2011-12 Manitoba Bisons/CIS Hockey Thread

MANITOBA BISONS 2011-12

This is a momentous occasion for The Sandbox. This post represents The Debut of Hollywood! Pause for cheering.

If you were shut out of Jets tickets and still want to see some live hockey then this league would be your best bet. Those who attend generally walk away with a favourable impression. If you don't believe me ask Barry Trotz, Mike Babcock, Kelly Hrudey, Harry Neale, Don Cherry, and a host of others who have all expressed public opinions in this regard.

I have several posts on other forums which detail the Bison off-season. I can catch up the highlights now:

BISON RECRUITS

Mark Friesen - goal - Swift Current Broncos
- He has 4 years in the WHL. He played two years in Chilliwack and two more in Swift Current. He was the #1 goaltender in Swift last year. With former all-star goaltender Steve Christie gone first to the Texas Brahmas and then Manitoba Moose (as a backup) for their playoff run, the Herd need somebody to fill some big shoes.

Matt Lowry - centre - Elmira Jackals/Binghampton Senators
- He is the only recruit not born in 1990. After two years each with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Brandon Wheat Kings he turned pro for a year and then red-shirted for the Bisons last year to regain his status. He is a highly-touted 2-way player. He peaked at 24 goals in 2008.

Neal Prokop - centre - Tri-City Americans
- He played one game with the Moose Jaw Warriors as a 16 year old in 2005-06 and had five years in the WHL with Moose Jaw, Regina, and Tri-Cities. He only played 27 games last year (10 of those in the playoffs). His peak was 22 goals in 2009-10.

Jordan Davis - forward - Topeka Roadrunners
- He is an Ontario boy and the only non-Manitoban in the recruiting class. He was with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL in 2007-08 and then went to the Fort William North Stars of the SIJHL for two years before turning to the Topeka Roadrunners of the NAHL last year. He did have 33 goals in 52 games in 2009-10. As usual, it is hard to compare junior "A" stats to major junior stats.

Tyler Schmidt - defence - Tri-Cities Americans
- He has played five seasons for the Tri-Cities Americans and seems to be yet another solid d-man. He managed 11 goals and 42 assists last year.

Travis Bobbee - defence - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Like Prokop, he got a game in 2005-06 and then played five more years in the WHL. He went from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, to the Portland Winterhawks, then Swift Current Bronocs before closing his WHL career in Seattle.

Darren Bestland - defence - Vancouver Giants/Brandon Wheat Kings
- Last year was his 3rd with the Wheaties and he was dealt to Vancouver for the playoff drive. He has the highest PIM totals amongst the new blue-liners.

Brendan Rowinski - centre - Vancouver Giants/Moose Jaw Warriors
- He has had 6 seasons in the WHL and his high-water mark was 30 goals in 2009-10. He was injured for part of last year.

Jacob DeSerres - goaltender - Saint John Sea Dogs
- He had 5 full seasons in major junior, with Seattle and Brandon in the WHL and then going East to win the Memorial Cup with St. John in 2011. The Brandon Sun reports that he has been signed by the Phoenix Coyotes to attend their prospects camp and after that he may join the Herd.

Kyle Turgeon - forward - Portage Terriers
- As reported in the Fort Frances Times, he is a potential walk-on forward. He is from that area and played for the Portage Terriers last year, and is attending the U of M this fall.

Blair Holmes - left wing - Neepawa Natives
- The Natives announced that he is going to the U of M but don't say for sure that he will be playing for the Bisons. The Bisons often do not send press releases for the commitments of Junior "A" recruits, and have released nothing on this one. The story is also at the MJHL site. He is likely trying out. It seems that the team will need some forward depth. He only had 10 goals in 169 regular season games. So he would be a 4th liner/PK kind of guy.

EUROPEAN TOUR

The Bisons start the season with a European tour consisting of three single games and a tournament. Here's the schedule:

Aug 26th Manitoba at Rosenheim Starbulls
Aug 27th Manitoba v SV Ritten Sport (Ritten semi-final)
Aug 28th Manitoba v Fischtown or Sterzing (final or 3rd place)
Sept 1st Manitoba at Graz 99ers
Sept 3rd Manitoba at Landshut Cannibals

The Rosenheim Starbulls' roster includes many Canadians, one of whom is former Thrasher goaltender Norm Maracle. He turned pro with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1994-95. He was up-and-down with the Red Wings then was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999-2000. He was also up and down with them until going to Russia in 2003-04. He has been in Europe ever since. The Starbulls will be the Bisons' first opponent and they will have 3 games played by the time they play the Herd. They have a 4-3 SO loss against HC Thurgau (Swiss B), a 5-4 win over the Tolz Lions, and a return 4-2 loss to HC Thurgau.

Ritten Sport (aka SV Renon) host the tournament in which they will play the Bisons in the semi-final. The Ritten tournament looks to be one zany affair. Maybe not on scale with the holiday season in the Spengler Cup but festive nevertheless. Ritten is a German-speaking city in the Italian Alps. They have a Facebook page and a YouTube page. It seems they used to have a YouTube guy 3 years ago and are now getting back into it. Maybe we'll get some Bison highlights.

The Fischtown Pinguins are from Bremerhaven and play in the German 2nd div. Several Bison grads have played there in the past (Paul Deniset, Rob Smith, and Chris Falloon come to mind). This year they announced that they have signed former Bison Kevin Saurette. He joined the Reading Royals of the ECHL after the 2006 season ended and then split two seasons between Reading and Bingo of the AHL. He has since played three seasons in Germany.

The WSV Sterzing Broncos are also in the Italian league. They have signed Manitoba boy, and former Moose, Dirk Southern. The Broncos' schedule shows that they will play Utica College (NCAA III) on Aug. 25th.

The Graz 99ers are in the top Austrian league. Amongst their players is former NHLer Guillaume Lefebvre. The 99ers beat Vitkovice (Czech Rep.) 5-3 and lost to Poprad LEV (Slovakia) 4-3. The Bisons don't play them until Sept. 1st, their 4th game of the tour.

The Landshut Cannibals have a peculiar name and logo. Remember that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he encounters cannibals on a remote island? This team relies mostly on German players rather than imports. One import is Cody Thornton, who played three seasons for Saint Mary's in the CIS. He had 64 goals in 83 CIS games, and 20 goals in 45 German games last year.

Heh heh

Welcome to the sandbox Hollywood...

August 23, 2011

There is a dearth of updates within the Canada West Conference. It seems that many sports staff are out with the Universiade and should be coming home now. In particular I would like to see the Bisons' 2011-12 training camp roster to see who is going to Europe. In any event, the Bison opponents on their Euro tour are well underway with exhibition games, which are the focus of this update.

Rosenheim Starbulls: The Bisons' open their season in Rosenheim on Friday night. The Starbulls suffered a 4-2 loss in their rematch against HC Thurgau (Swiss B). They are now 1-1-1 in three games. They should have a conditioning edge on the Bisons for the Friday game.

SV Ritten Sport: With their tournament set to go on Saturday and Sunday, Ritten has a Tournament Preview. Here's how Google translate worked for the Bisons:

Canadian travel to the Manitoba Bisons. This is a college team that is on tour in Europe. In this country we know little about college hockey, only that it has in the motherland of hockey great significance and the talent pool for great hockey career is. It will be interesting, as will the European opponents do against the junior hopes. One thing is certain: the young players are highly motivated to go into games and do not want to embarrass.

Fischtown Pinguins: The Pinguins will play the Sterzing Broncos in the other semi-final of the Ritten tournament, and they have a preview story. The Google translate can be hard to figure. One player was described as the "corset of the defence".

WSV Sterzing Vipeteno Broncos: They opened with a 7-6 loss to HC Tirol Innsbruck (Austria), in a game they once trailed by 7-3.

Graz 99ers: The final of the Tatra Cup was a rematch with Poprad LEV (Slovakia) and was a 4-1 win for the 99ers. Of the Bisons' opponents, the 99ers have been facing the stiffest opposition thus far.

Landshut Cannibals: The People Eaters chalked up an 8-0 win and a 4-1 win over the Bad Tolz Lions. The Lions are in Germany's Oberliga, which is the 3rd level of pro hockey there.

Saskatchewan: The Banjo-Mutts announced that their home series against Lethbridge (Oct 21-22) and Alberta (Jan 13-14) will be at Credit Union Place. On their exhibition schedule they also have nothing but "TBA" opponents, including one on Sept 10th. The rest of the dates were filled in from the other teams' schedules.

They are travelling to Europe to play Saskatchewan ....???? Cool

August 25, 2011

PREVIEW: EXHIBITION SEASON STARTS


MANITOBA BISONS (0-0-0)
ROSENHEIM STARBULLS (1-1-1)

The Bison site has not updated their roster so I rely on the roster posted at Pointsreak. There is a live updates link on the Rosenheim site. I believe that the game starts at 1:30 CT so hopefully I will have a chance to check it out.

The Bisons have 12 forwards, 10 defencemen, and 3 goaltenders. From last year's roster they are missing goaltender Steve Christie, defenceman Zach Tully, and forwards Greg Beller, Riley Dudar, Troy Crowley, Jordan Cyr, and Kyle Howarth. Not on the trip are announced recruits Brenden Rowinski and unannounced walk-ons Kyle Turgeon and Blair Holmes. I suspect that some players on tour (e.g. Mike Hellyer) will not be at the main camp and that others seeking a spot through try-outs will appear.

Also, a News Tribune Story from the Tri-Cities area discussed the Bisons' acquisition of Tyler Schmidt and Neil Prokop. Schmidt was quoted as saying that they would have about 5 skates before leaving.

Next up:
Aug 27th Manitoba v SV Ritten Sport (Ritten semi-final)
Aug 28th Manitoba v Fischtown or Sterzing (final or 3rd place)

NEWS AROUND THE C.W.


CWUAA: The CWUAA announced the advent of CanadaWest.tv[/color]. So far each other school has had their own on-line audio or video system. I don't know if this will replace what was happening at Alberta and Sask or if it will add to it. Anyhow, it is a big development.


Calgary: The Dinos announced their awaited second set of recruits:
- Jacob DeSerres - goaltender - Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
- Dylan Hood - forward - Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
- Thomas Frazee - forward - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

The Brandon Sun had said that DeSerres would likely join the Bisons if he never got a contract from Phoenix. The signings are addressed at South Campus Sports, in particular the crowded goaltending scene:

I was definitely surprised to see DeSerres head to Calgary after the rumblings earlier this summer that he would be headed to Manitoba (where he undoubtedly would be the number-one goalie this season). DeSerres could be as far down the depth chart as third for the Dinos in net after reigning CIS Goalie of the Year Dustin Butler and Kris Lazaruk. In all likelihood DeSerres will, however, be at least second in line for Calgary. Nonetheless it appears a three-headed goalie monster could be surfacing in the Stamepede City.

Saskatchewan: There have been a lot of happenings in Hillbillyville, none of which have been reported on their own site. First, The Star Phoenix and South Campus Sports revealed that former captain and leading scorer Steve DaSilva and defenceman Zach Sim would leave the team in order to play senior hockey. Second, The Star Phoenix and South Campus Sports also told of the Huskies' new recruits:
- Dylan Hole - defenceman - Univ. of Ottawa (OUA)
- Zak Stebner - defenceman - Kelowna (WHL)
- Chad Suer - defenceman - Everett (WHL)
- Kyle Aschim - defenceman - Victoria (BCHL)
- Matthew Spafford - forward - Dauphin (MJHL)

It would seem that the Banjo-Dogs are in need of more forwards. We'll see if more recruits are yet to be named.

August 26, 2011

HERD TAKES SHOOT-OUT AFTER MASSIVE COMEBACK


MANITOBA BISONS 5
ROSENHEIM STARBULLS 4

The game just ended a little while ago and so I have no links to game stories. In case those are uploaded after I post, check the two teams' web sites.

The Starbulls scored the only goal of the 1st period and then pumped in another within seconds of the 2nd period to make it 2-0. Matthew Lowry's first goal as a Bison (assisted by Wes Pawluk and Del Cowan) gave the team some hope. But two more Starbulls' goals made it 4-1 after two.

The 3rd period was a vastly different story. The Bisons scored three unanswered goals, from Tyler Dittmer, Wes Pawluk, and Neil Prokop, to force OT.

Five minutes of OT solved nothing, so off to a dreaded shoot-out. (I guess it is good to get shoot-out practice in the pre-season.) In the shoot-out, Dittmer scored, Cowan didn't, and Lowry did to get the win.

Last year, Dittmer had 9 goals and 11 assists in 26 games, Cowan was 1 and 4 in 28 games, and Pawluk was 1 and 1 in 21 games. Now at one time Dittmer led the Wheat Kings in scoring so a big year from him was expected. But Cowan and Pawluk could be surprises as they enter their second season with the team. Lots of players in the past have improved considerably after one season of "getting their feet wet".

Jesse Deckert started in goal and gave up 3 goals. Joe Caligiuri played the last half and gave up only the one PP goal. (The stats did NOT include shots on goal.) Those two and newcomer Mark Friesen are all competing for the starting job in goal. I have never seen Friesen. Caligiuri looked very good in leadin Dauphin to the RBC Cup final 2 years ago. Deckert has been around for a long time, in the WHL, Lethbridge, and now Manitoba, with injury-related off-seasons in between.

Meanwhile, former Atlanta Thrasher Norm Maracle was the Starbulls' goaltender.

Chad Erb was a little testy. He got 5 and 20 (as did a Starbull) in the 3rd period. Whatever could he have done? He was 3rd in team PIMs last year, behind d-partner Dane Crowley and none other than little Chris Benias. (Whooda figgered that?)

Here's a summary of the Bison scoring:

2nd period
2:11 Matthew Lowry (Wes Pawluk, Del Cowan)

3rd period
1:50 Tyler Dittmer (Darren Bestland, Blair Macaulay)
11:52 Wes Pawluk (Travis Mealy, Del Cowan)
16:01 Neal Prokop (Mike Hellyer, Brandon Lockerby)

I cannot determine what the lines were, but here's who dressed:

Goal:
Deckert, Caligiuri

Defence:
Erb, Schappert, Crowley, Flynn, Mealy, Lockerby, Bestland, Schmidt

Forwards:
Lowry, Hellyer, Pawluk, Austin, Walker, Benias, DuVal, Cowan, Dittmer, Prokop, Macaulay, Davis

In a couple of roster notes, I see that Mike Hellyer in fact IS eligible to play this year. After he ended last season on crutches watching the playoffs, he will want to return to his 2009-10 form. Also the #14 sometimes described as "New Player" on some links is Lauder Austin. I searched the name at Elite Prospects and IHDB and got nothing.

NEXT UP:

Ritten (Renon) Tournament
Aug 27th 4:00 pm (9:00 am CDT) Fischtown Pinguins v Sterzing Broncos
Aug 27th 7:00 pm (12:00 CDT) Manitoba Bisons v SV Ritten Sport
Aug 28th 4:00 pm (9:00 am CDT) losers play for 3rd
Aug 28th 7:00 pm (12:00 CDT) winners play for 1st

Great report. Must be a whale of a trip for the Bisons. Good on them for that win.

August 27, 2011

BISONS OFF TO FINAL


MANITOBA BISONS 6
SV RITTEN SPORT 3
|> [RITTEN STORY] : [BISONS' SITE]

The "Live Ticker" never had any information and the Italian Pointstreak site had no listings for pre-season games so I thus far have no information about line-ups, scoring, etc. But they did have a story (in German) which Google translate transforms into this:

Manitoba counters of rides and is in the finals

The second game of the Ritten Sport Trophy 2011 in the Arena Ritten ended with a 6-3 victory team from the University of Manitoba.

The Canadians played like you would expect from a team from the motherland of hockey expect: fast, hard and very efficiently. Ritten presented at the premier of the new crew is as compact and powerful fighting team, the more pleasure from. Of course, in this first joint appearance was not all perfectly round, but you could still see the beginnings of a new system.

Manitoba had to get used to the Italian rule interpretation, and thus arose for rides after little more than a minute on a dual-speed situation, which contributed nothing. What does efficiency showed the Canadians then in the 6th Minute: Mac Faulkner Mac Faulkner was from a penalty due to check tape, and Maccauley utilized the first opportunity on the powerplay (6 minutes). Hellyer exemplary graduated from a quick counter-attack tempo, Krizan had no chance - three minutes later it was 2-0.

The third goal of the Canadian team in the 26th Minute was a copy of the second door: this time successfully concluded Ian Duval from a lightning-quick counter. As at 28 Minute Macauley with a goal to put outnumbered 4-0, the game seemed gone.

Here, the score was not at this time according to the action, as did a lot of rides for the game, but failed to place the disc in the goal - partly of their own inability, partly because of excellent reflexes of goalkeeper Joe Caligiuri.
In the 40th Minute Rittner then the first goal of the season: Thomas spinel finished off a pass from Ingemar Gruber and closed ice cold - after he had given a few minutes before, alone in front of the box.

The Manitoba Bisons but responded post haste and set a second before the second Pausentee Dittmer by the four goal advantage restored. In the last section, but not resigned rides, special tried again to turn the game: in the 43 Minute Scott May on closing minutes pass from Brad Farynuk off, five minutes from the end spinel Thomas scored his second goal (a$$ Mac Faulkner) - and it was 3:5.

Manitoba had nothing but burn and scored in the 56th Minute Benias through the 6:3 final score.

It was an eventful game - and the large audience was satisfied. Tomorrow, the second day of the Ritten Sport Trophy 2011. In the afternoon game meets Ritten Sport Renault Trucks increased by 16 clock to league rivals Sterzing Broncos, playing at 19 then the Bremerhaven Fishtown Penguins on the Manitoba Bisons. For an exciting Eishockeytag in the Arena Ritten is guaranteed.

Now Google translate is a cool feature. But I always expect it to say "My hovercraft is full of eels." Sometimes something is lost in translation. But they did have a picture:

In a roster note, it has been pointed out to me that Lauder Austin is in fact Austin Lauder, who played for the Blues in the MJHL and Notre Dame in the SJHL last year.


FISCHTOWN PINGUINS 5
WSV STERZING VIPETENO BRONCOS 0
|> [RITTEN STORY] : [FISCHTOWN STORY] : [STERZING PREVIEW]

The stories describe a one-sided game. Sterzing and Ritten are both in the top Italian League and it would appear that those teams rank below the German 2nd league. Sterzing also lost 6-2 to Utica Pioneers. However, they were unable to use their imported players for that game. BTW, Utica also beat the Landshut Cannibals 4-3.



NEXT UP:

Ritten (Renon) Tournament
Aug 28th 4:00 pm (9:00 am CDT) 3rd: Sterzing Broncos v SV Ritten Sport
Aug 28th 7:00 pm (12:00 CDT) 1st: Fischtown Pinguins v Manitoba Bisons

LINKS:

LIVE TICKER
Ritten on Facebook
Ritten on YouTube
Ritten on Google Translate
Fischtown on Google Translate

Are the European teams that bad or are the Bison's that good?

grumpy old man wrote:Are the European teams that bad or are the Bison's that good?

The teams the Bisons are playing are second level pro teams. They rely heavily on imports, mostly Canadians. They have some players with NHL or AHL experience. However, most of their line-up is local players not good enough for the top Euro leagues. So I really had no idea what to expect. The Bison coach (Mike Sirant) spent two years in Denmark so I assumed he would be familiar with the calibre of the teams and would choose reasonable opponents. Sunday's game against Fischtown should be a tougher one since they have ambitions of moving to Germany's top league.

August 28, 2011

BISONS WIN TOURNAMENT


MANITOBA BISONS 7
FISCHTOWN PINGUINS 4
|> [RITTEN STORY] : [FISCHTOWN STORY] : [EISHOCKEY MAGAZIN STORY]
|> [FISCHTOWN PREVIEW]

There were no "Live Ticker" updates so all I have for now is the early stories. I do not have access to a summary so I don't know who played. (The Fischtown site listed their line-up and Kevin Saurette was in it.) But putting the stories together I believe that Tyler Dittmer and Blair Macaulay scored twice each and Del Cowan, Mike Hellyer, and Ian Duval added singles.

So we have not even reached September and already we see a tournament win in the Bisons' trophy cabinet.

The new away jersey has sharper yellow!

New Links:
There were some new stories about the semi-finals posted overnight:
SportNews.bz - on Bisons-Ritten
Hockey-News.info - on both semi-finals
Sterzing Story
SportNews.bz - on Fischtown-Sterzing
Eishockey Magazin - on Fischtown-Sterzing


SV RITTEN SPORT 5
WSV STERZING VIPETENO BRONCOS 2
|> [RITTEN STORY] : [SPORTNEWS.BZ]

The hosts salvaged a slit with a win the 3rd place game, played earlier in the day.



NEXT UP:

Sept 1st Manitoba at Graz 99ers
Sept 3rd Manitoba at Landshut Cannibals

LINKS:

EisHockey-Magazin.de
SportNews.bz
Hockey-News.info
Ritten on YouTube
Graz 99ers on Google Translate
Landshut on Google Translate

Great way for the Bisons to begin the year. Congrats Bisons!

MORE STORIES


|> [Nordsee-Zeitung.de] : [Google Translate version]
|> [HockeyTime.net] : [Google Translate version]
|> [EisHockey.net] : [Google Translate version]
|> [U of M Story]

There are more stories around on Monday morning. The Bison site has a story, mostly about the game against the Starbulls. The schedule page has the scores but the roster page still has 2010-2011 information.

The stories I cite fill in a bit of detail but still do not have the Bison roster, nor any mention of the Bison goaltenders. Here's hoping Pointsreak has the games against Graz and Landshut to close the tour.

August 30, 2011

PREVIEW: FINAL WEEKEND OF EUROPEAN TOUR

After a successful start and a tournament victory, the Bisons enter the home stretch of the European tour with games Thursday and Saturday. Of note, the Bison site has a Game Story posted for their win over Ritten. While it does not contain a roster it does have a vivid description of all the goals in the game, so check it out.


MANITOBA BISONS (3-0-0)
GRAZ 99ERS (3-3-0)

September 1st - 12:00 noon CDT

MANITOBA LINKS: [TEAM SITE] : [STATS] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS]
GRAZ LINKS (Google Translate): [TEAM SITE] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS] : [MATCH REPORTS]
LIVE WEBCAST: [SPORT-NET.TV - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [FACEBOOK]

Graz has played twice since their last update. They avenged an earlier loss to the Bisons' next opponent with a 3-1 win over Landshut and then a 4-3 loss to the Augsburger Panther. That leaves them 3-3 with only the Bison game left on their pre-season schedule. Graz plays in the top Austrian league, which is rated somewhere between the German first and second leagues. (Augsburger plays in the first, Landshut in the second.)

Of note, the Graz roster features Olivier Latendresse (who played 3 games for the Moose in 2009-10) and Guillaume Lefebvre (who bounced up and down from the NHL from 2002 to 2010). On paper, this team should be the toughest opponent on the tour. As previously noted, they have wins over Czech and Slovak teams earlier this pre-season.

I cannot vouch for the webcast links. But it seems that the game will be available for on-line viewing.


MANITOBA BISONS (3-0-0)
LANDSHUT CANNIBALS (3-3-0)

September 3rd - 11:00 a.m. CDT

MANITOBA LINKS: [TEAM SITE] : [STATS] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS]
LANDSHUT LINKS (Google Translate): [[url=>]TEAM SITE[/url]] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS] : [STATS]
LIVE UPDATES: [POINTSREAK] : [FACEBOOK]

Like Graz, the Cannibals are 3-3. However, they have played much weaker teams. Just today, they suffered a 6-2 loss to Kladno. This result follows a split with Graz, two wins over a 3rd division team, and a loss to Utica College. CIS grad and St. Mary's alumnus Cody Thornton is their leading scorer. I don't think I'd like to try anything at their concession stand. What would they sell? Roast Frenchmen? Eeeeyikes.

September 1, 2011

BISONS TASTE FIRST DEFEAT


MANITOBA BISONS 0
GRAZ 99ERS 7

|> [HOCKEY-NEWS.INFO STORY - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [EBEL STORY - GOOGLE TRANSLATE]
|> [EBEL SITE - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [99ERS SITE - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [BISONS' SITE]

The Bisons' undefeated tour came to a crashing halt. I tried to watch the live webcast but it was basically a series of still pictures. The site may have a download for later viewing. The game stories lose a lot in translation. There are no links for the Bison line-up. I'll be checking the Bison site later on to see if they post anything.

NEXT UP:

Sept 3rd Manitoba Bisons at Landshut Cannibals [Pointstreak]
Sept 16th Mount Royal Cougars at Manitoba Bisons
Sept 17th Mount Royal Cougars at Manitoba Bisons

September 3, 2011

BISONS WRAP TOUR ON LOSING NOTE


MANITOBA BISONS 3
LANDSHUT CANNIBALS 4

|> [LANDSHUT PREVIEW - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [LANDSHUT BEAT REGENSBURG - GOOGLE TRANSLATE]
|> [GAME LIVE] : [BOXSCORE - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [GAMESHEET - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [LINESHEET]
|> [BISONS' SITE] : [CANNIBALS' SITE - GOOGLE TRANSLATE] : [FACEBOOK]

There are no game stories up as I post so maybe check the team links later on. However, there are plenty of states pages cited because the German league uses Pointstreak. So we know that Joe Caligiuri went the distance in goal and the scorers were Tyler Dittmer, Dane Crowley, and Blair Macaulay.

There were also a load of penalties. There were 4 10-minute misconducts for the Bisons, 2 more to the Cannibals, and Chris Benias was tossed in the 2nd period.

So the Bisons go 3-2-0 on the tour. They have four more exhibition games waiting for them when they come home. One would hope that this tour will have the Bisons ready to go. Hopefully GoBisons.ca will have a report or two on the tour posted in the next few days.

NEXT UP:

Sept 16th Mount Royal Cougars at Manitoba Bisons (7:00 pm)
Sept 17th Mount Royal Cougars at Manitoba Bisons (2:30 pm)
Sept 23rd Regina Cougars at Manitoba Bisons (7:00 pm)
Sept 24th Regina Cougars at Manitoba Bisons (2:30 pm)

September 7, 2011

NEWS AND NOTES AS EXHIBITION STARTS


Manitoba:
The Bisons are now back safe and sound from their trip to Europe. A game story about their 4-3 loss to Landshut is now up at the Cannibals' site, and is also available at Google Translate.


Calgary:
The Dinos announced (CW Link) that they will face the Calgary Flames Rookies on September 16th. South Campus Sports also carried the announcement and point out that the Evil Monkeys and Oilers used to have this game every year. Could a Bisons-Jets game take place next year? The Dinos' schedule also confirms the Atlantic cited in this thread's prior schedule.

UPDATED SCHEDULE/RESULTS:

Aug 26th Manitoba Bisons 5 Rosenheim Starbulls 4 (so)
Aug 27th Manitoba Bisons 6 SV Ritten Sport 3
Aug 28th Manitoba Bisons 7 Fischtown or Sterzing 4
Sept 1st Manitoba Bisons 0 Graz 99ers 7
Sept 3rd Manitoba Bisons 3 Landshut Cannibals 4

Sept 9th Regina at Saskatchewan
Sept 9th Lethbridge at Mount Royal (ACAC)
Sept 9th Calgary at Alberta
Sept 10th Briercrest (ACAC) at Regina
Sept 10th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Lethbridge
Sept 10th Alberta at Calgary

Sept 16th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Manitoba
Sept 16th Brock (OUA) v Saskatchewan (Regina Tournament)
Sept 16th NAIT (ACAC) at Alberta
Sept 16th Calgary Flames (NHL rookies) at Calgary
Sept 17th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Manitoba
Sept 17th Brock (OUA) at Regina (Regina Tournament)
Sept 17th Thompson Rivers (BCIHL) at UBC
Sept 17th Alberta at NAIT (ACAC)
Sept 18th Saskatchewan at Regina (Regina Tournament)

Sept 20th Calgary at Acadia (AUS)
Sept 21st Calgary at St. Francis-Xavier (AUS)

Sept 23rd Calgary at UNB (AUS)
Sept 23rd Regina at Manitoba
Sept 23rd Mount Royal (ACAC) v Lethbridge (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 23rd Saskatchewan at Alberta (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th Calgary at UNB (AUS)
Sept 24th Regina at Manitoba
Sept 24th Lethbridge v Saskatchewan (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Alberta (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th SAIT (ACAC) at UBC

Oct 1st UBC at Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Oct 1st Regina at North Dakota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd UBC at Minnesota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd Regina at Bemidji (NCAA)
Oct 3rd UBC at Minnesota-Mankato (NCAA)

September 9, 2011

EXHIBITION STARTS WITH BISONS RESTING

The scores are up on the Canada West Schedule and Results Page, however no summaries are at LeagueStat. There are no stories on team sites nor on the CW site.

Also, none of the teams have updated their roster pages. So Regina's site remains the only one to display their 2011-12 roster.


REGINA COUGARS 1
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2
(overtime)

Ironic that these teams played at the same time as their football teams. The Banjo-Dogs sweep the Banjo-Cats/Lambs. So I guess that entitles them to stick their heads in watermelons and proclaim themselves Kings of all Hillbillies.


CALGARY DINOS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 6
|> [Alberta Report]

Alberta's report lists the goal scorers and maybe they'll add a story after I post. Calgary has to be disappointed with the result after their off-season recruiting. Yes, it is "only exhibition". But this is quite a margin.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 3

Last year the ACAC was swept in their non-conference schedule against CW teams. This year they broke the eggo in the first game.

NEXT UP:

Sept 10th Briercrest (ACAC) at Regina
Sept 10th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Lethbridge
Sept 10th Alberta at Calgary

September 10, 2011

EXHIBITION DAY 2

Once again, the scores are up on the Canada West Schedule and Results Page, however no summaries are at LeagueStat.


BRIERCREST CLIPPERS 1
REGINA COUGARS 7

Briercrest is Saskatchewan's entry in the ACAC. The win gives Regina a 1-0-1 record in the pre-season.


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
CALGARY DINOS 2
(in overtime)
|> [Alberta Report]

The only information in the link is the Evil Monkeys' goal scorers (Gardner, Ringrose, Lazo). This one was in Calgary to complete the home-and-home. The Dinos surely did not want a repeat of Friday night's whipping.


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2

The Blue Cougars were able to complete a sweep of their own as the series shifted to Lethbridge on a night when there were two "Battles of Alberta".

NEXT UP:

Sept 16th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Manitoba
Sept 16th Brock (OUA) v Saskatchewan (Regina Tournament)
Sept 16th NAIT (ACAC) at Alberta
Sept 16th Calgary Flames (NHL rookies) at Calgary
Sept 17th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Manitoba
Sept 17th Brock (OUA) at Regina (Regina Tournament)
Sept 17th Thompson Rivers (BCIHL) at UBC
Sept 17th Alberta at NAIT (ACAC)
Sept 18th Saskatchewan at Regina (Regina Tournament)

Sept 20th Calgary at Acadia (AUS)
Sept 21st Calgary at St. Francis-Xavier (AUS)

WEEKEND PREVIEW



MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (3-0-0)
MANITOBA BISONS (3-2-0)

Friday, September 16th, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M
Saturday, September 17th, 2:30 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M

MANITOBA LINKS: [TEAM SITE] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS]
MOUNT ROYAL LINKS: [TEAM SITE] : [ROSTER] : [SCHEDULE/RESULTS]
OTHER LINKS: [MEN'S HOCKEY SITE] : [MEN'S HOCKEY SITE] : [LEAGUESTAT DAILY] : [ACAC STATS SITE]

I know it's "only exhibition" but to me there is something special about the first glimpse of hockey in a new season and to actually see the names who are currently just a list of stats. Unfortunately there is not a lot of media information or stories for the CW exhibitions, not even from the schools and conferences. In fact, only Regina has a 2011-12 roster posted. So I'll do my best.

The Bisons went 3-2-0 in a tour of Central Europe, playing professional teams, and took a tournament title in Ritten, Italy. It would appear that returnees Blair Macaulay and Tyler Dittmer have the scoring touch, although complete summaries for all games were not made available. I'll be interested to see just how the Bisons line up this weekend. They have a stacked defence and I would think that they may have to move one or more of them up front. I also don't know what to expect from the goaltending situation. I suspect all three (Caligiuri, Friesen, and Deckert) will see plenty of action over the next two weekends.

The Blue Cougars are in their final season of play in the ACAC. Mount Royal College became Mount Royal University a couple of years back and this off-season gained admittance to the Canada West conference. They won the ACAC title last year. While the ACAC was whitewashed in non-conference games against CW teams last season, the Blue Cougars managed to sweep the H0rny Ones last weekend.

The Bisons have not played an ACAC team since January 2007, when they defeated the NAIT Ooks 9-2 and 3-2. In January 2006 the Bisons beat the SAIT Trojans 5-1 and 5-2.

ELSEWHERE:


REGINA TOURNAMENT
BROCK BADGERS (0-0-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (1-0-0)
REGINA COUGARS (1-0-1)

The Brock Badgers are joining the Watermelonheads for a three team tournament in Regina. Last year Brock came here and were beaten 6-2 and 8-1. Will they meet with more success in a province which lacks indoor plumbing? Let's wait and see.

Last weekend the Banjo-Dogs beat the Banjo-Cats in overtime, and then the `Cats trimmed Briercrest of the ACAC.

The Banjo-Dogs announced a mobile website, which is attend I hope continues fast. They also have a season preview at The Sheaf. They have not added much this year. However, they have had loads of "name" recruits the past two seasons yet have gotten worse. On paper, they should have been challenging for a national title. Instead, they had to scrape a playoff berth. Also, two players eligible to play this year have vacated the Dog House. Steve DaSilva and Zach Sim will play senior hockey instead. That struck me as very odd.


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (2-0-0)
NAIT OOKS (0-0-0)

The cuddly little Stuffed Owls take on their cross-town rivals the Evil Monkeys in a home-and-home series. In theory, this is a mismatch. These cross-town rivals have not met often. The ACAC teams usually play more games against Lethbridge and Regina. Anyhow, after sweeping the Dinos last weekend the Primates seem ready to go. South Campus Sports has a wrap-up story on last week's series and on the other weekend activity.


CALGARY DINOS (0-1-1)
CALGARY FLAMES (1-1-1)

In a weekend where everybody is facing a team from another league, the Dinos draw the toughest league, albeit by playing a rookie team. The game is expected to draw a large crowd to the U of C. Maybe next year we'll see Bisons v Jets. The game is previewed at the U of C Site. The Dinos' season is previewed and last weekend's games are reviewed at The Gauntlet.


THOMPSON RIVERS WOLFPACK (0-0-0)
UBC THUNDERBIRDS (0-0-0)

The game that would have been the first game betwen a BCIHL team and a CW team has been deleted from the schedule. UBC has added an extra game against SAIT for Sept 23rd and a game against the Abbotsford Hat on Sept 25th. UBC Schedule.

September 16, 2011

HERD WINS EXHIBITION HOME OPENER


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 1
MANITOBA BISONS 3

As I post there is no game story posted and only the score is listed on the Bison Schedule. It seems that the CW teams are not even utilizing LeagueStat for the exhibition games. I was at the game and here is how they lined up:

Manitoba Bisons

Goal:
1 Caligiuri, 35 Deckert (3rd period)

Defence:
4 Schappert - 5 Crowley
3 Rumsey - 15 Mealy
2 Erb - 20 Lockerby

Forwards:
11 Hellyer - 18 DuVal - 9 Lowry
23 Dittmer - 16 Walker - 26 Macaulay
25 Prokop - 17 Benias - 21 Cowan
22 Bestland - 24 Davis - 6 Flynn

Scratches:
10 Rowinski (F), 12 Pawluk (F), 14 Lauder (F)
24 Bobbee (D), 27 Schmidt (D), 34 Friesen (G)

Mount Royal Cougars

Goal:
30 Cote (33 Flette)

Defence:
18 Haber - 15 Glass
26 Beech - 20 Tremerra
2 Moir - 5 Scott

Forwards:
7 S Muchalla - 11 V Muchalla - 16 Galbraith
12 Eskesen - 13 Geddes - 28 Knopf
24 Roberts - 27 Goss - 9 Brown
8 Turnbull - 22 MacDonald - 10 Barrett

The first period was all Bisons. They out-shot MRU 18-5 and also rang a couple off the posts. However, they could not score until Jered Walker notched a shorthanded goal, with assists to Blair Macaulay and Dane Crowley. There was a constant parade of cheap penalties which hampered the flow of the game.

The tight calls continued in the second period where it seemed all contact led to a PP. The shots were more even, at 9-7 for the Bisons. After being stymied in the opener, perhaps the Bisons felt snake-bit. Instead of launching a barrage of shots they sometimes got too cute and tried to deek instead of shoot in a couple of 2-on-1 situations. Anyhow, the Cougars never came close to scoring. The Herd led 1-0 after two.

Jesse Deckert replaced Joe Caligiuri in the Bison net to start the third period. Caligiuri stopped all 12 shots he faced on the night. It was hard to evaluate him because there were really not many tough saves amongst them.

The Bisons had the puck for most of the third period, except during the PPs. It took 10 minutes for Jeremy Schappert to score on a PP, with assists to Chris Benias and Matthew Lowry.

The only goal for the Cougars came after a referee's error. (They had two of them, also!) The Bisons had almost killed a penalty and the puck was coming out of their end. A Bison player was about to step through the opened gate to his bench when a Cougar gave him a cheap shot from behind. A scuffle ensued and in the end two Cougars got two minutes each and for the Bisons it was 2 minutes for Hellyer and 4 minutes for Crowley. However, the referees only put Crowley's 4 minutes on the board and deemed that the one penalty offset the two. Of course, since the Bisons got 6 minutes and the Cougars got 4, the net ought to have been 2 minutes of PP to the Cougars. As a result, the Cougars had a brief two man advantage during which they scored their only goal, by Vinny Muchalla with assists to the d-pair of Haber and Glass.

The Bisons outshot the Cougars 10-8 in the third period, and 37-20 on the night.

The Bisons have yet to play a CIS team but are now 4-2-0 in the pre-season. MRU falls to 3-1-0.

The rematch goes Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Max Bell Arena. Tickets are reduced for the weekend, only $5 a head. Hopefully the Bisons will trash Sask in the 1:00 p.m. homecoming football game so that I can catch some of the hockey as well.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 1
NAIT OOKS 0

Neither the Alberta nor the NAIT sites have a game story nor summary posted. This Edmontown derby switches to the U of A Saturday as the Evil Monkeys seek a sweep of the cuddly little Stuffed Owls. The Monkeys are now 3-0-0 and the Ooks are 0-1-0.


CALGARY FLAMES 4
CALGARY DINOS 0
|> [CW Story] : [U of C Story] : [Boxscore]

The Phlegms were the winners of this Calgary derby. The LeagueStat summary was not operable during the game but I see that it was brought up this morning. The Dinos raised $20,000 through the game. In the Dinos' crowded goal, the game was split between returnees Kris Lazaruk and Dustin Butler.


BROCK BADGERS 5
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 3
|> [BU Story]

This was the opener of a 3-team tournament in Regina. However, the information comes from the Brock site. There is nothing yet on the Regina nor the Sask. sites. After last year's season of uneven play, I was anxious to see what the Banjo-Mutts would look like this year. I know how week Brock looked when they faced the Bisons. Maybe they are better. Or maybe Sask never laid on the body. Anyhow, we'll see how the remaining round-robin games go Saturday and Sunday. Former Winnipeg Blue Patrick Henderson scored for Brock. And Brandon native Kurt Jory (he who suffered a severe neck laceration 2 years ago) was the winning goaltender.

NEXT UP:

Sept 17th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Manitoba
Sept 17th Brock (OUA) at Regina (Regina Tournament)
Sept 17th Alberta at NAIT (ACAC)
Sept 18th Saskatchewan at Regina (Regina Tournament)

Sept 20th Calgary at Acadia (AUS)
Sept 21st Calgary at St. Francis-Xavier (AUS)

September 17-18, 2011

BISONS TEST OUT NEW O.T. RULES


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4
MANITOBA BISONS 3
(in shootout)

Once again, only the score is listed on the Bison Schedule. I was at the homecoming football game Saturday afternoon and once that was over checked out the 3rd period of this game. Here's the 3rd period line-up:

Manitoba Bisons

Goal:
34 Friesen (either Caligiuri or Deckert played)

Defence:
4 Schappert - 5 Crowley
3 Rumsey - 15 Mealy
2 Erb - 6 Flynn - 20 Lockerby

Forwards:
25 Prokop - 21 Cowan - 12 Pawluk
11 Hellyer - 17 Benias - 9 Lowry
23 Dittmer - 16 Walker - 26 Macaulay
22 Bestland - 24 Davis - 14 Lauder

Scratches:
10 Rowinski (F), 18 DuVal (F)
24 Bobbee (D), 27 Schmidt (D)

Mount Royal Cougars

Goal:
33 Flette (30 Cote)

Defence:
4 Strong - 26 Beech
3 Bell - 20 Tremerra
18 Haber - 15 Glass

Forwards:
11 V Muchalla - 16 Galbraith - 7 S Muchalla
8 Turnbull - 13 Geddes - 12 Eskesen
9 Brown - 27 Goss - 22 MacDonald
10 Barrett - 17 Hewitt - 24 Roberts

The Bisons had a 3-1 lead and a 24-9 lead in shots on goal when I arrived. The Cougars turned things around in the 3rd, scoring after just 28 seconds (by Brown) then tied it half-way through (by Hewett). The Bisons were stuck in neutral, being outshot 8-4 and taking loads of penalties.

The teams then played the new OT rules, going scoreless for 5 minutes of 4-on-4 and 5 more minutes of 3-on-3. Despite being short-handed, the Bisons reasserted control in the OT and outshot MRU 6-4. In the shootout Dittmer, Lowry, Cowan, and Macaulay were all unsuccessful in a 1-0 loss. The Bisons are now 4-2-1 and the Blue Cougars are 4-1-0.

All-in-all, I believe the Blue Cougars look like a low-end CW team. The Bisons were unable to put them away and when that happens points are lost. That happened last season with UBC, Regina, and Lethbridge on occasion.

The Green Cougars are in town next weekend for games Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


NAIT OOKS 1
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 5
|> [Alberta Report]

The Evil Monkeys swept the series and are now 4-0-0. The Stuffed Owls are 0-2-0.


BROCK BADGERS 1
REGINA COUGARS 6
|> [BU Story]


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 3
REGINA COUGARS 1

Neither the Regina nor the Sask. sites have anything but the score. Since all 3 teams went 1-1 I assume that the tournament title was decided by goals for/against. Regina was 7-4 (+3), Sask. was 6-6 (0), and Brock was 6-9 (-3). On the pr-season, Regina is 2-1-1, Sask. is 2-1, and Brock is 1-1-0. Brock hosts Guelph and Saint Mary's in their tournament next weekend.

NEXT UP:

Sept 20th Calgary at Acadia (AUS)
Sept 21st Calgary at St. Francis-Xavier (AUS)

Sept 23rd Calgary at UNB (AUS)
Sept 23rd Regina at Manitoba
Sept 23rd Mount Royal (ACAC) v Lethbridge (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 23rd Saskatchewan at Alberta (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 23rd SAIT (ACAC) at UBC
Sept 24th Calgary at UNB (AUS)
Sept 24th Regina at Manitoba
Sept 24th Lethbridge v Saskatchewan (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Alberta (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th SAIT (ACAC) at UBC
Sept 25th Abbotsford (AHL) v UBC (at South Surrey)

WEEKEND PREVIEW



REGINA COUGARS (2-1-1)
MANITOBA BISONS (4-2-1)

Friday, September 23rd, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M
Saturday, September 24th, 2:30 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M

MANITOBA LINKS: [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
REGINA LINKS: [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
OTHER LINKS: [CIS Site] : [CW Site] : [Leaguestat Daily] : [Winnipeg Sun]

This is the final tune-up for the Herd before they start the season with a pair of road-trips and a bye week. Their next home games will be October 21st and 22nd, against these same Banjo-Cats.

The Bison site needs updating. They have no preview story up and the roster page has the 2010-11 roster, although some names have been deleted. The Regina site was updated a while back, in fact they were the first in the conference to do so. On a positive note, the above link for LeagueStat Daily Updates has the Bison game cued up for live updates.

I'll be anxious to see how the Bison goaltending situation is resolved. Last weekend they never saw a lot of rubber.

On paper, the Feline Watermelonheads appear to be the same calibre as last year. Thus far Regina has beaten Briercrest (ACAC) and Brock (OUA) and lost twice (once in a shoot-out) to their hillbilly brethren Banjo-Mutts. That all sounds fairly normal, so I'll want to see what they look like on the ice.

ELSEWHERE:


EDMONTON TOURNAMENT
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (4-1-0)
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (2-0-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (2-1-0)
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (4-0-0)

The four sides are in Edmontown for a 4-team tournament. Mount Royal and Lethbridge play the first game and Sask play the Evil Monkeys in the nightcap. The U of A site lacks any preview story. However, South Campus Sports reports that they will play world junior exhibition games against Denmark (twice) and the Czech Republic. I wonder who Team Canada will face? They have a losing streak going against CW teams. The Lethbridge site now has their updated roster.


SAIT TROJANS (0-1-0)
UBC THUNDERBIRDS (0-0-0)
|> [UBC Preview]

This game was added to make for a weekend double-header. It is UBC's pre-season debut. They canceled a game against Thompson Rivers of the BCIHL from last weekend. SAIT lost to Mount Royal in last year's ACAC championship series. UBC will play the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL on Sunday.


CALGARY DINOS (1-2-2)
UNB VARSITY REDS (1-0-0)

The Dinos are on an Atlantic Tour and have thus far split a pair of games. This is a rematch from last year's nationals, when UNB won on a last second goal then went on to win the tournament. Here's what happened during the week:

Acadia Axemen 3 Calgary Dinos 2 (SO)
|> [AU Story] : [U of C Story] : [Boxscore]

Calgary Dinos 2 St. Francis-Xavier X-men 1 (SO)
|> [SFX Story] : [U of C Story]

September 23, 2011

BISOMS STYMIED BY HOT GOALTENDER


REGINA COUGARS 1
MANITOBA BISONS 0

|> [U of M Story] : [LS Summary]
|> [LS Rosters : [LS Statistics]

This one was simple to analyze: The Bisons bombarded the Banjo-Cats' net with 49, yes FORTY-NINE, shots and rookie goaltender Lucas Gore stopped them all.

The first two periods were penalty-filled and as a result the game had no flow. It was one of those whistle-blowing contests with two referees. On one such PP mid-way through the 1st period, a point shot from Russ Nielson floated past Bison starter Jesse Deckert, and was possibly deflected in mid-air on its path.

Bison d-man Travis Mealy got 5 and a game for a hit from behind on Lucas Isley, who seemed quite hurt on the play. It was not a flush on cross-check variety, but a shoulder check delivered at an angle.

The Bisons had carried the first two periods (leading 23-13 on the shot clock) but it was the 3rd period in which they ran rampant with a 26-5 edge in shots. The Bisons closed the period on the PP and also pulled the goaltender for a 2-man advantage. They generated some excellent scoring chances yet failed to score. As Danny Gallivan would have said, Gore made an "enormous save" on a one-timer by Jeremy Schappert as he stuck out his glove in "rapier-like fashion".

Here is how they lined up:

Manitoba Bisons

Goal:
35 Deckert, 34 Friesen (mid 2nd period)

Defence:
4 Schappert - 5 Crowley
3 Rumsey - 15 Mealy
2 Erb - 27 Schmidt

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 16 Walker - 26 Macaulay
11 Hellyer - 17 Benias - 9 Lowry
20 Lockerby - 25 Prokop - 21 Cowan
22 Bestland - 29 Davis - 6 Flynn

Scratches:
10 Rowinski (F), 12 Pawluk (F), 14 Lauder (F)
24 Bobbee (D), 18 DuVal (F), 1 Caligiuri (G)

Regina Cougars

Goal:
30 Gore (1 Whitten)

Defence:
4 Sonntag - 8 Fossum
18 Nielsen - 7 Schneider
25 McPherson - 15 Tendler

Forwards:
21 Bhungal - 22 Hunter - 20 Sawka
10 Henry - 29 Srueby - 16 Zubko
12 Brennan - 14 Cuthbert - 24 Leffler
17 Selinger - 9 Penny - 11 Isley

Scratches:
13 Appleyard (F), 19 Delaronde (F), 2 Kot (D)
5 Reeve (D), 6 Sawa (F),

LeagueStat is now up-and-running for the Bisons. The exhibition stats only begin with Friday night's game. The roster pages are up for Manitoba, Regina, and Calgary.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


CALGARY DINOS 1
UNB VARSITY REDS 3
|> [UNB Site]

Oddly, there are as yet no game reports nor summaries available. UNB had a preview story and usually has stuff posted soon after the game, as Acadia and SFX did.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 3


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 4
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
(in shoot-out)
|> [U of A Story]

These were the first two games of the Edmontown tournament. That's 3 straight wins for the Blue Cougars over the H0rny Ones. The Evil Monkeys have now tasted defeat for the first time this exhibition season. Since the schedule was pre-determined, it will be Lethbridge v Sask and Evil Monkeys v MRU on Saturday.


SAIT TROJANS 2
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 5
|> [UBC Story]

UBC was the last CW team to hit the ice and cashed in a comfortable victory over an ACAC foe. The rematch goes tonight out in British California. UBC will play no CW teams in pre-season. After SAIT, they play Abbotsford of the AHL and then head south for an NCAA tour against Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota, and Minnesota State-Mankato.

NEXT UP:

Non-conference games:
Sept 24th Calgary at UNB (AUS)
Sept 24th Regina at Manitoba
Sept 24th Lethbridge v Saskatchewan (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th Mount Royal (ACAC) at Alberta (Edmontown Tournament)
Sept 24th SAIT (ACAC) at UBC
Sept 25th Abbotsford (AHL) v UBC (at South Surrey)

Oct 1st UBC at Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Oct 1st Regina at North Dakota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd UBC at Minnesota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd Regina at Bemidji (NCAA)
Oct 3rd UBC at Minnesota-Mankato (NCAA)

Conference games:
Sept 30th Manitoba at Calgary
Sept 30th Saskatchewan at Lethbridge
Oct 1st Manitoba at Calgary
Oct 1st Saskatchewan at Lethbridge

September 24, 2011

BISONS WRAP PRE-SEASON WITH A SPLIT


REGINA COUGARS 4
MANITOBA BISONS 5
(in shoot-out)
|> [U of M Story] : [U of R Story] : [LS Summary]
|> [LS Rosters : [LS Statistics]

When the Bisons bombarded the Feline Hillbillies with 49 shots on Friday one had to wonder what they could do for an encore. Simple: Up that to 56!

The 1st period was very one-sided, 22-6 in shots, yet 0-0 on the scoreboard.

The Bisons continued their dominance in the 2nd period and eventually claimed a 2-0 lead on goals from Mike Hellyer (short-haneded) and Matthew Lowry (power play). It seemed a revenge butt-kicking was well underway. However, Regina responded with some mid-period pressure and Carter Selinger on a screen shot made it 2-1. Partik Bhungal tied it shortly afterwards when Joe Caligiuri allowed one to slip through the 5-hole. After two it was 2-2, though shots were 37-16.

The Banjo-Cats then appeared to be prepared for a sweep when they vaulted into the lead with two goals. Lucas Isley scored 34 seconds into the 3rd period and then Selinger, with his second, made it 4-2 3 minutes later. Tyler Dittmer then popped in two of his own. The last was scored with under 5 minutes left when he was knocked onto the seat of his pants in the slot.

The 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 overtime stanzas solved nothing, although the Bisons rang a couple of goalposts. In the shoot-out Jeremy Schappert scored, Dittmer hit a post, and Blair Macaulay scored to give the Bisons a 5-4 win.

Of note, the Bisons played 3 men short and Regina was one man short. Mike Hellyer also limped off the ice at the end of the 2nd period after sliding into the boards, but he played the 3rd. IMO, the Bisons should keep all their players for this reason. I believe they only have 26 guys in camp. A mid-season recruit of a scoring centre would also be a welcome addition.

I am not sure how the Bison goaltending will pan out. It seems Caligiuri is #1 because he got a full game whilst Friesen and Deckert split the other. So far they have not rally been tested. Caligiuri let in a couple of soft ones but he seems to have the best potential. I could see them all getting some work until one establishes himself as the go-to guy.

In two weekends the Bisons have shown that they can rack up shots but now must learn to turn that into comfortable leads.

Here is how they lined up:

Manitoba Bisons

Goal:
1 Caligiuri (35 Deckert)

Defence:
4 Schappert - 5 Crowley
2 Erb - 20 Lockerby
27 Schmidt - Flynn

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 21 Cowan - 26 Macaulay
11 Hellyer - 17 Benias - 9 Lowry
25 Prokop - 29 Davis - 14 Lauder

Scratches:
3 Rumsey (D), 10 Rowinski (F), 12 Pawluk (F)
15 Mealy (D), 16 Walker (F),  18 DuVal (F)
22 Bestland (D/F), 24 Bobbee (D), 34 Friesen (G)

Regina Cougars

Goal:
1 Whitten (30 Gore)

Defence:
7 Schneider - 18 Nielsen
4 Sonntag - 8 Fossum
15 Tendler - 25 McPherson

Forwards:
17 Selinger - 29 Strueby - 13 Appleyard
10 Henry - 16 Zubko - 29 Strueby*
11 Isley - 14 Cuthbert - 24 Leffler
22 Hunter - 9 Penny - 21 Bhungal

Scratches:
2 Kot (D), 5 Reeve (D), 6 Sawa (F), 12 Brennan (F)
19 Delaronde (F), 20 Sawka (F), 23 Hunter (F)

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


CALGARY DINOS 0
UNB VARSITY REDS 2
|> [UNB Game 1 Story] : [UNB Game 2 Story]

UNB has posted game stories about their two game sweep of the Dinos. The 1-2-1 roadtrip through the best of the AUS reflects fairly well on the Dinos. Since their pre-season schedule included the Evil Monkeys, the Calgary Flames rookies, SFX, Acadia, and the Squirrels, they get the award for toughest pre-season schedule in the CIS. The Dinos did not mount much offence, being outshot 30-14 on Friday and scoring only 5 goals in 4 games. They, too, will have to decide on who to start in goal since they have three credible goaltenders in camp. They host the Herd next Friday and Saturday.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 4

|> [U of A Story] : [U of A Tournament Story]

The results give the Banjo-Mutts the tournament title with 4 points, followed by the Evil Monkeys with 3 points, MRU with 2 points, and the viagra-less H0rny Ones whitewashed. The stats were not uploaded to LeagueStats so all we have is the U of A story. I'd like to know if the MRU-Alberta game was like the Bison-MRU games. IAE, it looks like Sask is having a good pre-season and Lethbridge is having a lousy one. And those two will meet to open the season. MRU will now turn to ACAC opposition for a final season, and Alberta has a bye week.


SAIT TROJANS 0
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 5
|> [UBC Story]

This result makes for a clean sweep, just as UBC achieved last year against the Condoms. I wonder why UBC is having back-to-back weekends of 3 games in 3 days for a pre-season schedule.

STANDING SUMMARY:

Here is the cumulative pre-season/exhibition/non-conference record for each team, with the record against CW teams in brackets. I included MRU because they are joining the CW next year and have played 6 games against CW teams, albeit 3 times against the H0rny Ones. Thus far most games have been against teams from other leagues, including the ACAC, OUA, AUS, European pros, and the NHL. By next weekend we'll be able to add the AHL and NCAA to the list. Therefore, the relative records of the teams may be more reflective of the quality of their opponents than anything else. Read what you will into the standings!

Code:

Alberta ........ 5-0-1 (2-0-1)
Manitoba ....... 5-3-1 (1-1-0)
Mount Royal .... 5-2-0 (4-2-0)
Saskatchewan ... 4-1-0 (4-0-0)
Regina ......... 3-1-2 (1-1-2)
UBC ............ 2-0-0 (0-0-0)
Calgary ........ 1-4-2 (0-1-1)
Lethbridge ..... 0-4-0 (0-1-0)

NEXT UP:

Non-conference games:
Sept 25th Abbotsford (AHL) v UBC (at South Surrey)
Oct 1st UBC at Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Oct 1st Regina at North Dakota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd UBC at Minnesota (NCAA)
Oct 2nd Regina at Bemidji (NCAA)
Oct 3rd UBC at Minnesota-Mankato (NCAA)

Conference games:
Sept 30th Manitoba at Calgary
Sept 30th Saskatchewan at Lethbridge
Oct 1st Manitoba at Calgary
Oct 1st Saskatchewan at Lethbridge