WINNIPEG- After picking up a pair of crucial wins over the Mount Royal Cougars last weekend, the University of Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team continued their hunt for a playoff spot Friday night when they welcomed the UBC Thunderbirds to Wayne Fleming Arena.
 
Manitoba entered Friday night's matchup one point behind the sixth place Trinity Western Spartans in the Canada West standings but with two games in hand. Their counterparts from UBC held the top spot in the conference with a record of 16-2-2 on the season.
 
Down 3-1 late in the third and chaos taking place in front of the UBC net, Herd assistant captain Chloe Snaith used a shot from the point to score her second of the year to bring Manitoba back into the game.
 
"I was definitely near the end of my shift," said Snaith. "I was lining up for a shot and suddenly saw so much space in front of me. I noticed the ref's hand was up so I thought I would just shoot it and see what happens. The puck went in and I was just so exhausted that all I could do was raise my arms."
 
Snaith's shot beat the UBC goaltender Elise Hugens after she was knocked into net as a result of a Thunderbird defender pushing a Bison player into her. After the goal went in, Rylind MacKinnon was called for cross-checking, putting Manitoba on the power play with a chance to tie the game.
 
The Thunderbirds managed to kill off the penalty and later used a power play of their own to run down the clock and seal the 3-2 victory.
 
The game began with a parade to the penalty box for both sides. Prior to the halfway mark of the opening frame, the Bisons and Thunderbirds each had taken a pair of penalties but neither team could capitalize keeping the game tied at 0-0.


 
Shortly after Manitoba's third penalty had expired, UBC used a partial three-on-one to tally the game's first goal. As first-year Cassidy Rhodes flew up the right side boards, she spotted a trailing Mia Bierd in the slot who, seconds later, beat Bison goaltender Emily Shippam with a shot low on the glove side to put her UBC squad up 1-0.
 
The Herd were called on their fourth penalty of the period after Hanna Bailey was sent to the box for interference. On the ensuing UBC power play, Ireland Perrott used a backhand shot from the slot to put the Thunderbirds up 2-0 heading into the second period.
 
The second period brought a change in goalies for the Bisons as Kimmy Davidson came into the game in place of Shippam. At the 3:39 mark of the second, the visitors extended their lead to 3-0 with a goal from Chanreet Bassi, her sixth of the season. Manitoba managed to get themselves back in the game with a goal from Kate Gregoire at 8:57 after Sara Dennehy jumped on a puck turned over by the Thunderbirds on their own blue line. Dennehy opted to shoot and Gregoire was in the perfect position to tip the puck past Hugens to make it 3-1.
 
The two sides both played a tight defensive game in third before the Bisons' Snaith added her second of the year to make it 3-2. The late penalty call on Jenna Barscello helped UBC close out the game and take the 3-2 win, grabbing their 17^th win of the season.


 
"After last weekend when we battled back, it showed that nobody was quitting," added Snaith. "Everybody learned that it was something we can still do. Nobody is hanging their heads. We know we can comeback and get them tomorrow."
 
The Thunderbirds and Bisons return to the ice again tomorrow at 2 p.m. for their second and final game of the weekend.