more mentally committed, more focused, we need to step up now. Time to get it done."
The Bisons must win in Game 2 of the series Saturday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. at Max Bell Arena.
Game 3, if necessary, will be played on Sunday.
There's nothing like a must-win game to turn up the heat.
"I didn't think we were hungry enough. We have to be better in a lot of different areas," said Bisons head coach Don MacGillivray.
"I didn't think we moved the puck very well, we had opportunities to get pucks to the net and we didn't do it, we hung onto the puck too long and against them, that's the kind of game they want you to play.
"You've got to give them (Regina) a lot of credit, they did what they had to do and we were invisible in a lot of areas tonight," the coach added. "It's disappointing but it's a three-game series. But there's no margin for error anymore."
Wild picked up the assist on the Stephane Lenoski's goal to open the scoring for the U of M at 10:43 of the first period to cut the Regina lead to 2-1.
The Cougars' Caine Pearpoint scored his second goal of the game at 16:04 of the second period to restore Regina's two-goal lead and it wasn't until 6:05 of the third period that Bisons forward Jared Walker was able to reply with slapshot just as a U of M power play ended.
Manitoba pushed for the tying goal, pulling goaltender Steve Christie in the final minute for the extra attacker, and even had a 13-second 6-on-4 advantage after a late Cougars' slashing penalty, but couldn't find the back of the net.
"I know none of our guys want to end our season tomorrow (today) so we're going to do everything in our power to avoid that and keep that from happening," Wild said.
ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca