2012-13 Manitoba Bisons/CIS Thread

THE PUCK HAS DROPPED IN BANJOLAND!


MANITOBA BISONS 2
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [Manitoba Site] : [Sask. Site]
|> [Manitoba Twitter] : [Sask. Twitter]

As the pre-season gets underway for the Bisons, and for lots of the CIS, I thought I'd bring out some retro logos. We'll get the real deal when the puck drops for real.

The Bisons gave up 3 power play goals in a penalty-filled game. There were 65 minutes of penalties in 60 minutes of play. Blair Macaulay scored both Bison goals. Jesse Deckert played goal for two periods before Joe Caligiuri played the 3rd in the net.

The Bisons did not do much for two periods but then amassed 15 shots on the Mutts in the 3rd. Don't worry. The worst games the Bisons played last year were in pre-season.

The Bison line-up was something like this:

Goal:
35 Jesse Deckert - 1 Joe Caligiuri

Defencemen
24 Travis Bobbee - 4 Jeremy Schappert
2 Dane Crowley - 22 Darren Bestland
20 Brandon Lockerby - 6 Brock Sutherland
5 Lee Christensen

Forwards
23 Tyler Dittmer - 19 Ian Duval - 26 Blair Macaulay
9 Matthew Lowry - 10 Brendan Rowinski - 25 Paul Ciarelli
12 Austin Lauder - 18 Dylan Kelly - 11 James Henry
14 Nathan Green - 27 Tyler Feakes - 29 Luke Cain

Scratches:
F: Del Cowan - Jesse Paradis - Craig Scott - Brett Chartier
D: Blair Osiowy
G: Deven Dubyk

In camp?
Jeff Borse - Tyler Schmidt - Mark Friesen

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


BRIERCREST CLIPPERS 0
REGINA COUGARS 13

Links:
|> [LS Summary]
|> [Regina Site] : [Briercrest Site]
|> [Regina Twitter]

This was a big-time blowout. Briercrest are normally a bottom-ranked ACAC team and usually don't do well against CIS teams. But this was beyond bad. Regina outshot them 59-7, including 21-0 in the 1st period. This was not part of the Regina tournament. Briercrest was just in town for a one-off, and that's probably a good thing.


SAIT TROJANS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 6

Links:
|> [Alberta Site] : [SAIT Site]
|> [Alberta Twitter]

Another blowout of an ACAC team. All I have is the score, obtained from the U of A Twitter link.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 3
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [Mount Royal Site] : [Lethbridge Site]
|> [Mount Royal Twitter] : [Lethbridge Twitter]
|> [U of L Recruiting announcement]

First, the recruits announced by the H0rny Ones were all forwards:
Chase Schaber (Kamloops Blazers - WHL)
Cody Chikie (Kelowna Rockets - WHL)
Killian Hutt (Fort McMurray Oil Barons - AJHL)
Taylor Fraser (Spruce Grove Saints - AJHL)

As for the game, not even Twitter was giving updates. All I have is the score posted on the schedule/results page.

OUT EAST:

RMC 1 McGill 5 : [LS Summary]
UOIT 3 Nipissing 5 : [NU Site]

UP NEXT:

Sept 15
Manitoba at Regina : 3:30 CDT : [LS Live Updates]
Calgary at Lethbridge
Alberta at SAIT
Guelph at Nipissing
Laurier at Ryerson
Queen's v RMC (at Gananoque, Ont.)

Sept 16
Saskatchewan at Regina

BISONS REJOICE AS THEY EARN TICKET OUT OF BUMPKINLAND


MANITOBA BISONS 5
REGINA COUGARS 0

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [Manitoba Site] : [Regina Site]
|> [LeagueStat Manitoba Line-up

After a weekend with the Hillbillies, nothing is better than getting a chance to pile on the team bus and get the heck out of there and back to civilization. And doing so with an exhibition split is not so bad, either.

The Bisons dressed every player who sat out Friday's game, except for returnee Del Cowan. Based on who was with whom when goals were scored, my best guess is that the line-up was like this:

Goal:
1 Joe Caligiuri – 34 Deven Dubyk

Defencemen
20 Brandon Lockerby - 6 Brock Sutherland
24 Travis Bobbee - 5 Lee Christensen
4 Jeremy Schappert - 3 Blair Osiowy
22 Darren Bestland

Forwards
27 Tyler Feakes - 29 Luke Cain - 11 James Henry
23 Tyler Dittmer - 19 Ian Duval - 26 Blair Macaulay
9 Matthew Lowry - 16 Jesse Paradis – 25 Paul Ciarelli
12 Austin Lauder - 15 Craig Scott – 21 Brett Chartier

Scratches:
F: 21 Del Cowan – 10 Brendan Rowinski - 18 Dylan Kelly - 14 Nathan Green
D: 2 Dane Crowley
G: 35 Jesse Deckert

Unless I hear otherwise, I will assume that Borse, Schmidt, and Friesen are not in camp this year.

One note on the LeagueStat Bison Roster link, they listed all new recruits as defencemen.

Each of the three goaltenders in camp got two periods of play over the weekend. In this game, Caligiuri played the 1st and Dubyk got the last two.

The Bisons blasted out of the gate and outshot Regina 17-7 in the 1st period, but only held a 1-0 lead on a goal from Tyler Feakes.

The Herd then scored four unanswered goals in the 2nd to take firm command of the game. Jesse Paradis scored two, and Ian Duval and Brock Sutherland added singles.

The Bisons shifted to D in the 3rd, with no goals scored and outshooting Regina 7-6. This sets up a return match-up next weekend when the Banjo-Cats come to Winnipeg for a double-header.

The team sites have not posted game stories as I enter this post.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 0
SAIT TROJANS 2

Links:
|> [Alberta Mini-Summary] : [SAIT Site]

Johnny Lazo and Jordan Hickmott scored 1st period goals to give the Evil Monkeys all they needed to post their 4th straight win over ACAC teams.


CALGARY DINOS 6
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1

Links:
|> [Lethbridge Site] : [Calgary Site]
|> [CW Mini-Summary]

The Dinos walked into Lethbridge and clearly the H0rny Ones were lacking viagra. The shots were still close (29-28). Calgary's PP was 4-for-7 on the night.

Of note, a CW Mini-Summary has now been posted for Friday's Lethbridge-MRU game,

OUT EAST:

Guelph 1 Nipissing 3 : [Bay Today Story]] : [Nugget.ca Story]
Laurier 4 Ryerson 3 : [Ryerson Schedule & Results]
Queen's 9 RMC 0 : [Queen's Schedule/Results]

UP NEXT:

Sept 16
Saskatchewan at Regina

Sept 17
New Brunswick v Moncton (at Abrams-Village, PEI)

Sept 19
Mount Royal at Calgary (Brick Invitational)

Sept 20
Carleton at New Brunswick

Sept 21
UQTR at UPEI
Concordia at Western Ontario (East-West Invitational)
Waterloo v McGill (East-West Invitational)
Regina at Manitoba : 7:00 pm @ U of M
Saskatchewan at Alberta (Brick Invitational at Edmonton)
Simon Fraser at UBC
Windsor at Laurier
Guelph at Brock
Ottawa at Lakehead
Ryerson at Nipissing

FIRST BIG WEEKEND COMES TO A CLOSE


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5
REGINA COUGARS 1

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [Regina Site] : [Sask. Site]

For two periods, this match was in serious dispute. Th Banjo-Mutts led the Banjo-Cats 2-1, despite being outshot by 20-13. But the Banjo-Cats were seriously short of catnip, after being in their 3rd game in 3 days. The 3rd period was all Mutts. Shots were 18-2 and goals were 3-0.

It is early in the pre-season, yet the standings are taking a familiar form:

Code:

Team                v CW    v ACAC  overall
Alberta            2 0 0  4 0 0  6 0 0
Saskatchewan        2 0 0  0 0 0  2 0 0
Manitoba            1 1 0  0 0 0  1 1 0
Mount Royal        1 1 0  0 0 0  1 1 0
Calgary            1 2 0  0 0 0  1 2 0
UBC                0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0
Regina              0 2 0  1 0 0  1 2 0
Lethbridge          0 2 0  0 0 0  0 2 0

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:

No other games tonight.

UP NEXT:

Sept 17
New Brunswick v Moncton (at Abrams-Village, PEI)

Sept 19
Mount Royal at Calgary (Brick Invitational) : [LS Live Stats]

Sept 20
Carleton at New Brunswick

Sept 21
UQTR at UPEI
Concordia at Western Ontario (East-West Invitational)
Waterloo v McGill (East-West Invitational)
Regina at Manitoba : 7:00 pm @ U of M
Saskatchewan at Alberta (Brick Invitational at Edmonton)
Simon Fraser at UBC
Windsor at Laurier
Guelph at Brock
Ottawa at Lakehead
Ryerson at Nipissing

MID-WEEK UPDATE

Sept. 19: Exhibition Game



MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 6
CALGARY DINOS 5

Links:
|> [LS Summary]

After the Dinos won Round 1 of the Bedrock Derby, Mount Royal has evened the score. They racked up 6 goals on only 21 shots on Jacob DeSerres in the Dino net. The Dinos had a 5-3 lead in the 2nd period when it appeared they had control. They had outshot Her Majesty's Kittens 13-2 in that period. Calgary falls to 2-3 in pre-season, whilst MRU is 2-1 (they both also beat Lethbridge). This was also Game 1 of the "Brick Invitational Tournament", which is previewed below.

WEEKEND PREVIEW



REGINA COUGARS (1-2-0)
MANITOBA BISONS (1-1-0)

Friday, September 21st, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M
Saturday, September 22nd, 2:30 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena, U of M

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no audio or video]

Manitoba Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Regina Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site]
|> [CW Site] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LeagueStat Daily]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

Prior Games:
|> [Sept 15 Bisons win 5-0]

The Bisons make their home debut with a pair of games against the Kittens, fresh of their tractors from a long ride from their mud huts back in Hillbillyland.

If you check the Bison roster page you will see that there are 27 names assigned, the 26 who played last weekend and one (Del Cowan) who did not.

I'll be interested is seeing all the new players, and to see how the goaltending will be handled. With so many new forwards, the big challenge for the Bisons will be finding line combinations that work. The talent is there on paper, but now we need to see it on the ice.

As for the Banjo-Cats, they whipped Briercrest 13-0 but followed with quite typical losses by 5-1 and 5-0 to Sask and Manitoba. So are they any better than last year? We'll be finding out soon, I suppose.

ELSEWHERE:



ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (6-0-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (2-0-0)
CALGARY DINOS (2-3-0)
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (2-1-0)

Links:
|> [Friday Live Stats Sask v Alberta]
|> [Saturday Live Stats Mount Royal v Alberta]
|> [Alberta Site] : [Alberta Twitter]

These four teams are participating in Saudi Alberta's annual "Brick Invitational Tournament". Mount Royal and Calgary started early (as mentioned), so Mount Royal has 2 points and leads the standings, for now. On Friday, the Evil Monkeys will host the Banjo-Mutts. The Primates have walked all over their ACAC opponents thus far, whilst having tight games with Calgary. So Friday night's game is a bit of a special pre-season encounter. Saturday afternoon's Calgary v Saskatchewan game has no Live Updates link as yet. The Saturday night game between Alberta and Mount Royal could decide the tournament.


SIMON FRASER CLAN (1-1-0)
UBC THUNDERBIRDS (0-0-0)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday]
|> [UBC Site] : [UBC Twitter]
|> [SFU Site] : [SFU Twitter]

These teams split a pair of games last Christmas and this year they are playing in the pre-season. UBC hosts Friday's game and there is a League Stat Live Update link for that one. Otherwise, you might want to check the Twitters.

This will be UBC's first action of the season. SFU lost to the Coquitlam Express of the BCHL (Junior "A") 5-2 on August 31st, before they actually started classes or training. Then they beat Trinity Western 3-2 on Sept. 13th. Very odd spacing of pre-season games.

In theory, this should be an easy series for UBC. But SFU treat this like the Stanley Cup. That said, I doubt that UBC want another loss to them on their resume.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (0-2-0)
NAIT OOKS (1-0-0)
SAIT TROJANS (0-2-0)

Links:
|> [Lethbridge Site] : [Lethbridge Twitter]
|> [ACAC Schedule/Results Page]
|> [NAIT Site] : [NAIT Twitter]
|> [SAIT Site] : [SAIT Twitter]

Lethbridge added a Friday home game against NAIT after the CIS composite schedule had been released. So they face both AITs this weekend. There is no League Stats Live Updates link for either game, so Twitter it may be. I have not seen these teams be too diligent with Twitter thus far in pre-season. I also linked to the ACAC schedule/results page, which may be capable of providing updates.

OUT EAST

Monday, Sept. 17
Moncton 6 New Brunswick 2

This was the opener for all AUS teams. Quite a surprising result. I have no links which give more than the score.

The Bison roster page has made one late addition, namely Eric Mestery. They now have 28 players listed.

Mestery is a big (6' 4") defenceman who played 4 years in the WHL with Tri-Cities and Lethbridge, from 2006-07 to 2009-10. In that time he was a 2nd round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2008 entry draft. He announced his retirment in the summer of 2010 but made a comeback in December of his overage year with the Selkirk Steelers (MJHL) in 2010-11, where he only played 22 games. He never played in 2011-12.

OUT EAST

Thursday, Sept. 20
Carleton 1 New Brunswick 3 : [UNB Game Story]

HERD TRAMPLES KITTENS


REGINA COUGARS 2
MANITOBA BISONS 6

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [Manitoba Site : Roster] : [Regina Site]
|> [LeagueStat Manitoba Line-up] : [LeagueStat Regina Line-up]

It is always nice to see the inside of a hockey rink for the first time in autumn, and Friday was the night for me. As is usual for the first exhibition game, things were a bit out of synch. The line-up card is not the same, but at least it had the names and numbers, with only a couple of changes necessary. The PA guy was off with the tunes, but no mess-ups with the clock like I have seen in past seasons. And the Molson Canadian was nicely chilled to perfection, with the price holding steady at $4.00.

In the game, the Bisons handled the Banjo-Cats fairly well. After Regina started with a 13-0 win over Briercrest I thought maybe they were better than last year. IMO they seem to be short of defencemen. Their forwards are not going to scare the defencemen on any of the Big Four in the conference, but they do have their moments. Based on tonight, I would say that they have a less than 50% chance of finishing in the top 6 needed for a playoff berth.

Here's how the teams lined up:

MANITOBA BISONS

Goal:
34 Deven Dubyk - 35 Jesse Deckert

Defence:
22 Darren Bestland - 2 Dane Crowley
6 Brock Sutherland - 20 Brandon Lockerby
4 Jeremy Schappert - 24 Travis Bobbee
10 Eric Mestery

Forwards:
23 Tyler Dittmer - 11 James Henry - 26 Blair Macaulay
16 Jesse Paradis – 25 Paul Ciarelli - 9 Matthew Lowry
29 Luke Cain - 12 Brett Chartier - 27 Tyler Feakes
18 Dylan Kelly - 15 Craig Scott - 14 Austin Lauder

Scratches:
F: 10 Brendan Rowinski - 14 Nathan Green - 19 Ian Duval - 21 Del Cowan
D: 3 Blair Osiowy - 5 Lee Christensen
G: 1 Joe Caligiuri

REGINA COUGARS

Goal:
1 Mitch Kilgore - 35 Lucas Gore

Defence:
13 Brock Appleyard - 7 Mark Schneider
5 Jordan Reeve - 6 Matt Sawa
8 James Friedel - 2 Brandyn Wasyliw

Forwards:
24 Ward Szucki - 21 Skylar Hladun - 14 Craig Cuthbert
12 Liam Brennan - 9 Tyler Penny - 17 Carter Selinger
29 Matt Strueby - ... ... - 22 Troy Hunter
11 Tanner Lange - 10 Tyler Henry - 19 Sanfred King
15 Tyler Murray - dressed but not noticed

Scratches:
F: 20 Ryan Sawka - 25 Shay Wirll
D: 4 John Sonntag - 18 Russ Neilson
G: 16 Brayden Nargan

The Bisons don't have any names on jerseys yet, and there were a couple of changes. #17 Lauder took Green's #14 and the numberless Mestery took Rowinski's #10. Mestery had the odd shift as a 7th defenceman and the combos were shuffled a bit. The forward lines stayed consistent.

For the Pussies, Strueby and Hunter were a combo up front with pretty much everybody else at various times. I never saw a #15.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


NAIT OOKS 0
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 3

Links:
|> [CW Mini-Summary] : [Lethbridge Site]

The H0rny Ones needed to rack up a win at long last. There is no game story as I post but the CW mini-summary is at least up. Lethbridge visits SAIT on Saturday.


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 1
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 2
(in shoot-out)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [Alberta Site]
|> [U of A Tournament Preview]

The Evil Monkeys and Banjo-Mutts had a real nail-biter in game 2 of The Brick Invitational. Saturday night's game between the Primates and Mount Royal will decide the tournament. The Mongrels will face the Bedrock Boys in an afternoon consolation game on neutral ice. That's 7-0 for the Monkeys in pre-season. Against CW teams they are 3-0 with all wins by one goal.


SIMON FRASER CLAN 3
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 4
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [UBC Site]

UBC seem to have outplayed their cross-town rival (shots were 40-20) but could not put them away. UBC had a 3-1 lead but a Clan goal with just over a minute to go in the 2nd, followed by another 14 seconds into the 3rd, tied the game. Then the Tweety-Birds could not score in a 3rd period where they outshot the Clan 12-4. SFU hosts the return match Saturday night.

OUT EAST:

UQTR 3 UPEI 2 : [UPEI Mini-Report]]
Concordia 3 Western Ontario 4 : [UWO Game Story]
Waterloo 3 McGill 6 : [McGill Mini-Report]
Windsor 4 Laurier 1 : [Laurier Schedule/Results]
Guelph 2 Brock 5 : [LS Summary]
Ottawa 4 Lakehead 3 : [LU Game Story]
Ryerson 2 Nipissing 3 : [Bay Today Game Story] : [Nugget.ca Game Story]

UP NEXT:

Sept 22
Regina at Manitoba : 2:30 at Max Bell : [Live Updates]
Saskatchewan v Calgary (Brick Invitational at Edmonton)
Mount Royal at Alberta (Brick Invitational at Edmonton)
Lethbridge at SAIT
UBC at Simon Fraser
UQTR at UPEI
McGill at Western Ontario (East-West Invitational)
Waterloo v Concordia (East-West Invitational)
Windsor at UOIT
Ottawa at Lakehead
RMC at York
Laurier v Guelph (at Brantford)
Carleton at Acadia (Don Wells Tournament)
Saint Mary's at St. Francis-Xavier (Don Wells Tournament)

Sept 23
Don Wells Tournament 3rd place game
Don Wells Tournament 1st place game
UQTR at New Brunswick

September 22, 2012

SECOND VERSE SAME AS THE FIRST


REGINA COUGARS 2
MANITOBA BISONS 6

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [Manitoba Site : Roster] : [Regina Site]

I am not a big fan of matinee hockey, especially when it creates a conflict with a football game, but in the end this trip to the Max Bell was worth it. Not that this produced some classic hockey, but it was a nice opportunity to see what the new recruits look like.

Before I get too far into this, here's how the teams lined up:

MANITOBA BISONS

Goal:
1 Joe Caligiuri (35 Jesse Deckert)

Defence:
22 Darren Bestland - 2 Dane Crowley
5 Lee Christensen - 4 Jeremy Schappert
10 Eric Mestery - 3 Blair Osiowy

Forwards:
23 Tyler Dittmer - 19 Ian Duval - 26 Blair Macaulay
16 Jesse Paradis – 25 Paul Ciarelli - 9 Matthew Lowry
12 Brett Chartier - 11 James Henry - 27 Tyler Feakes
18 Dylan Kelly - 15 Craig Scott - 14 Austin Lauder

Scratches:
F: 10 Brendan Rowinski - 14 Nathan Green - 21 Del Cowan - 29 Luke Cain
D: 6 Brock Sutherland - 20 Brandon Lockerby - 24 Travis Bobbee
G: 34 Deven Dubyk

REGINA COUGARS

Goal:
35 Lucas Gore - 30 Andrew Hayes

Defence:
13 Brock Appleyard - 7 Mark Schneider
5 Jordan Reeve - 6 Matt Sawa
8 James Friedel - 2 Brandyn Wasyliw
2nd and 3rd period: 14 Craig Cuthbert

Forwards:
14 Craig Cuthbert (1st period) - 10 Tyler Henry - 22 Troy Hunter
9 Tyler Penny (replaced Cuthbert 2nd and 3rd period)
24 Ward Szucki - 20 Ryan Sawka - 11 Tanner Lange
16 Brayden Nargan - 15 Tyler Murray - 19 Sanfred King
12 Liam Brennan - 21 Skylar Hladun - 17 Carter Selinger

Scratches:
F: 25 Shay Wirll - 29 Matt Strueby
D: 4 John Sonntag - 18 Russ Neilson
G: 1 Mitch Kilgore

In the Bison goal, Caligiuri went the distance, after Dubyk and Deckert split Friday's game. This would indicate that Caligiuri has retained his starting position.

On defence, Sutherland, Lockerby and Bobbee were scratches after having played on Friday (when 7 d-men were dressed). Christensen and Osiowy were scratched on Friday, but dressed on Saturday. Mestery rarely played on Friday but saw a regular shift, and then some, on Saturday.

Now, it is hard to gauge the quality of the newcomers in games where they weren't under much pressure. But IMO the Bisons are blessed with 9 guys in camp who can play D in this league. The Mestery-Osiowy combination played very well on Saturday. I would love to see another 40 lbs. on Mestery. He seems to have a lot of upward potential.

I also have to note the play of Bestland. Due to last year's glut of defencemen, he had to play up front all year and did well as a 4th liner, generally on a line of converted blueliners. But when paired with Crowley on Saturday he was impressive. He had the best hit of the night, broke up several rushes, and made strong clearing passes all game.

Up front, the only change from Friday to Saturday was that Duval was in and Cain was out. Duval resumed his role on the 1st line, and Henry took Cain's spot on the 3rd line.

IMO, Duval improved the 1st line. They usually made the Kittens look like they were on catnip. However, they also made a bone-head play which resulted in Regina's first goal.

The 2nd line is a dangerous unit. They scored 3 goals on Friday night and it seemed to me that they had less ice-time Saturday. Their only goal was Ciarelli's, and that was in the midst of a line change.

The 3rd line was much more dangerous with Henry centering the unit on Saturday. Chartier notched two goals. He is a small player with loads of puck-handling talent. IMO, this is the type of player in short supply in the CW. Usually the Junior "A" grads have to earn their stripes. I hope he gets some good ice time to see what he can do on a semi-regular basis (at least) once the season begins. Feakes and/or Cain can help on this line by adding size.

The 4th line was unchanged in the two games, and produced one goal in each game. Kelly scored Friday, and Lauder on Saturday. This whole line is Junior "A" grads. They could stand to be a bit more physical. They gave as good as they got. But with two veterans and two university transfers not dressed, my guess is that this unit will form a taxi squad of capable replacement players.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 5
SAIT TROJANS 3

Links:
|> [SAIT Mini-Summary] : [Lethbridge Site]

The H0rny Ones notched a much-needed sweep to boost their confidence, and they got it. Here's all the information I have on the game:

Details

U of L -- Chase Schaber, Brent Henke, Daniel Iwanski, Mark Hall, David McMullin. SAIT -- Jonathan Young, Landon Kadatz, Brent Struble.

Goal -- SAIT: Mike Tadjdeh (33-28); U of L: Damien Ketlo (31-28).

SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2
CALGARY DINOS 4

Links:
|> [U of C Schedule/Results]
|> [U of C Game Story v Mount Royal]

This turned out to be the consolation game in The Brick Invitational, played on neutral ice in Edmontown. As I post I do not have any source of information which gives more than the score.


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 5
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [Alberta Site]
|> [U of A Game Story - Friday]

You might want to check the U of A site for a tournament wrap-up story. None has been uploaded as I post. The Evil Monkeys have won their own tournament. Oddly, this gives them 4 straight one-goal wins against CW teams in the pre-season. Are they using up their good fortune in pre-season games in advance of their season debut against the Bisons next Friday and Saturday? Let's hope so!

Her Majesty's Kittens held a 3-2 lead after the 1st period. However, thereafter the Monkeys dominated the stats. They outshot their new provincial rivals by 35-9 over the final two periods but all they could do was force overtime.

The result gives Alberta 4 points and Mount Royal 3 points in the tournament standings. Calgary had 2 and Saskatchewan 1 to finish the field.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 8
SIMON FRASER CLAN 0

Links:
|> [SFU Site]
|> [UBC Game Story - Friday]

There is no source for game stats as I post, but I did listen to much of this on-line through the SFU Site link. After SFU was able to hang in game one despite being outshot, once they got behind by a couple it seemed to be a case where the floodgates opened. Frankly, UBC should be able to crush SFU by this type of margin. You can check the links for any new game stories which are bound to be uploaded.

OUT EAST:

Saint Mary’s 2 St. Francis Xavier 1 : [Game Summary]
Carleton 6 Acadia 5 (ot) : [Game Summary]
UQTR 4 UPEI 1 : [UPEI Mini-Summary]
Concordia 5 Waterloo 6 : [Waterloo Schedule/Results]
McGill 6 Western Ontario 2 : [LS Summary] : [UWO Game Story]
Guelph vs Wilfrid Laurier - no results available
Royal Military College 1 York 5 : [York Twitter]
Windsor 6 UOIT 1 : [Windsor Twitter]
Ottawa 2 Lakehead 6 : [LU Game Story]

UP NEXT:

Sept. 23
x St. Francis-Xavier at Acadia
x Carleton v Saint Mary's
x UQTR at New Brunswick

Sept. 27
x Moncton at St. Francis Xavier
x Wilfrid Laurier at Windsor
Calgary at Lethbridge

Sept. 28
x Queen’s at Acadia
x UQTR vs Saint Mary’s
x St. Francis Xavier vs UPEI
x New Brunswick at McGill
x York Invitational Tournament
Semi-Final #1: Ryerson at York
Semi-Final #2: UOIT vs Toronto
x Brock at Lakehead
UBC at Regina
Manitoba at Alberta
Lethbridge at Calgary
Saskatchewan at Mount Royal

No matter how late one tries to stay awake on Saturday, there is always some information which just does not come available until Sunday morning.

First, a score from out east:
Guelph 5 Laurier 1 : [Laurier Schedule/Results]

Second, we have two game stories:

UBC has a full report on their 8-0 romp over SFU.

Alberta has two links with the same story and summary.

Since the pre-season has now wrapped up in the CW, here is a compilation of the results:

Code:

              v CW    v other  total
Alberta        4-0-0  4-0-0    8-0-0
Manitoba      3-1-0  0-0-0    3-1-0
Saskatchewan  2-1-1  0-0-0    2-1-1
Mount Royal    2-1-1  0-0-0    2-1-1
Calgary        3-3-0  0-0-0    3-3-0
UBC            0-0-0  2-0-0    2-0-0
Lethbridge    0-2-0  2-0-0    2-2-0
Regina        0-4-0  1-0-0    1-4-0

First, the Bisons announced their captains. Dane Crowley gets the "C", whilst an "A" will be worn by Tyler Dittmer, Blair Macaulay, and Matthew Lowry.

Second, the Bisons have a Season Preview Story. The story says the team has 27 players, and that 12 are newcomers. However, the Roster Page has by my count 14 returnees and 14 newcomers. Maybe they don't count last season's redshirt as a newcomer, and maybe somebody was cut.



There was also a pre-season coaches poll, announced at both the CIS and CW sites. Here's the result:

Code:

1. Saskatchewan (4) 64
2. Manitoba    (3) 54
3. Alberta      (1) 50
4. Calgary          38
5. UBC              27
6. Lethbridge      17
7. Mount Royal      13
8. Regina            8

The 1st place votes are in brackets. Scoring was based on a 10-8-6-4-3-2-1 system. So not only did 3 teams get 1st place votes, four were picked to win, place, or show. And, Regina was a unanimous last, even from their own coach!



The CIS site has a story on UNB facing the Russians. The Russkies will be all-stars from the MHL, their top junior league. The games will be on December 30th and 31st. The Comrades' tour will start with games against the Providence College Friars and RPI Red Hawks, both from the NCAA.

It seems that the teams across the CW got back to updating websites. Here's what I found:


The Regina Cougars uploaded a recap of their home games from Sept. 14-16 and a recap of their Bison series on Sept. 21-22.


The Mount Royal Cougars uploaded a recap of their loss to the Evil Monkeys.


Meanwhile, in the Town of Bedrock, they have proclaimed Sports Day in Canada. This is the itinerary:

SPORTS DAY IN CANADA
Friday, Sept. 28
National Jersey Day – Show your support for sport by wearing your favourite jersey!
7 p.m. Men's Hockey: Dinos vs. Lethbridge, Father David Bauer Arena
7:45 p.m. (approx.): Calgary Flames defenceman Jay Bouwmeester signing autographs in the 1st intermission

Saturday, Sept. 29
2 p.m. Busses leave from UofC residence / Dining Centre
2:30 p.m. Yoga on the field at McMahon Stadium
3:15 p.m. Tailgate BBQ on the concourse – the first 300 yoga participants receive a FREE burger and beverage!
5 p.m. Football: Dinos vs. Saskatchewan, McMahon Stadium

Yoga? Before football? Who thought of that one? Betty and Wilma? Mr. Slate?


The H0rny Ones' Preview is up. They have this to say:

Set to battle for the starting role this season is freshman Damien Ketlo, the Lethbridge Hurricanes 2011-12 MVP and Dylan Tait, also a former Hurricane. Tait made 7 appearances last season, mostly in relief appearances but put up solid numbers with a 2.89 goals-against-average and .920 save percentage.

In addition to the loss of Bowles, the ‘Horns are without their top three scorers from last season. Captain and leading scorer Dustin Moore and Winston Day Chief have graduated, while Taylor Gal decided to not to return for his third season. Up front, Dan Iwanski and Clayton Cumiskey will be tabbed to lead the way offensively but head coach Greg Gatto also expects big things from a trio of newcomers.

Former Kamloops Blazers captain Chase Schaber gives the ‘Horns a bona-fide number one centre and leadership, and former Western leaguers Cody Chikie and Killian Hutt have shown the ability to contribute offensively.

On the blue-line, coach Gatto has completely revamped the core which will be very young this year. DJ McDougall, Tyler Hlookoff and Mason Conway all return but the addition of former Victoria Royals captain Hayden Rintoul, local product Cason Machacek and former OHLer’s Tim Campbell and David McMullen are set to bolster the back end.

IMO, although Bowles gave them great goaltending for many years I felt he was not the goalie of old last year and Tait ought to have played more. This is a better-than-usual recruiting class for them, but they lost their core scorers up front. I await the posting of their roster at LeagueStat.


The U of A has a Evil Monkeys v Bisons Preview, although it appears to be a rough draft as I post.


The Banjo-Mutts have a cut-and-paste of the CW coaches' poll story. The U of S site has not posted much so far this year, so at least that is something. The story is also reposted at The Boxscore News, where they also reposted the UNB announcement.


The ACAC main page has a change to the SAIT Trojans Eye Opener Tournament. It was set up as an ACAC v BCIHL event. But the MacEwan Griffins are out and the AAA Senior Innisfail Eagles are in.


And here are the late scores from out east:

Sunday, September 23
UQTR 2 New Brunswick 3 : [UNB Game Story]
St. Francis Xavier 3 Acadia 2 : [Tournament wrap-up on both games]
Saint Mary’s 3 Carleton 1 : [Tournament Final]

There are even more reports from around the league this afternoon, so here we go.


The Bison Roster Page now lists 27 names. The former #3 Blair Osiowy has been released and the new #3 is Eric Mestery, who played in Brendan Rowinski's #10 jersey last weekend. They have 3 goaltenders, 8 defencemen, and 16 forwards. With 3 forwards injured they could not realistically cut anybody else. IMO, Osiowy looked pretty good and would have been one of Regina's better defencemen. They have also reposted the CW's coaches' poll story.


The Mount Royal Cougars Preview is now up. This blurb tells what it's like to move up from last year:

Head coach Jean Laforest went on a recruiting rampage during the summer and added 10 new student-athletes for the Cougars’ inaugural season in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) league.

Graduating one member off last year’s squad, that means some members of the team that had a 22-2-1 regular season record in the final year in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference lost their spots.

“Moving to a higher level, you can’t stand pat,” said Laforest.

“It’s not always a pleasant situation because some players have been here for one or two years and are being displaced. But that’s the reality of sport at an upper level.You give everyone the opportunity to make the hockey club, but the reality is not everyone will make the transition.”

The UBC Preview is also up.

“Our goal from day one of training camp is to win a CIS Championship,” said Dragicevic who won a national title with Acadia in 1993. “Last year it was simply to make the playoffs, but this year we believe we have the right mix to be legitimate contenders. It's a long journey, but we have players here who have won championships and national titles before and we will be relying on them to show our other guys what it takes to be a champion.”

The Thunderbirds are coming off a season in which they finished 12-12-4 during the regular season and lost in three games to Calgary in the opening round of the playoffs. 21 players from that team are back and will be joined by an impressive group of recruits.

They include, defencemen Neil Manning (Nanaimo, BC), Kevin Smith (North Vancouver, BC), and Linden Saip (White Rock, BC) and forwards Brad Hoban (Victoria, BC), Joe Antilla (Madiera Park, BC, Dillon Wagner (Keephills, AB), Scott Macdonald (Surrey, BC), and Jessi Hilton (Sherwood Park, BC).

“We really identified our needs this offseason by bringing in puck moving 'd', more depth up front, and bigger guys along the walls,” said Dragicevic, who was named the Canada West Coach of the Year in 2011-12. “It's been our best recruiting class that we have had ever had and we expect all these guys to be impact players. With these additions, we feel we have improved our team the most of anybody in the Canada West. Now it's a case of starting the process off right and showing our guys the importance of creating a culture of winning from the very first day. ”

I don't disagree with the argument that UBC did the most ON PAPER to improve their team from a year ago. However, UBC was more than the sum of their parts last year. This was in stark contrast to their club tradition of being much less than the sum of their parts. IMO, UBC should be part of a "big 5" in the CW, rather than being in a constant battle with Regina and Lethbridge at the bottom. While I have them pegged at #5, I will need to see performance before I am convinced they have achieved a change of status as a program.


The CW conference-wide preview is also up now. There is a blurb on each team with records, arrivals, and departures duly noted.

WEEKEND PREVIEW


MANITOBA BISONS (0-0-0, 3-1-0)
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (0-0-0, 8-0-0)

Friday, September 28th, 8:00 p.m. CDT @ U of A
Saturday, September 29th, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ U of A

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video – Both Nights – CanadaWest.tv]

Manitoba Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Alberta Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [CIS Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LeagueStat Daily]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

Last year the Bisons had four one-goal games with the Evil Monkeys. They won 3, bit one was reversed. The Monkeys scored with too many Monkeys on the ice in OT, after which the goal was waived off and a penalty assessed. The bad karma ultimately pushed them down the standings and out of first place for the first time in eons. In fact, their ill-gotten extra point against the Bisons is all that enabled them to finish second, just ahead of Sask.

FWIW, the CW coaches poll has a tight 3-way race for first this year with Manitoba at #2 and Saudi Alberta at #3.

Three monkeys have escaped the zoo: forwards Jean-Pierre Szaszkiewicz and Lindsay Nielsen, and defenceman Ian Barteaux. A very low turnover for a university hockey team. The replacements are forwards Burke Gallimore, Rhett Rachinski, and Torrie Dyck, and defenceman Brennan Yadlowski. Gallimore and Rachinski are both WHL grads with over 30 goals last year. Dyck is an Augustana transfer.

My overall impression is that both teams should have similar records to what they had last year. Every point will be vital.

ELSEWHERE:


CALGARY DINOS (0-0-0, 3-3-0)
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (0-0-0, 2-2-0)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Thursday] : [Live Stats Friday]
|> [Live Video - Thursday]
|> [Calgary Captains Named] : [Calgary Preview Story] : [Calgary Twitter]
|> [Lethbridge Site] : [Lethbridge Twitter]

This series is a home and home and, unlike the others, starts Thursday (in Lethbridge) and finishes Friday (in Calgary).

Brock Nixon will be the Captain of the Dinos this year. Both sides split their pre-season games, but the H0rny Ones' only wins were over ACAC teams. Calgary was a disappointment last year. Only a late spurt allowed them to stem a strong challenge from UBC and hang on to 4th place. They rallied in the playoffs to edge the Bisons and then lose game 3 in OT to Sask in the final. IMO, the Dinos look to be a strong 4th place team again. Their recruits seem to be a notch below their departures.

The H0rny Ones were desperately short of Viagra last year. Only Regina's ineptitude and a return to the 6-team playoff format allowed them to make the playoffs. IMO, they have a decent crop of recruits, but those only replace the quality departees.


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (0-0-0, 2-1-1)
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (0-0-0, 2-1-1)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video – Both Nights]
|> [Sask Site] : [Sask Twitter]
|> [Mount Royal Site] : [Mount Royal Twitter]

This series will be of interest because it represents Mount Royal's conference debut. They jump into the deep end by facing the defending champions. I am interested in seeing just how Sask will look with some turnover at the upper end of the depth chart. Gone are forwards Kyle Ross, Shaun Vey, Travis Brisebois, and Brenden Dowd, and defencemen Dylan Hole, Curtis Kulchar, and Jesse Zetariuk. The replacements are forwards Jesse Ross, Kenton Dulle, Jordan Peddle, Brandon Herrod, and Marc-Andre Carre, and defencemen James Bubnick and Andrew Blanke. They also now have a third goaltender, Blake Voth.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS (0-0-0, 2-0-0)
REGINA COUGARS (0-0-0, 1-4-0)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]
|> [UBC Site] : [UBC Twitter]
|> [Regina Preview Story] : [Regina Twitter]

It is the opening weekend, yet IMO this is a crucial series for the Banjo-Cats. If they get swept at home in this series it could be a long, cold winter in Regina.

My only question: Has UBC prepared adequately? All they have played is two exhibitions against SFU from the BCIHL.

OUT EAST

Sept 27
Moncton at St. Francis Xavier
Laurier at Windsor

Sept 28
Brock at Lakehead
Ryerson at York (York Tournament)
UOIT v Toronto (York Tournament)
Queen's at Acadia
New Brunswick at McGill
UQTR at Saint Mary's (at Truro, NS)
St. Francis Xavier vs UPEI (at North Sydney, NS)

Sept 29
Brock at Lakehead
Western Ontario at Nipissing
York Tournament 3rd place game
York Tournament 1st place game
Queen's at Saint Mary's
UQTR at Acadia
New Brunswick at Concordia
UPEI at Dalhousie (at Liverpool, NS)

Sept 30
Ottawa at RMC

* all are non-conference games

September 27, 2012

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


CALGARY DINOS 4
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 3
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of L Game Story] : [Reposted at U of C : at CIS : at CW]

The H0rny Ones and their inter-provincial rivals from Bedrock got a jump on the rest of the CW by starting their regular season on Thursday night. I did not see the whole game, but did see the end of the third period and the overtime.

Lethbridge took a page from their old playbook. They were massively outshot, but kept the game close and squeezed out a point in overtime. The `Horns had a 3-2 lead after two periods. The Dinos outshot them 15-5 in the 3rd as they pushed hard to equalize, and then to try to win. At the end of the 3rd it was the Dinos applying all the pressure.

But overtime was different. The teams traded rushes, and Dino goaltender Dustin Butler made the save of the night on a breakaway. Each team had 3 shots in the 4 minutes of OT.

OUT EAST:

Moncton 3 St. Francis Xavier 5 : [Game Story]
Laurier 4 Windsor 5 (ot) : [WLU Schedule/Results]

NEWS:


A Weekend Preview is up. They also have a Thursday Round-up, which has just the one game. I hope they consistently post this, especially after the busy Friday and Saturday night schedules all season long.


The CW has a pdf format Weekly Update #1. This one is worth printing because it includes the final stats from 2011-12 for each team, so it is worth saving. They put out one of these each week last year, hopefully it continues.

Also, Evan Daum has a two part team-by-team preview at The Edmonton Journal, now that South Campus Sports seems dormant. Part 1 covers the Big Four, and Part 2 covers the bottom four.


The debut of the Her Majesty's Kittens has the papers in Bedrock talking. There are stories at both The Calgary Sun and The Calgary Herald. From The Calgary Sun:

The 12-time ACAC champion Mount Royal Cougars men’s hockey program has been preparing to make the transition from the college level to the CIS for a couple years now, but despite all the preparation, nothing compares to the real thing.

...

“From a talent perspective, we’re not a top program,” Laforest admitted. “In order to overcome that, it’s work ethic, commitment, motivation and making sure we compete for 60 minutes. That’s the big message for us this year. It has to be full out 60 minutes. It can’t be 20 or 40.”

Knopp is fine with a little bit of pressure and a 2-2 pre-season record helped build a bit of confidence heading into the opener.

“I know a lot of people will be looking at the scores to see how we hold up in the league,” the 6-foot-1, 198-lb., third-year winger said. “I think we made a pretty good impact during exhibition games, which gives up a little more respect around the league.”

The Calgary Herald added:

The Cougars enter into this new fellowship with a reputation for excellence. They’ve won the ACAC title twice in the past seven seasons and last year (22-1-3) finished their residence with a bronze medal. But taking in the entire picture — on-ice as well as off — this is a brand new kettle of fish for MRU.

“We fly to Winnipeg, we fly to Vancouver . . . even the logistics of a road trip is totally different,” agreed Laforest. “The amount of organization that goes into it . . . drastically different. The venues we play in are larger than the ones we traditionally played in. The cities, they’re all major centres in western Canada. It’s a whole different environment from where we were.

...

The Cougars couldn’t have asked for a greater challenge. Canada West houses some of the best programs in the country, including perennially top-10 ranked Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the defending conference champ and season-opening opponent Friday and Saturday at Flames Community Arenas (7 p.m. both nights). Add to the mix a tough Calgary squad and you have a recipe for great fun every weekend.

But Laforest insists it isn’t about this year, or even next year. It’s about the process of becoming like those other institutions; a school where players will want to come.

UP NEXT:

Sept. 28
x Queen’s at Acadia
x UQTR vs Saint Mary’s
x St. Francis Xavier vs UPEI
x New Brunswick at McGill
x York Invitational Tournament
Semi-Final #1: Ryerson at York
Semi-Final #2: UOIT vs Toronto
x Brock at Lakehead
UBC at Regina
Manitoba at Alberta
Lethbridge at Calgary
Saskatchewan at Mount Royal

x exhibition game

September 28, 2012

HERD OPENS WITH A LOSS


MANITOBA BISONS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 4

Links:
|> [CIS Friday Round-Up] : [CW Friday Stories]
|> [CIS Schedule/Results/Links] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Story] : [reposted at U of M]

The Monkeys started hot and carried play throughout the first period. The shots on goal were 19-5 in favour of the Primates. James Dobrowolski scored early and the Jordan Hickmott scored mid-period on a PP. However, once Manitoba began to carry the play a bit one Ape took a penalty and the Bisons cashed in quickly. Captain Dane Crowley scored to make it 2-1. But Hickmott replied and it was 3-1 after one period.

The second period was pretty even, and there were no goals. Blair Macaulay then scored short-handed to set up a tense finish. The stats say that the Monkeys had 17 shots in the third, but that seems exaggerated. The Bisons were pushing for the equalizer with a minute left when they failed to control a face-off and Johnny Lazo pounced on a loose puck and scored an empty-netter.

The rematch goes Saturday at 7:00 CDT and can be seen on-line at canadawest.tv.



OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [MRU Story] : [reposted at U of S]

This battle of Cats v Dogs went to the Dogs, specifically the Banjo-Mutts, on a goal at 19:59 of the third period. Tough luck for the Cougars, being just one second away from at least getting a point. Especially since Lethbridge had a point against Calgary on Thursday. The 9 goals were scored on a total of 50 shots. Saturday's rematch will be on canadawest.tv.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 0
CALGARY DINOS 3

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [MRU Story] : [reposted at U of L]

In the Town of Bedrock they are celebrating a sweep of a home-and-home series. There wasn't enough Viagra to get even one goal for the H0rny Ones in this game. The shots were 37-19 for the Dinos. If those were an indication of the play then the Dinos were full value for their 4 point weekend. Of note, the Dinos dressed just 19 players on Thursday but had the full compliment of 20 on Friday.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 4
REGINA COUGARS 3

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of R Story] : [UBC Story]

The Puddy-Tats had the Tweety-Birds reaklly scared int he first period when they took a 2-0 lead less than 6 minutes into the game. Then an old lady with an umbrella smacked each one of them over the head the scared them off. Then a bulldog dressed like a referee gave the Puddy-Tats a bunch of penalties. UBC scored one PP goal in the first, and another just 40 seconds into the second and it was 2-2. An even strength goal 4 minutes later made it 3-2 heading into the third frame. The feline referee came to the aid of Regina and gave them a PP chance, which they cashed just 14 seconds into the third. However, the tied score lasted barely a minute before UBC took a lead they were able to hold.

OUT EAST:

Exhibition Games
Queen’s 2 Acadia 5 : [Acadia Game Story]
UQTR 4 Saint Mary’s 3 [SMU Schedule/Results]
St. Francis Xavier 3 UPEI 2 : [UPEI Schedule/Results]
New Brunswick 7 McGill 2 : [LS Summary]
Brock 2 Lakehead 3 (ot) : [LU Game Story]

York Invitational Tournament
Ryerson 1 York 7 : [York Site (click results)]
UOIT 0 Toronto 7 : [U of T Schedule/Results]

UP NEXT:

Sept. 29
Manitoba at Alberta
Saskatchewan at Mount Royal
UBC at Regina
x Brock at Lakehead
x Western Ontario at Nipissing
x York Tournament Ryerson v UOIT
x York Tournament Toronto at York
x Queen's at Saint Mary's
x UQTR at Acadia
x New Brunswick at Concordia
x UPEI at Dalhousie (at Liverpool, NS)

Sept 30
x Ottawa at RMC

September 29, 2012

BISONS FALL APART IN SECOND PERIOD


MANITOBA BISONS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 7

Links:
|> [CIS Saturday Round-Up] : [CW Saturday Stories]
|> [CIS Schedule/Results/Links] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Story] : [reposted with LeagueStats at U of M]

I saw what I could of this one on canadawest.tv, but that was drifting in and out. Kind of like the Bisons. The season opening is funny in that the CW played regular season games this weekend (unlike the other conferences) and then go back to non-conference play next weekend. Oddly, the whole CW also has a conference by on November 2nd-3rd. Logically, this weekend's games should have been played November 2nd and 3rd.

The Bisons just did not look ready to play a full game all weekend. Each period was remarkably different. The Bisons started weakly on Friday but had it pulled together, and even started to dominate the Evil Monkeys on Saturday. After one period the Bisons led 2-1 and outshot Alberta 16-11. But a couple of PP goals early in the 2nd period changed the game around and from then on the Bisons just stopped playing. Jesse Deckert allowed a couple of soft ones, but still faced 48 shots. Travis Bobbee and Luke Cain had their first goals of the season.

The Bisons have a trip to the Excited States next weekend, whilst the Monkeys will swing about and throw feces in their cages while enjoying a care-free weekend off.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 3

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [MRU Story] : [reposted at U of S]

After getting a major scare on Friday, and falling behind 1-0 innthe 1st, the Banjo-Mutts took control with 5 straight goals to put Saturday's game away. The game was even in the 1st and 3rd periods. But the Mutts had control in the 2nd period when they outscored MRU 2-0 and outshot them 11-3. While the Royal Kittens will be doing nothing more than stuffing their faces with pumpkin pie next weekend, the Mutts will no doubt be drinking from toilets as both sides have the weekend off.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 4
REGINA COUGARS 5
(in a shoot-out)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of R Story] : [UBC Story]

The Banjo-Kittens needed this win. UBC can be happy that they notched 3 points on the weekend. This one was close throughout. Each side held the lead on two occasions, and never by more than one goal. The game was 3-3 entering the 3rd period and Regina scored after only 16 seconds, only to have UBC tie the game at 1:11. Next weekend the Kittens are going north to Alaska and UBC are off to Colorado.

OUT EAST:

Exhibition Games
Brock 7 Lakehead 4 : [Brock Game Story]
Western Ontario 3 Nipissing 2 : [NU Schedule/Results]
Queen's 5 Saint Mary's 4 : [SMU Schedule/Results]
UQTR 0 Acadia 5 : [Acadia Game Story]
New Brunswick 4 Concordia 2 : [CU Schedule/Results]
UPEI 4 Dalhousie 3 : [UPEI Schedule/Results]

York Invitational Tournament
Ryerson v UOIT : no score reported
Toronto 4 York 6 : [York Site (click results)]

UP NEXT:

Sept 30
Ottawa at RMC

Oct 2
Toronto at York

Oct 3
Dalhousie at Saint Mary’s
Acadia v Moncton (at Cocagne, NB)

Oct 4
St. Francis Xavier at St. Thomas
New Brunswick at Portland Pirates (AHL)

Oct 5
* Nipissing at UQTR
* McGill at Concordia
* Lakehead at Guelph
Regina at Alaska Fairbanks

Oct 6
* UQTR at McGill
* Nipissing at RMC
* Lakehead at Guelph
UPEI v Moncton (at Grand-Sault, NB)
Manitoba at North Dakota
Lethbridge at Minnesota
UBC at Denver
Regina at Alaska Anchorage
Western Ontario at Western Michigan
Brock at Michigan Tech
Laurier at Mercyhurst
Ottawa at RIT
Carleton at St. Lawrence
Ryerson at Lake Superior
Toronto at Massachusetts-Lowell
Concordia at Vermont
York at Connecticut
Acadia at RPI
New Brunswick at Boston College
St. Francis Xavier at New Hampshire
St. Thomas at Holy Cross

Oct 7
Manitoba at Bemidji State
Lethbridge at Minnesota State
UBC at Colorado College
Western Ontario at Miami of Ohio
Brock at Northern Michigan
Laurier at Robert Morris
UOIT at Bowling Green
Carleton at Clarkson
Ryerson at Ferris State
Toronto at Boston University
Ottawa at Canisius
Waterloo at Ohio State
Acadia at Quinipiac
New Brunswick at Maine
St. Francis Xavier at Northeastern
St. Thomas at Sacred Heart

Oct 8
Lethbridge at Nebraska-Omaha
UBC at Air Force
Windsor at Michigan State

Oct 9
Windsor at Michigan

* conference game - all others are non-conference games

WEEKEND PREVIEW

This an odd Friday post. There were games Friday on the "Out of Town Scoreboard". Since the Bisons don't play until Saturday, I start with a preview:


MANITOBA BISONS (0-2-0, 3-3-0)
NORTH DAKOTA (2-0-0)
BEMIDJI STATE BEAVERS (2-0-0)

Saturday, October 6th, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ UND
Sunday, October 7th, 5:00 p.m. CDT @ BSU

UND Links:
|> [UND Hockey Site] : [UND Link to Live Links]
|> [Audio/Video Links] : [UND Twitter]

Bemidji Links:
|> [Live Stats] : [[url=
http://tinyurl.com/9pnwb6r]Pre-Season Poll[/url]]

Manitoba Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [CIS Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LeagueStat Daily]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

This little excursion to the Excited States is very awkwardly timed. For some reason, the CW started regular season play last weekend, whilst giving the entire conference a bye on the weekend of November 2nd. The Bisons have absolutely nothing about the trip posted. For that matter, neither do UBC, Regina, and Lethbridge. Calgary, Mount Royal, Alberta, and Sask will spend the weekend stuffing their faces with turkey and punkin' pie. Actually, Sask may be having possum stew, but that's another matter.

This is the final season for the WCHA as we know it. The Big Ten is starting a hockey conference now that Penn State is starting a Division I hockey program, hopefully pedophile-free. So the WCHA and the CCHA will be losing teams and the remaining ones will have to shuffle about.

Also, you will note that UND has no moniker. Formerly the Fighting Sioux, they are now nameless, generic, green-clad players in search of their souls. But they do play at The Ralph, which is one eccentric gift from an alumnus.

The WCHA coaches' poll ranks UND #2 and Bemidji #11 out of the 12 teams in the conference.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


REGINA COUGARS 0
ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS 6

Links:
|> [UAF Stats] : [UAF Story]

I found a radio link just in time to get the final score from way up north. This must be an interesting trip for the Banjo-Cats. But on the ice, just another routine whipping, it seems.

OUT EAST:

I have not updated the spread-out schedule from out east since the Bisons played last Saturday. The OUA started regular season play this weekend. However, many teams will hold off on the regular season for another week whilst going south this weekend. Here's all the scores:

OUA regular season games:

Friday, October 5
Nipissing 4 UQTR 7 : [LS Summary]
McGill 5 Concordia 6 : [LS Summary]
Lakehead 6 Guelph 3 : [LS Summary]

Exhibition Games:

Sunday, September 30
Ottawa 6 Royal Military College 3 : [Ottawa Schedule/Results]

Tuesday, October 2
Toronto 1 York 7 : [York Schedule/Results]

Wednesday, October 3
Acadia 2 Moncton 5 : [Acadia Story]

Thursday, October 4
Dalhousie 0 Saint Mary’s 2 : [SMU Schedule/Results]
St. Francis Xavier 3 St. Thomas 2 : [STU Schedule/Results]

ELSEWHERE THIS WEEKEND:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS (1-0-1, 3-0-1)
DENVER PIONEERS (0-0-0)
COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS (0-0-0)
AIR FORCE FALCONS (0-0-0)

Links:
|> [DU Team Site] : [CC Team Site] : [AF Team Site]
|> [UBC Team Site] : [UBC Twitter]

This is a Saturday-Sunday-Monday triple-header for the Tweety-Birds. Calgary has made this junket down through Colorado many times in the past. UBC is hard to gauge. They split with Regina last weekend, so they are not likely a contender this year.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (0-1-1, 2-3-1)
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (0-0-0)
MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS (0-0-0)
NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS (0-0-0)

Links:
|> [UM Story] : [MSUM Team Site] : [UNO Team Site]
|> [Lethbridge Site] : [Lethbridge Twitter]

This, too, is a Saturday-Sunday-Monday triple-header for the H0rny Ones. They will face two different teams of Mavericks. They will be rather severe underdogs on this trip. Their only wins thus far have been against ACAC teams.


REGINA COUGARS (1-1-0, 2-5-0)
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES (0-0-0)

Links:
|> [UAA Team Site]
|> [Regina Preview Story] : [Regina Twitter]

I don't suppose the Kittens plan on bringing a win back across the border. But I believe it is much more sensible to confine road trips to a double-header.

UP NEXT OUT EAST:

OUA Regular Season Games:

Saturday, October 6
UQTR at McGill
Nipissing at RMC
Lakehead at Guelph

Exhibition Games:

Saturday, October 6
St. Thomas at Holy Cross
Acadia at Renesselaer
New Brunswick at Boston College
St. Francis Xavier at New Hampshire
UPEI vs Moncton
York at Connecticut
Toronto at Massachusetts-Lowell
Carleton at St. Lawrence
Concordia at Vermont
Brock at Michigan Tech
Western Ontario at Western Michigan
Ryerson at Lake Superior State
Wilfrid Laurier at Mercyhurst
Ottawa at Rochester Institute of Technology
Queen’s at Colgate

Sunday, October 7
St. Francis Xavier at Northeastern
Acadia at Quinnipiac
St. Thomas at Sacred Heart
New Brunswick at Maine
Toronto at Boston University
Ottawa at Canisius
Brock at Northern Michigan
Ryerson at Ferris State
Carleton at Clarkson
UOIT at Bowling Green
Waterloo at Ohio State
Western Ontario at Miami-Ohio
Wilfrid Laurier at Robert Morris

Monday, October 8
Windsor at Michigan State

Tuesday, October 9
Windsor at Michigan

October 6, 2012

BISONS DROP EXHIBITION GAME


MANITOBA BISONS 3
NORTH DAKOTA 5

Links:
|> [CIS Friday Round-Up] : [link to be updated: CIS Saturday Round-Up]
|> [CIS Schedule/Results/Links] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [UND Stats] : [UND Game Story] : [UND Highlight Video]

I was out watching the MJHL Showcase Series all day Saturday and so I did not follow along at home. The UND links cover all kinds of stuff. However, a one page thorough boxscore or summary is not available. However, the information can be pieced together from the links. The highlights are nice but do not include any of the Bison goals. Some close calls for the Bisons are included, along with UND's goals and near misses. The first two UND goals seemed somewhat fluky. The stats do seem pretty even, as well. The SOG were 28-20 in favour of UND. The stats link also includes a tab for "line charts". Brett Chartier, Nathan Green, Darren Bestland, and Deven Dubyk were the scratches. The Bisons were allowed to dress 22 players.

The Herd will now travel to Bemidji to face the Beavers Sunday at 5:00 p.m. BSU will supply a link for live stats at game time on their Schedule Page. Next weekend, the Bisons will host Saskatchewan.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 0
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS 7

Links:
|> [UM Stats] : [UM Game Story with Video]

This was a severe thrashing for the H0rny Ones. The Rodents outshot them 65 to 16. This is becoming a bad trend for the Prongers.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 2
DENVER PIONEERS 2

Links:
|> [DU Stats] : [DU Game Story]
|> [UBC Game Story] : [USCHO Poll]

UBC must be happy to pick up a draw after their somewhat sputtering start against mediocre opposition (SFU from the BCIHL and Regina). The link to the USCHO Poll has Denver ranked #8 in the NCAA. Of note, other CW opponents are also ranked in that poll: Minnesota is #2 and North Dakota is #4.


REGINA COUGARS 1
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES 3

Links:
|> [UAA Stats] : [UAA Site]

Any time the Banjo-Cats do NOT get kicked, they have to be happy. They only had 14 SOG, but what the heck. They did have a win last weekend! I also see that Brandon Boy Dave Shyiak is the coach of the Wolves. I wonder if Sarah Palin was there.

OUT EAST:

OUA regular season games:

UQTR 5 McGill 2 : [CIS Boxscore]
Nipissing 6 RMC 1 : [CIS Boxscore]
Lakehead 5 Guelph 4 : [CIS Boxscore]

Exhibition Games:

UPEI 3 Moncton 1 : [Moncton Game Story - Google Translate]

[USCHO Scoreboard - links to boxscores]

New Brunswick 0 Boston College 6
Queens 0 Colgate 1
St. Thomas 1 Holy Cross 2
Ryerson 1 Lake Superior 2
Wilfrid Laurier 1 Mercyhurst 3
Brock 2 Michigan Tech 6
Ottawa 1 RIT 8
Acadia 2 Rensselaer 6
Carleton 2 St. Lawrence 3 OT
York 3 Connecticut 3 OT
Toronto 2 Massachusetts-Lowell 5
St. Francis Xavier 2 New Hampshire 5
Concordia 1 Vermont 7
Western Ontario 2 Western Michigan 2 OT

UP NEXT:

Oct 7
Manitoba at Bemidji State
Lethbridge at Minnesota State
UBC at Colorado College
Western Ontario at Miami of Ohio
Brock at Northern Michigan
Laurier at Robert Morris
UOIT at Bowling Green
Carleton at Clarkson
Ryerson at Ferris State
Toronto at Boston University
Ottawa at Canisius
Waterloo at Ohio State
Acadia at Quinipiac
New Brunswick at Maine
St. Francis Xavier at Northeastern
St. Thomas at Sacred Heart

Oct 8
Lethbridge at Nebraska-Omaha
UBC at Air Force
Windsor at Michigan State

Oct 9
Windsor at Michigan

* all are exhibition games

October 7, 2012

TIES? THEY STILL HAVE 'EM IN THE NCAA!


MANITOBA BISONS 3
BEMIDJI STATE BEAVERS 3

Links:
|> [CIS Schedule/Results/Links] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [BSU Game Day] : [BSU Live Stats] : [BSU Radio Story]
|> [BSU Boxscore] : [BSU Game Story] : [BSU Photos]

Yes, boys and girls, they still have good old tie hockey games in the NCAA. Frankly, I prefer that to shoot-outs. They did play 5 minutes of OT and then shook hands. So what's the problem?

BTW, I did note that Western Ontario won their shootout against Western Michigan on Saturday, even though the game was reported as a 2-2 draw. So maybe they sometimes have shoot-outs in exhibition games but have no means of entering the data into their computers. Oh well.

BSU has a lot of neat stuff on their web site. However, multiple links lead to similar but not the same information. And some information is wrong. The “Game Day” link led to live on-line radio and also listed the teams' lines. It did not have jersey #s but did have the correct Bison line-up, unlike other links.  The “Live Stats” link was updated throughout the game and had rosters, summaries, etc. After the game, the “Boxscore” link led to the traditional printable boxscore from the company the CW used before LeagueStat. (The AUS still uses them.) On both of those they listed Blair Osiowy instead of Eric Mestery as #3. They also listed Schappert as #4 and “04” as #04, and Lowry as #9 and “09” as #9.

It was nice to get on-line audio, but one broadcaster thought that Thunder Bay was on the coast. Jeesh! It's not all that far away from Bemidji!

The more reliable “Game Day” link listed the Bisons like this:

Forwards:
Tyler Dittmer – Ian Duval – Blair Macaulay
Del Cowan – Paul Ciarelli – Matthew Lowry
Luke Cain – Austin Lauder – Tyler Feakes
Dylan Kelly – Brendan Rowinski – Jesse Paradis
Brett Chartier – – Craig Scott

Defence:
Jeremy Schappert – Brandon Lockerby
Eric Mestery – Jeremy Schappert
Lee Christensen – Brock Sutherland

Goal:
Jesse Deckert (2 periods) - Deven Dubyk (3rd period and OT)

The scratches were therefore goaltender Joe Caligiuri, defencemen Darren Bestland and Dane Crowley, and forward Nathan Green. Neither Bestland nor Green were on the trip. I am hoping that there was no injury for Crowley in Saturday's game.

The Bisons host Saskatchewan next weekend, with games at 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights.



OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1
MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS 7

Links:
|> [MSU Game Story] : [MSU Boxscore]

This was another thorough trouncing for the Viagra-less H0rny Ones. They did score the opening goal but thereafter were outshot 65-10 and by all accounts were never really in this one. It seems that Regina and Lethbridge will continue to struggle when the CW regular season progresses. One has to hope that both sides will mature as the season progresses so that their Junior “A” recruits will find their legs.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 1
COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS 3

Links:
|> [CC Live Stats] : [CC Game Story]
|> [CC Boxscore - pdf] : [CC Summary - pdf]
|> [UBC Game Story]

Unlike Barack Obama, the Tweety-Birds don't seem to be having too much difficulty with the altitude in Colorado. A 2-2 draw followed by a 3-1 loss against pretty good teams would be a fine performance, especially for a team coming off a split with Regina. The 'Birds were outshot 36-21 on the night. It is still hard to gauge this team. Thus far one would have to say that their results are fairly typical UBC results.

OUT EAST:

Exhibition Games:

[USCHO Scoreboard - links to boxscores]

St. Francis Xavier 4 Northeastern 3
Acadia 2 Quinnipiac 0
St. Thomas 4 Sacred Heart 3
New Brunswick 2 Maine 2 (ot)
Toronto 0 Boston University 5
Ottawa 5 Canisius 2
Brock 0 Northern Michigan 2
Ryerson 2 Ferris State 8
Carleton 6 Clarkson 2
UOIT 1 Bowling Green 9
Waterloo 2 Ohio State 3 (ot)
Western Ontario 2 Miami-Ohio 6
Wilfrid Laurier 4 Robert Morris 10

UP NEXT:

Exhibition games:

Oct 8
Lethbridge at Nebraska-Omaha
UBC at Air Force
Windsor at Michigan State   

Oct 9
Windsor at Michigan

CW Regular Season:

Oct. 12-13
Regina at Lethbridge
Mount Royal v Alberta (home and home series)
UBC at Calgary
Saskatchewan at Manitoba

October 8, 2012

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1
NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS 4

Links:
|> [UNO Game Story - w video] : [UNO Boxscore - pdf]

It is becoming a bit of a broken record, but yet again the H0rny Ones found it hard to score. That is a strange metaphor, now that I think of it. Anyhow, Lethbridge goes 0-3 on the trip and thus far have only two wins over ACAC teams to show for their efforts.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 4
AIR FORCE FALCONS 2

Links:
|> [USAFA Game Story] : [USAFA Boxscore - pdf]
|> [UBC Game Story]

The Tweety-Birds will be taking a .500 record over three games back with them to good ol' British California. Three games in three days was no problem in picking up this win. The 'Birds were outshot 12-4 in a scoreless first period and then took control from there. Jordan White did the job in goal.

OUT EAST:

Exhibition Game:
Windsor 1 Michigan State 6 : [USCHO summary]

UP NEXT:

Canada West:
Oct. 12-13
Regina at Lethbridge
Mount Royal v Alberta (home and home series)
UBC at Calgary
Saskatchewan at Manitoba

Out East:
Oct. 9
Windsor at Michigan (exhibition)

Oct. 11
Laurier at Waterloo
Brock at Guelph

Oct. 12
St. Thomas at New Brunswick
Dalhousie at Saint Mary's
Moncton at UPEI
St. Francis-Xavier at Acadia
UQTR at Nipissing
Toronto at Royal Military College
Carleton at Concordia
Ottawa at McGill
Western Ontario at Waterloo
York at Lakehead
Ryerson at Queen's

WEEKEND PREVIEW


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (2-0-0, 4-1-1)
MANITOBA BISONS (0-2-0, 3-4-1)

Friday, October 12th, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena
Saturday, October 13th, 7:00 p.m. CDT @ Max Bell Arena

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video – Both Nights – CanadaWest.tv]

Manitoba Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster] : [Schedule/Results]
|> [Weekend Preview Story]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Sask. Links:
|> [Team Site] : [Roster]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [CIS Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LeagueStat Daily] : [CW Weekly Media Notes #2]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

Prior game:
|> [Sept 14: Sask 5 Man 2 (exhibition)]

The regular season home opener is coming and I fully intend on attending both hockey games this coming weekend. After being swept in Saudi Alberta the Bisons will need some points if they want to repeat as pennant winners.

The Herd had an OK trip south, showing an ability to keep their opponents' shots on goal down. This was likely a priority with the coaches after their trip to Edmontown. They were outshot 28-20 by UND and in turn outshot Bemidji 28-26. If they can keep the shots down then decent goaltending should be able to pace the team to wins against Sask.

I'll be interested to see how the goaltenders will be used. Caligiuri gave up a couple of fluky goals against UND, and in the end surrendered 4 goals on 17 shots. Deckert gave up one goal on 11 shots against UND and one goal on 13 shots against BSU. Dubnyk gave up 2 goals on 13 shots, playing only one period plus OT. However, Caligiuri kept the Bisons in their first game against Alberta whilst Deckert was shelled in his start. I would not be surprised to see them split the games until one gets hotter than the other.

Up front, Cowan and Rowinski were dressed last weekend. But Nathan Green has yet to be seen. They have thus far gotten goals from different lines and different times so I suspect we'll see them roll 4 lines and sit some of the depth players.

On D, I am wondering if Crowley and Bestland are injured. They were the starting pair and would be needed against Sask.

The Mutts swept the pesky expansion MRU Cougars in their opener and took Thanksgiving off to pig out on possum shanks and crawdads. Now for a big treat they come to the Big City where they can drink from toilets and urinate on fire hydrants. We need to stop that. A swat with a rolled up newspaper should do it.

The strength of the Banjo-Mutts is their offence. Their top line of Hulak-Bortis-Ross were 3 of the top 4 scorers in the league last year. (Bison Blair Macaulay was the only non-Husky in the top 4.) Shut them down and you've got 'em beat. Hulak and Bortis are back.

ELSEWHERE:


REGINA COUGARS (1-1-0, 2-7-0)
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (0-1-1, 2-6-1)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video – Both Nights – CanadaWest.tv]
|> [U of L Preview] : [Lethbridge Twitter]
|> [Regina-UAF] : [Regina-UAA] : [Regina Twitter]

These teams are both off to a shaky start. Still, the H0rny Ones picked up a bonus point for an OTL and Regina upset UBC in OT in week 1. Then they both got thumped last weekend against NCAA teams. I suspect a long season for both sides, with this weekend being a golden opportunity to rack up some much-needed points.


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (0-2-0, 2-3-1)
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (2-0-0, 10-0-0)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video – Both Nights – CanadaWest.tv]
|> [U of A Preview] : [Alberta Twitter]
|> [Mount Royal Site] : [Mount Royal Twitter]

This one is a home-and-home series. MRU gave Sask a scare last weekend and it won't get any easier this time around. Neither team played last weekend. MRU gave Alberta a good run in the Brick Invitational Tournament played in September. Sask and Manitoba would be happy to see Alberta held to anything below 4 points.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS (1-0-1, 4-1-2)
CALGARY DINOS (2-0-0, 3-3-0)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]
|> [U of C Preview Story] : [reposted at CW]
|> [Calgary Twitter] : [UBC Twitter]

This match-up is intriguing. UBC surprised last year and were holding off the Bedrock Boys in the battle for 4th place. Calgary rallied and claimed 4th. Then in the quarter-finals UBC won game 1, only to lose games 2 and 3. UBC had a win, loss, and tie in their trip to Colorado last weekend, which is good. But they also managed a loss to Regina and in one game against SFU needed OT to win. Calgary should be a good measuring stick. They appear to be a consistent, slightly above average team. So this will help explain just what UBC can be expected to do.

OUT EAST:

Friday, October 12
Dalhousie at Saint Mary’s
St. Francis Xavier at Acadia
St. Thomas at New Brunswick
Moncton at UPEI
Ottawa at McGill
Concordia at Carleton
UQTR at Nipissing
Toronto at Royal Military College
York at Lakehead
Ryerson at Queen’s
Western Ontario at Waterloo

Saturday, October 13
Acadia at Dalhousie
Moncton at New Brunswick
Saint Mary’s at St. Francis Xavier
St. Thomas at UPEI
Ryerson at Royal Military College
Guelph at Brock
Carleton at McGill
UQTR at Ottawa
Wilfrid Laurier at Western Ontario
UOIT at Windsor
York at Lakehead

Sunday, October 14
UOIT at Windsor
Nipissing at Toronto

NEWS:

Pete Belliveau, former coach of Dalhousie, is now the former GM. There are as yet unreported allegations being investigated by the CIS, the nature of which have not been disclosed. The CIS Blog will likely be the first on-line source of information on this.
Link: [CIS Blog]

Even though the McGilligutties are the defending CIS champions, they are off to a 0-2 start with a pair of unimpressive losses. Their performance this weekend will be something to keep an eye upon. They face Ottawa and Cartoon U at home.
Link: [CIS Blog]

The first official top ten list is out. I say it is too early. Fortunately, the Official Hollywood Top 34 (OHT34) will be out after this weekend's games. Regina had some votes. How is that even possible?
Links: [CIS] : [reposted at CW]

October 13, 2012

HILLBILLIES PICK UP SPLIT


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2
MANITOBA BISONS 1

Links:
|> [CIS Saturday Round-Up] : [CW Saturday Stories]
|> [CIS Schedule/Results/Links] : [CW Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of M Story] : [reposted at U of S]

This should have been a sweep for the Herd. The Hillbillies seldom generated much pressure. But several glorious scoring chances missed the mark, and those that were on goal were (with one exception) stopped by Ryan Holfield in the Banjo-Mutts' goal.

The first period was scoreless, with the Bisons holding an 11-6 lead in shots. The margin of shots generally reflected the flow of play.

The second period generated all the goals. Mid-way through the period, Ian Duval dropped  a pass to Dane Crowley at the point, only Crowley went right when the pass went left. Derek Hulak pounced on the puck and scored on the breakaway. After 17 minutes, Brennan Bosch knocked home a rebound on a goalmouth scramble. In the final minute, the Bisons pulled one back. Tyler Dittmer scored on the PP several passes after the crowd was yelling "shooooot".

My overall impression is that the Bisons are slightly better and the the Huskies are more offensive on paper than they are on the ice. The only averaged 7 shots per period over the weekend. The top contenders will have to gain as many 4-point weekends as possible against the mid-range and lower teams in the conference.

Here's how they lined up:

Manitoba Bisons (unchanged from Friday):

Goal:
35 Deckert (1 Caligiuri)

Defence:
2 Crowley - 6 Sutherland
4 Schappert - 20 Lockerby
3 Mestery - 24 Bobbee
5 Christensen

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 19 Duval - 26 Macaulay
27 Feakes - 11 Henry - 29 Cain
21 Cowan - 10 Rowinski - 9 Lowry
18 Kelly - 16 Paradis

Scratches:
12 Chartier - 14 Green - 15 Scott
17 Lauder - 22 Bestland - 34 Dubyk

Saskatchewan Huskies:

Goal:
31 Holfield (30 Voth)

Defence:
4 Delahey - 22 Suer
6 Hobbs - 27 Ward
13 Stebner - 7 Funk

Forwards:
19 Hulak - 14 Bubnick - 8 Bortis
23 McCallum - 10 Bosch - 21 Bailey
25 Herrod - 11 Durand - 12 Kaye
15 Neigum - 17 Dulle - 24 Smuk

Scratches:
1 Reekie - 9 Spafford - 16 Ross
18 Thiessen - 20 Peddle - 26 Aschim
28 Carre - 32 Blanke

The Bisons now play back-to-back weekends in the Town of Bedrock, first to play Mount Royal and then to play Calgary, followed by a bye week. Their next home games are November 9-10 against the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 1
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 2

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Linescore] : [MRU Story]

This was an historic first win in conference play for the Royal Kittens. It was also the first loss for the Evil Monkeys (in their first conference road game) after 11 wins (8 in exhibition games). This news has to sit well with the Bisons and Banjo-Mutts. The Kittens came out quickly and took a 2-1 lead after the first period, in which they outshot the Monkeys 11-8. Then it was "hang on for dear life" time. The Monkeys outshot them 28-10 over the final two periods, in which no goals were scored. The lesson should be that road wins are never easy in the CW.


REGINA COUGARS 5
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of L Story] : [reposted at U of R]

I guess the weekend sweep gives the Banjo-Cats the undisputed featherweight title. While I have documented the poor performances of these two teams thus far, one has to give the toothless inbreds credit for a sweep on the road. This was not a fluke result. They outshot the H0rny Ones 44-26. Unless Lethbridge finds a whole lotta Viagra, this is going to be a long year for them. Matt Strueby and Troy Hunter got their 3rd goals of the season and Tyler Henry had his 3rd and 4th (into an empty net). So they are getting goals from the players who need to produce.


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 4
CALGARY DINOS 7

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of C Story] : [UBC Story]

The Dinos had to be feeling the heat in this one. The Tweety-Birds won on Friday and a sweep in the Town of Bedrock would have made the Dinos' hopes of a first place finish become a page right of history. Jacob Deserres posted his first win in the Calgary goal. However, he gave up 4 goals on 19 shots. The Dinos dominated the stats, with 33 shots of their own. UBC held a 3-1 lead in the second period before the roof caved in on them. Calgary scored 6 of the last 7 goals, including 5 unanswered.

OUT EAST:

Oct. 13
Guelph 2 Brock 5 : [Recap]
St. Thomas 0 UPEI 3 : [CIS Boxscore]
Acadia 5 Dalhousie 4 (ot) : [CIS Boxscore]
Moncton 5 UNB 2 : [CIS Boxscore]
Saint Mary's 3 StFX 5 : [CIS Boxscore]
Ryerson 3 RMC 2 : [CIS Boxscore]
UQTR 2 Ottawa 6 : [CIS Boxscore]
Carleton 4 McGill 6 : [CIS Boxscore]
Laurier 2 W. Ontario 3 : [CIS Boxscore]
York 6 Lakehead 3 : [CIS Boxscore]
UOIT 2 Windsor 4 : [CIS Boxscore]

UP NEXT:

CW
Oct. 19-20
Calgary at Regina
Manitoba at Mount Royal
Alberta at Saskatchewan
Lethbridge at UBC

OUA (see schedule links for full slate of mid-week games)
Oct. 14
UOIT at Windsor
Nipissing at Toronto

AUS
Oct. 19
UPEI at St. Francis-Xavier
Acadia at St. Thomas
Dalhousie at Moncton
New Brunswick at Saint Mary's

Are the Bison games more packed now that there is not many other options in town?

Deank wrote:Are the Bison games more packed now that there is not many other options in town?

The crowd counts in the summaries seem low to me over the last 2 years. Friday's crowd was about 3x Saturday's but both were listed as 350+/-.

huh, better advertising needed me thinks. If more of the hockey addicts realized there was some damn decent hockey being played, maybe they would actually go out?

I've often wondered why US schools do so well attracting fans yet Canadian universities do not.

Must be an age old university cultural thing.

because Universities in USA absolutely DEPEND on funding from money raised in the sports whereas Canadian universities just say.. please sir.. can I have some more?