WINNIPEG – Saskatchewan Huskies' goaltender
Jessica Vance turned in a 14-save shutout Friday night against the Manitoba Bisons, but it will be the 14
th and final save of the game that will be talked about for a long time.
With exactly 1:00 minute left on the clock in the third period and Bisons forward Katie Gregoire staring at a wide open net, a diving Vance stopped the shot with the paddle of her stick to save the game for Saskatchewan. On the back of a goal from
Leah Bohlken and Vance's late save, the Huskies (5-3-1-2) defeated the Bisons (2-8-0-1) Friday night at Wayne Fleming Arena.
"Unbelievable," stated Huskies head coach
Steve Kook, commenting on the game-saving stop made by his goaltender. "That is what she does, she has done it before and we definitely needed it there."
With the shutout Vance moves into a tie for third in the Canada West record books with 17 career shutouts.
Bisons goaltender Erin Fargey was solid as well for her hometown squad in the game, turning away 29 of the 30 shots she faced.
Saskatchewan solved Fargey for the first and only time 3:37 into the second period on a power play to take a 1-0 lead. Huskies forward
Bailee Bourassa wired a point shot off the shoulder of Fargey before Bohlken put away the rebound for the game's first goal. The goal didn't seem to faze the Bisons netminder as she made back-to-back huge saves, one coming on a Saskatchewan 2-on-0.
Midway through the third period, Bisons forward Katie Chatyrbok hit the post while on a power play as the hosts continued to struggle to find the back of the net. Moments later, Fargey bailed her team out again with a breakaway glove save on Huskies forward
Abby Shirley. With just about six minutes to play, Herd captain Jordyn Zacharias had a breakaway of her own but Vance steered the puck from harm's way.
Vance's stunning paddle save with a minute to go was the nail in the coffin as the Huskies took game one of the weekend series by a score of 1-0.
The two teams face a quick turnaround and will hit the ice again tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the Wayne Fleming Arena to close out the weekend series.
