WINNIPEG – A battle of two nationally ranked opponents lived up to the hype, as the No. 6 Manitoba Bisons held on to beat the No. 9 Alberta Golden Bears 24-23 in a game that game down to the final minute.
 
Trailing 24-17 in the fourth, Alberta drove 85 yards in four minutes, with Duncan Critch scoring on a quarterback sneak, his third rushing major of the game. Instead of going for the tie, the Golden Bears went for the win, but Eli Hetlinger's five-yard pass attempt to Orin Schellenberg fell incomplete, with senior halfback Nick Conway breaking up the play.
 
Hetlinger's pass to the short side was right on target, but Conway got his hand in right at the perfect time to knock the ball down, to the delight of over 7,000 fans who packed Princess Auto Stadium, the second highest total in school history.
 
Reigning CW MVP Matthew Peterson rushed for 201 yards in the loss, just nine shy of his career-high, while the Golden Bears ran for 311 yards overall. Meanwhile, Muta Yitna posted a career-high 78 yards on two catches, including his first career U SPORTS major from 40 yards out which opened the scoring.

Overall, the two teams combined for over 800 yards of total offence. Manitoba never trailed, but their largest lead was only ten, as the two sides went back and forth all game.
 
Bisons head coach Brian Dobie – coaching in his final homecoming game – chose to go for two on the Yitna touchdown following an Alberta penalty, and it paid off, with quarterback Jackson Tachinski getting in from a yard out.
 
The two-point convert ended up making an enormous difference, as Alberta would otherwise have won the game with a convert following Critch's fourth quarter score.
 
Maya Turner added three field goals for the Bisons, while Breydon Stubbs also scored on the ground for Manitoba.
 
Manitoba improved to 3-0 with the win and will travel to play Calgary next weekend, while the 1-2 Golden Bears will face Regina at home.
 
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