WINNIPEG – Everything about the Golden Bears performance was frozen on Saturday night. In blizzard-like conditions at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, the second-seeded Manitoba Bisons advanced to the 84^th Hardy Cup with a 43-17 win over the third-seeded Bears.
 
Manitoba dominated from the opening kickoff, scoring 16 points in the opening quarter, before holding a 36-3 lead at the half. The win sends the Bisons to the Canada West title game for the first time since 2014, which will be hosted by the Saskatchewan Huskies next Saturday, who topped the UBC Thunderbirds in their semifinal.
 
The Bisons generated their lead with a rush offence that couldn't be stopped, a Bears offence that couldn't get out of first gear, and costly Alberta turnovers. Manitoba ran the ball 49 times for 275 yards, with starting quarterback Jackson Tachinski throwing the ball just 12 times for 72 yards.
 
Stagnant - probably the best word to describe the Bears attack on Saturday. Trailing early, and forced to throw the ball, the Bears suffered a handful of key drops, missed throws, and fumbles throughout the semifinal. The Bears turned the ball over eight total times, adding four turnovers on downs to their three fumbles lost and one pick.
 
Alberta mustered just 40 yards of total offence in the first half, compared to 234 for Manitoba. Alberta also gave up three team safeties, lost two fumbles, and threw an interception. When the Bears finally did manage to move the ball, it was after they spotted Manitoba a 33-point lead.
 
Alberta QB Brad Launhardt finished the game with 243 yards on 19/41 passing, with all but 46 of those yards coming in the second half. Chevy Thomas and Morgen Runge hauled in Launhardt's two passing TD's on the night.
 
The Bisons scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half, with Tachinkski finding Gavin Cobb for a major, before the Bison QB scrambled for a rushing score.
 
Kicker Cole Sabourin also added three field goals for the hosts in the first.
 
Alberta's two major scores came within four minutes of each other, with Runge hauling in a four-yard TD pass late in the third, before Thomas took a 28-yard pass and run to the house early in the fourth.
 
That was as close as Alberta got, with the Bears turning the ball over on downs twice in the fourth, before Manitoba iced the win with a late fourth quarter TD.
 
Manitoba and Saskatchewan will battle for the Canada West Championship next Saturday in Saskatoon.