2023-24 Manitoba Bisons/CW

[UNB Bruins Fan]

September 1: Mythical Mutants Defeat Evil Monkeys

MACEWAN GRIFFINS 5
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : CW
➤ UofA: Team Website
➤ MacEwan: Roster Page
➤ Media Access Roster Pages: MacEwan : Alberta

Quick Summary
Mac: V. Scott (03:36 2nd) , K. Gable (02:27 3rd) , E. Strang (10:13 3rd) , K. Chabot (17:19 3rd) , S. Simard (19:47 3rd)
Alta: N. Boyko (17:58 1st) , A. Hall (07:41 3rd) , J. Kendall (12:14 3rd)
Goal: Mac: Abel (19 shots, 18 saves), Davis W (21 shots, 19 saves); Alta: Kruger (11 shots, 10 saves), Bennett L (12 shots, 9 saves)

How about that! There are no game stories anywhere, however the U of A uploaded rosters, stats, and summaries to LeagueStat and the Hockey Tech system on the CW site, which appears to have survived the updated CW website.

The good thing about the roster pages is that we can see who has arrived and departed. The Monkeys’ website has no new roster page, but the LeagueStat media access page has new rosters for both.

Departed Monkeys (7)
- Carter Wolski
- Nolan Volcan
- Matt Berlin
- Ryan Hughes
- Matt Fonteyne
- Dawson Davidson
- Jared Freadrich

New Monkeys (5)
- Alex Thacker - Lethbridge/Victoria (WHL)
- Noah Boyko - Prince George/Edmonton (WHL)
- Mason Ward - Brandon/Swift Current (WHL)
- Jacob Herauf - Concordia (OUA) via Victoria (WHL)
- Jacob Kendall - Red Deer (ACAC) via Sherwood Park (AJHL)

Departed Mutants (12)
- Cameron Trott
- Daniel Baker
- Zach Webb
- Neithan Salame
- Elijah Brown
- Curtis Roach
- Nic Correale
- David Kope
- Cameron Reagan
- Kobe Mohr
- Merritt Oszytko
- Shawn Parkinson

New Mutants (9)
- Eric Ward - Concordia (ACAC) via Drumheller (AJHL)
- Ben Bygrove - Lloydminster (AJHL)
- Tyson Kowaluk - Lloydminster (AJHL)
- Eduard Wruck - OCN (MJHL)/Weyburn (SJHL)
- Kadyn Chabot - Spruce Grove/Drayton Valley (AJHL)
- Ethan Mercer - Flin Flon (SJHL)/Olds (AJHL)
- Liam Ryan - Carleton (OUA) via Nanaimo (BCHL)
- Vincent Scott - Canmore (AJHL)
- Samuel Simard - Drumheller (AJHL)

I’ll be delving into all teams’ arrivals and departures once all rosters are out.


NEXT UP

Sat Sep 2 Alberta at MacEwan EX 8:00 MDT
Sat Sep 2 Waterloo at EVL Landshut EX 5:00 ECT
Sun Sep 3 Waterloo at Ravensburg Towerstars EX 5:00 ECT
Sun Sep 3 Concordia at Klagenfurt EX 11:30 am EDT

Blake Gustafson played for the Bears last night….but I can’t be the only one who thinks those recruits are kind of…underwhelming (by Alberta standards)?

 

[Hollywood3]

Blake Gustafson played for the Bears last night….but I can’t be the only one who thinks those recruits are kind of…underwhelming (by Alberta standards)?

One of these days I'll delve into all teams' arrivals and departures. The monkeys had more than their share of underclassmen last year so they might not need much. But Saskatchewan had a better set of recruits.

 

[Hollywood3]

September 2 (late): Evil Monkeys Avoid Sweep

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 5
MACEWAN GRIFFINS 2

Links:
➤ Summaries: CW
➤ UofA: Summary
➤ MacEwan: Summary
➤ Media Access Roster Pages: MacEwan : Alberta

Quick Summary
Alta: J. Kendall (10:28 1st) , M. Ward (00:39 2nd) , A. Tapia (03:45 2nd) , J. Smallwood (16:10 3rd) , J. Smallwood (19:09 3rd)
Mac: L. Hughes (08:59 2nd) , J. Taupert (17:36 2nd)
Goal: Alta: Berlin W (17 shots, 16 saves), Bennett (14 shots, 13 saves); Mac: Davis L (17 shots, 14 saves), Abel (22 shots, 21 saves).

One would not expect the Evil Monkeys to be swept by the Mutants, even in pre-season, The power plays were one-sided, with the Mutants going 1-for-7 and the Monkeys going 0-for-2.

WATERLOO WARRIORS 0
EVL LANDSHUT 5

Links:
➤ Waterloo: Schedule & Results
➤ EVL: Team Website (Google Translate)

Waterloo is now 0-2-0 on tour. Their opponent used to be called the Landshut Cannibals. I used their old logo, just because it is so weird. EVL has one USports grad, Nick Pageau from St. FX.

U.Q.T.R. PATRIOTES 5
DIABLES ROUGES DE BRIANÇON 8

Links:
➤ XScores: Summary
➤ X: UQTR Twitter/X
➤ Diables Rouges: Team Website

I believe that this wraps UQTR's Tour de France, and they had a record of 1-3-0


NEXT UP

Sun Sep 3 Waterloo at Ravensburg Towerstars EX 5:00 ECT
Sun Sep 3 Concordia at Klagenfurt EX 11:30 am EDT
Fri Sep 8 Alberta at Calgary 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 8 MacEwan at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 8 Regina v Saskatchewan 5:00 CST (at Big River FN)
Fri Sep 8 Simon Fraser at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT
Sat Sep 9 Calgary at Alberta 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Mount Royal at MacEwan 5:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Saskatchewan v Regina 2:00 CST (at Big River FN)
Sat Sep 9 Simon Fraser at Trinity Western 12:30 PDT
Sat Sep 9 R.M.C. v Queen's 7:30 EDT (at Gananoque, Ont.)
Sat Sep 9 Guelph at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 9 Briercrest College at Jamestown TBA
Sun Sep 10 Guelph at Ottawa 4:00 EDT
Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College at Jamestown TBA

 

[Hollywood3]

September 3: OUA Teams Whipped in Europe

WATERLOO WARRIORS 3
RAVENSBURG TOWERSTARS 8

Links:
➤ Waterloo: Schedule & Results
➤ Ravensburg: TOWERSTARS DREHEN IM SCHLUSSABSCHNITT MÄCHTIG AUF (Google Translate)

Waterloo is now 0-3-0 on tour. I presume this game ends their tour. They were outscored 4-18. The Towerstars have a pretty good website with a good game story. They have one USports grad, namely Matt Alfaro (Calgary Dinos) who has a CW scoring title to his credit. It's his first year in Europe after three seasons in the ECHL and AHL.

CONCORDIA STINGERS 1
EC KLAGENFURT AC 7

Links:
➤ Concordia: Schedule & Results
➤ KAC: Die Concordia University Stingers (Google Translate)
➤ KAC: Deutlicher 7:1-Erfolg der Rotjacken (Google Translate)

Klagenfurt is one of Austria's best teams and sure put the boots to the Stinkers in this one. They also have a good website, where they posted the linked stories, one of which was a preview of Concordia and the other was a game report (which included an audio clip for those who speak German). In Europe, stats pages aren't what they are in North America. The team is informally nicknamed the "Rotjacken", or Red Jackets.

Their preview of the Stinkers exceeds what is on the CU website. Here's a quote:

The Stingers had seven new signings this summer, including three goalkeepers. With the exception of the third goalie, all signings came from either one of Canada's three major junior leagues (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) or the US collegiate league NCAA. The team 's top scorer from last season, winger Isiah Campbell , is also on the team .

Marc-André Élément is sportingly responsible for the Stingers , the head coach is only 38 years old but has been working for the organization for many years: from 2006 to 2011 as a player and since 2015 as head coach. However, goaltending coach Jim Corsi has the brightest name on the coaching staff . Not only is the analytics category of the Corsi values named after him, he was also involved in Italian ice hockey for twelve years during his active career and was the national team's first-choice goalkeeper at eight world championship tournaments.

There are no further games mentioned on the tour, so presumably CU comes home 0-2-0 and being outscored 6-15. That 7.50 GAA is unimpressive. No Corsi stats can make up for that.

KAC has no USports grads that I could tell. However, 34 year-old former Jet and Moose Paul Postma plays on their defence. He had 8 seasons in the NHL, 6 of which he split time in the AHL.

Cumulatively, the three OUA teams on our went 1-8-0 on their tours. The Bisons went 9-6-2 in four tours between 2011 and 2018. I also recall that UQTR did much better in prior tours of France against opposition comparable to what they faced this year.


NEXT UP

Fri Sep 8 Alberta at Calgary 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 8 MacEwan at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 8 Regina v Saskatchewan 5:00 CST (at Big River FN)
Fri Sep 8 Simon Fraser at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT
Sat Sep 9 Calgary at Alberta 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Mount Royal at MacEwan 5:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Saskatchewan v Regina 2:00 CST (at Big River FN)
Sat Sep 9 Simon Fraser at Trinity Western 12:30 PDT
Sat Sep 9 R.M.C. v Queen's 7:30 EDT (at Gananoque, Ont.)
Sat Sep 9 Guelph at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 9 Briercrest College at Jamestown TBA
Sun Sep 10 Guelph at Ottawa 4:00 EDT
Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College at Jamestown TBA

 

[AUS Fan]

These tours are more than wins and losses. Good team bonding, a chance to see another part of the world (which is never a bad thing), a chance to play high level competition.

It's nice to be more competitive but I'm sure the teams are "happy" for the experience.

 

[Hollywood3]

Preview: September 8-9: MANITOBA’S BYE WEEK

The Bisons have a bye week. They have yet to upload an exhibition schedule but if they had an opponent this weekend, it would be announced. They have announced a new game (after the season will have started), against the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on Thursday, October 5th at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Their opponents have announced the following:

Fri Sep 15 Manitoba at Briercrest College TBA
Sat Sep 16 Manitoba at Regina 3:00 CST
Fri Sep 22 Lakehead at Manitoba TBA **
Sun Sep 24 Regina at Manitoba TBA
Sat Oct 7 Manitoba at North Dakota TBA

The team website has also uploaded a story on the departed Brett Davis to the pros.

Links:
➤ UofM: Brett Davis signs pro deal with ECHL's Florida Everblades
➤ UofM: Schedule & Results


ELSEWHERE IN THE CW

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (1-1-0)
CALGARY DINOSAURS (0-0-0)

Links:
➤ UofA: Team Website
➤ UofC: Team Website

This is Bedrock U’s first game action, as they try to hang on to last year’s title. Neither side has officially announced any new recruits, nor have they updated the roster pages on their websites. We got a glimpse of the Evil Monkeys’ new roster last weekend when they uploaded their home game stats to LeagueStat. They host Saturday’s game, and hopefully that happens again.

MACEWAN GRIFFINS (1-1-0)
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (0-0-0)

Links:
➤ MacU: Former Griffins Roach, Salame and Oszytko set to join pro hockey ranks this season
➤ MacU: Three Stars: Mwasalla, Wright, Abel earn honours
➤ MacU: MacEwan Athletics launches new Griff Nation Podcast on Spotify
➤ MacU: Roster
➤ MRU: Team Website

Kudos to the Mythical Mutants. They are filing updated stories and are the only CW team with an updated roster page. The linked stories cover the pro careers of graduated players, goaltender Ashton Abel getting a MacU three-star award, and a new podcast on Spotify. Hopefully one side will upload the lineups to LeagueStat.

REGINA COUGARS (0-0-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (0-0-0)

Links:
➤ UofR: Team Website
➤ UofS: Team Website
➤ Huskie Fan: Huskies hire former Dog as new Director of Player & Grassroots Development

Neither the Banjo-Cats nor the Banjo-Mutts have released a new story on their websites since they were eliminated from playoffs. All that’s out there is a story from Huskie Fan, which is linked. This series is being played at the Big River First Nation. They opened the Jim Neilson Sports Centre last September. It is named after the former New York Rangers’ (and a few other teams) defenceman, well remembered by those of a certain age. The hockey rink seats 1,500 and seems to be a nice complex.

SIMON FRASER RED LEAFS (BCIHL: 0-0-0)
U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS (0-0-0)
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (0-0-0)

Links:
➤ SFU: ANNOUNCING the SFU Hockey non-conference roster
➤ TWU: Team Website
➤ UBC: Team Website

On Friday, SFU will visit UBC and on Saturday they will visit TWU. The unique thing here is that the Red Leafs have one squad playing 19 non-conference games (including these two) and another squad playing 20 games in the BCIHL. Check the link for the rosters and schedules for both teams. The non-conference team has a fair number of BCHL and AJHL Junior A players, plus a good number of players from BC’s various Junior B leagues. Neither the T-irds nor the Holy Trinity have released a roster page.


OUT EAST

Sat Sep 9 Guelph at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 9 R.M.C. v Queen's 7:30 EDT (at Gananoque)
Sun Sep 10 Guelph at Ottawa 4:00 EDT

no games

Links:
➤ OUA: Schedule & Results
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Sat Sep 9 Briercrest College at Jamestown (ACHA) 7:00 CDT
Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College at Jamestown (ACHA) 3:00 CDT

no games

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[Hollywood3]

September 8, 2023: Bisons’ Bye Week

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

REGINA COUGARS 2
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 1

Links:
➤ UofR: Schedule & Results
➤ UofS: Team Website

Nobody posted a game story, and nobody uploaded stats to LeagueStat, so all we have is the score for all games across the CW.

I know it’s only exhibition, but the Banjo-Cats must be purring after this win. Since 2014 they are 2-25-2 against the Banjo-Mutts.

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
CALGARY DINOSAURS 6

Links:
➤ UofA: Schedule & Results
➤ UofC: Schedule & Results

The Dinos win the rematch of last year’s conference final. It was their first game, but the Evil Monkeys now fall to 1-2-0. Without stats I can’t say much. But that’s a lot of goals given up so far.

MACEWAN GRIFFINS 0
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 6

Links:
➤ MacU: Schedule & Results
➤ MRU: Schedule & Results

The Bluegars haven’t posted a thing about new recruits. I’d like to see if they adequately replaced their departed players. The Mythical Mutants are now 1-2-0 in pre-season, and this was MRU’s first game.

SIMON FRASER RED LEAFS 3
U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS 5

Links:
➤ SFU: Simon Fraser University is set to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds for the season’s first local rivalry matchup
➤ SFU: Simon Fraser University will look to rebound after last night’s 5-3 loss against their former BCIHL rival Trinity Western University Spartans
➤ UBC: Schedule & Results

The T-irds started their pre-season against the BCIHL. They follow with games against TWU and NAIT (of the ACAC). It will be hard to get a gauge on them.


NEXT UP

Sat Sep 9 Calgary at Alberta 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Mount Royal at MacEwan 5:00 MDT
Sat Sep 9 Saskatchewan v Regina 2:00 CST (at Big River FN)
Sat Sep 9 Simon Fraser at Trinity Western 12:30 PDT

OUA
Sat Sep 9 R.M.C. v Queen's 7:30 EDT (at Gananoque, Ont.)
Sat Sep 9 Guelph at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Sun Sep 10 Guelph at Ottawa 4:00 EDT

ACAC/ACHA
Sat Sep 9 Briercrest College at Jamestown 7:00 CDT
Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College at Jamestown 3:00 CDT

 

[Hollywood3]

September 9, 2023: Bisons’ Bye Week Wraps Up

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 3
REGINA COUGARS 0

Links:
➤ UofS: Team Website
➤ UofR: Schedule & Results

In the end, each team of banjo-lovers gets one win and one loss. Seems appropriate on a weekend where the football hillbillies were demolished.

CALGARY DINOSAURS 5
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3

Links:
➤ UofC: Schedule & Results
➤ UofA: Schedule & Results

The Evil Monkeys reserved a space for LeagueStat updates, then uploaded nothing but the score. Maybe it will be a Sunday morning update. This makes Alberta 1-3-0 to start the season, which is unusual for them.

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS -
MACEWAN GRIFFINS -

Links:
➤ MRU: Schedule & Results
➤ MacU: Griffins cancel back half of preseason series vs. Mount Royal due to injuries

This is something new to me. The Mythical Mutants had to cancel due to too many injuries. No report on how many injuries there were. This was Mac’s home game of the home-and-home series. It is a bad omen to start the season with an injury problem.

SIMON FRASER RED LEAFS 2
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS 3

Links:
➤ SFU: Team Website
➤ TWU: Schedule & Results

This game was Holy Trinity’s season debut, and saw SFU fall to 0-2-0. This result was more-or-less as expected.


NEXT UP

Fri Sep 15 Calgary at Saskatchewan 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 15 MacEwan at N.A.I.T. (ACAC) 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Manitoba at Briercrest College (ACAC) 7:00 CST/8:00 CDT
Fri Sep 15 Minot State (ACHA) at Regina 7:00 CST
Fri Sep 15 Mount Royal at Alberta 5:00 MDT
Fri Sep 15 U.B.C. at Trinity Western 7:15 PDT
Sat Sep 16 Alberta at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Calgary at Saskatchewan 3:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Manitoba at Regina 2:30 CST/3:30 CDT
Sat Sep 16 N.A.I.T. (ACAC) at MacEwan 5:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Trinity Western at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT


OUT EAST

Sat Sep 9 R.M.C. 2 Queen's 5 : [ QU ] : [ RMC ]
Sat Sep 9 Guelph 2 Carleton 5 : [ GU ]
Sun Sep 10 Guelph at Ottawa 4:00 EDT
Thu Sep 14 Ontario Tech at Toronto Metro 3:00 EDT
Thu Sep 14 Waterloo v Queen's 2:00 EDT (at London)
Fri Sep 15 Carleton at York 7:15 EDT
Fri Sep 15 McGill at U.Q.T.R. 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Ottawa at Toronto 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Waterloo at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Windsor at Laurier 6:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Carleton at Toronto 6:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Windsor at Ontario Tech 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Ottawa at York 7:15 EDT

Fri Sep 15 Moncton at St. F.X. 7:00 ADT
Fri Sep 15 New Brunswick at U.P.E.I. 7:00 ADT

OUA/AUS Interlock
Fri Sep 15 Saint Mary’s at Concordia 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Saint Mary’s at Concordia 8:00 EDT

Links:
➤ USports: Presto Schedule & Results
➤ OUA: LeagueStat Daily
➤ OUA: Schedule & Results
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Sat Sep 9 Briercrest College 4 Jamestown (ACHA) 2 : [ UJ (w video) ]
Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College at Jamestown (ACHA) 3:00 CDT
Fri Sep 15 UA-Augustana at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Minot State (ACHA) at Briercrest College 2:00 CST

Fri Sep 15 Vancouver Island at Victoria 7:00 PDT
Fri Sep 15 Penticton (Senior AA) at Okanagan 7:45 PDT
Sat Sep 16 Victoria at Vancouver Island 7:00 PDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[Hollywood3]

September 10, 2023: Sunday Special

OUT EAST

Sun Sep 10 Guelph 5 Ottawa 6 : [ GU ] : [ UfO ]


OUT WEST

Sun Sep 10 Briercrest College 4 Jamestown (ACHA) 2 : [ UJ ] : [ BC Instagram ]

 

[Hollywood3]

September 11, 2023: Bison Roster Announced

Here's the roster with returnees in green, departures in red, and new are blue.

I thought that Veloso and Thiessen were leaving, so that's a bonus. The departures who will be missed are Dyck, Skoleski, and Davis. The oddity is that all three goaltenders are coming back, along with one recruit.

I'll be doing conference-wide roster analysis once all rosters are announced.

Link:
➤ GoBisons.ca: Roster Page

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

September 11, 2023: Bison Roster Announced

Here's the roster with returnees in green, departures in red, and new are blue.

I thought that Veloso and Thiessen were leaving, so that's a bonus. The departures who will be missed are Dyck, Skoleski, and Davis. The oddity is that all three goaltenders are coming back, along with one recruit.

I'll be doing conference-wide roster analysis once all rosters are announced.

Link:
➤ GoBisons.ca: Roster Page

Not one WHLer in that recruit list, and the Bisons lost their two leading scorers. Going to be a long season for the Bisons.

 

[AUS Fan]

Not one WHLer in that recruit list, and the Bisons lost their two leading scorers. Going to be a long season for the Bisons.

The Bisons will join with most of CW, a lot of OUA and some AUS teams in never competing in a Conference championship. Unless these teams host they'll never be at the Nationals.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Not one WHLer in that recruit list, and the Bisons lost their two leading scorers. Going to be a long season for the Bisons.

What was going on behind the scenes to lead to this situation? I wondered if the WHL's brief tenure at Wayne Fleming Arena might up the Bison hockey program's visibility, but that didn't happen. Will the coaching change have any impact?

 

[Hollywood3]

What was going on behind the scenes to lead to this situation? I wondered if the WHL's brief tenure at Wayne Fleming Arena might up the Bison hockey program's visibility, but that didn't happen. Will the coaching change have any impact?

IMO the new coach likely never had much chance to get in much recruiting this year. I wasn't expecting a bumper crop for that reason. It does seem that they landed a decent Junior A crop with a lot of captains. What they were missing was big goal-scorers and a dependable #1 goaltender. We'll see what these guys are like.

Also, the major junior crop is a way down this year in the CW. The linked radio interview above indicates that 2-year AHL contracts were being widely offered this year, as opposed to the usual 1-year deals which used to exist. (BTW, minor league deals are usually 2-way between AHL and ECHL.)

In an interesting point, the Bisons had their share of recruits from the former Kootenay Ice.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

IMO the new coach likely never had much chance to get in much recruiting this year. I wasn't expecting a bumper crop for that reason. It does seem that they landed a decent Junior A crop with a lot of captains. What they were missing was big goal-scorers and a dependable #1 goaltender. We'll see what these guys are like.

Also, the major junior crop is a way down this year in the CW. The linked radio interview above indicates that 2-year AHL contracts were being widely offered this year, as opposed to the usual 1-year deals which used to exist. (BTW, minor league deals are usually 2-way between AHL and ECHL.)

In an interesting point, the Bisons had their share of recruits from the former Kootenay Ice.

With all due respect, Holly, the exodus of WHL players from the Bisons has been trending in the wrong direction for years. The Manitoba coach has no competition in his own province, Manitobans love to come home and attend UManitoba (it's a great university), and there are ex-WHLers in the UManitoba student body who are opting to not play. There's something deeply broken in the Bison athletic department if they can't even attract their own students.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

The Bisons will join with most of CW, a lot of OUA and some AUS teams in never competing in a Conference championship. Unless these teams host they'll never be at the Nationals.

Given the quality of the university, the fact that Manitobans love to come home, and the absence of other programs in MB, the Bisons should be on par with UBC, Alberta, Calgary, and Saskatchewan. Instead, they are trending towards Regina and Trinity Western.

 

[Hollywood3]

Preview: September 15-16: MANITOBA at BRIERCREST/REGINA

MANITOBA BISONS (0-0-0)
BRIERCREST CLIPPERS (ACAC: 2-0-0)

Friday, September 15th at 7:00 CST/8:00 CDT at Caronport, SK

Live Links:
➤ None

Manitoba Links:
➤ GoBisons: Team Website

Briercrest Links:
➤ Briercrest: Team Website
➤ Instagram: Briercrest Athletics

Other Links:
➤ USports: Men’s Hockey
➤ CW: Schedule & Results
➤ LeagueStat: Media Access ∞ Daily Schedule
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results

As far as I can determine, this is the first men’s hockey game between these two schools. I remember watching a bit of basketball at the U of W when the “Caronport Clippers” (as they were then called) were playing the Wesmen. A babysitter took me and my sister there for a few minutes.

I’m not expecting a lot of reports on the game, unless through Briercrest’s Instagram. Their website has no news stories and their schedule is regular season only.

The Clippers beat Jamestown (ACHA) 4-2 twice last weekend. The Bisons demolished Jamestown back in 2017 (IIRC). It was barely competitive hockey.

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

Saturday, September 16th at 1:00 CST/2:00 CDT at Regina, SK

Live Links:
➤ None

Manitoba Links:
➤ GoBisons: Team Website

Regina Links:
➤ Regina: Team Website

Regina hasn’t uploaded a news story since the end of last season, so they are Cats of Mystery this year. Elite Prospects list just four announced rookies for them:
- Benjamin Christian - D - Drumheller (AJHL)
- Leyton Holoien - D - Melfort (SJHL)
- Ayden Third - D - Vernon (BCHL)
- Jordan Borsyiuk - C - Lloydminster (AJHL)

The Banjo-Cats did manage a split with Sask last weekend on neutral ice, so they must have something going for them.


ELSEWHERE IN THE CW

MINOT STATE BEAVERS (0-0-0)
REGINA COUGARS (1-1-0)

Links:
➤ MSU: Schedule & Results
➤ UofR: Team Website

This is a special treat for Regina’s beaver lovers. MSU won the ACHA Division 1 national title last year. They split a pair of home ice games against Briercrest last year.

CALGARY DINOSAURS (2-0-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (1-1-0)

Links:
➤ UofC: Team Website
➤ UofS: Team Website

Neither side has their current roster page updated. Sask has no news stories posted since the end of last season. Bedrock U’s sweep of the Evil Monkeys has to more impressive that Sask’s split against their Banjo-loving brethren.

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

Links:
➤ UofA: Team Website
➤ MRU: Team Website

This is a home-and-home series, Friday in Edmontown and Saturday in Calgary. Neither side has a roster page uploaded, however the Evil Monkeys did upload rosters and stats for their home game against MacEwan two weeks ago. They are slated to do so again on Friday, so check the above LeagueStats link.

The Monkeys cannot be happy with a 1-3-0 start. The Bluegars were supposed to play MacEwan twice last weekend, but damaged them too much on Friday so that Saturday’s game was cancelled.

U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS (1-0-0)
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (1-0-0)

Links:
➤ UBC: Team Website
➤ TWU: Team Website

Both sides uploaded roster pages this week, which I have not had a chance to review just yet. Both sides beat the SFU Globetrotters last weekend. UBC’s schedule also confirms that there are indeed two games this weekend, Friday at Holy Trinity and Saturday at UBC.

MACEWAN GRIFFINS (1-2-0)
N.A.I.T. OOKS (ACAC: 0-0-0)

Links:
➤ MacU: Team Website
➤ NAIT: NAIT Men's Hockey Adds Nine Recruits For The 2023-24 Season

Hopefully the Mythical Mutants have enough players for two games this weekend. I believe that this is the first match-up between these former ACAC rivals since Mac moved to the CW. NAIT has a season preview story linked. Both teams are based in Edmontown, but NAIT hosts Friday and Mac hosts Saturday.



OUT EAST

Thu Sep 14 Ontario Tech at Toronto Metro 3:00 EDT
Thu Sep 14 Waterloo v Queen's 2:00 EDT (at London)
Fri Sep 15 Carleton at York 7:15 EDT
Fri Sep 15 McGill at U.Q.T.R. 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Ottawa at Toronto 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Waterloo at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 15 Windsor at Laurier 6:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Carleton at Toronto 6:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Windsor at Ontario Tech 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Ottawa at York 7:15 EDT

Fri Sep 15 Moncton at St. F.X. 7:00 ADT
Fri Sep 15 New Brunswick at U.P.E.I. 7:00 ADT

OUA-AUS Interlock
Fri Sep 15 Saint Mary’s at Concordia 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Saint Mary’s at Concordia 8:00 EDT

Links:
➤ USports: Schedule & Results
➤ OUA: LeagueStat Daily
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Fri Sep 15 UA-Augustana at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Minot State (ACHA) at Briercrest College 2:00 CST

Fri Sep 15 Vancouver Island at Victoria 7:00 PDT
Fri Sep 15 Penticton (Senior AA) at Okanagan 7:45 PDT
Sat Sep 16 Victoria at Vancouver Island 7:00 PDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[Hollywood3]

September 15, 2023: BISONS WIN IN BIBLE BELT

MANITOBA BISONS 5
BRIERCREST CLIPPERS 1

Links:
➤ UofM: Team Website
➤ Instagram: Briercrest Athletics

Early in the 3rd period I saw on Briercrest’s Instagram page that they had a live stream and they provided the password. Briercrest is a lot better than they were in the past, but the Bisons still controlled play at most times. The Clippers were 13-9-2 last year and lost out to NAIT in a 3-game series where every game was decided by one goal.

The announcers claimed that the shots were 48-42 in favour of the Bisons, but that seems a little “generous” on both accounts. I’m hoping to see some sort of summary before Saturday morning.


OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

MINOT STATE BEAVERS 5
REGINA COUGARS 3

Links:
➤ MSU: Schedule & Results
➤ UofR: Schedule & Results

No stats on this one but this has to rank as a surprise loss for the Banjo-Mutts, especially after they split with the Banjo-Mutts last weekend.

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 4

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : CW
➤ MRU: MHKY: 2023-24 recruiting class eager to hit the ice
➤ MRU: Schedule & Results
➤ UofA: Schedule & Results

Quick Summary
MRU: R. Holmes (12:01 1st) , R. Holmes (11:30 2nd)
Alta: A. Thacker (04:00 1st) , A. Thacker (14:11 1st) , B. Gustafson (11:40 3rd) , M. Ward (19:10 3rd)
Goal: MRU: Sims (24 shots, 21 saves); Alta: Berlin (27 shots, 25 saves)

Nice to see that the Evil Monkeys uploaded scores, stats, and rosters for this one. The Bluegars also uploaded a story on their recruiting class. I’ll be looking into the rosters soon.

The final goal was an ENG for the Apes. I know it’s only exhibition, but 2-3-0 is a whole lot better than 1-4-0 for the Primates. The Bluegars are now 1-1-0.

CALGARY DINOSAURS 4
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : CW
➤ UofS: Boxscore
➤ UofC: Schedule & Results

Quick Summary
Calg: J. Joseph (11:23 2nd) , C. Gutenberg (14:30 2nd) , J. Poole (16:26 2nd) , J. Poole (15:08 3rd)
Sask: K. Sorensen (01:56 2nd) , J. Pillar (06:08 2nd)
Goal: Calg: Tetachuk (22 shots, 20 saves), Sask: Ross (38 shots, 34 saves)

It looks like Bedrock U is off to a fine start, 3-0-0 and racking up good stats. Mr. Slate will like this. The Banjo-Mutts fall to 1-2-0.

MACEWAN GRIFFINS 2
N.A.I.T. OOKS 5

Links:
➤ MacU: Schedule & Results
➤ NAIT: Schedule & Results

No stats on this one. Hopefully the Mythical Mutants at least had a full roster after cancelling a game last weekend. After an opening win over the Evil Monkeys, they now have three straight losses.

Is this a sign that the CW has weakened over the off-season? In three inter-conference games, only the Bisons won.

U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS 4
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS 3

Links:
➤ UBC: Schedule & Results
➤ TWU: Schedule & Results

No stats uploads from Holy Trinity, but the T-irds are slated to do so in Saturday’s rematch.


NEXT UP
Sat Sep 16 Alberta at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Calgary at Saskatchewan 3:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Manitoba at Regina 2:30 CST/3:30 CDT
Sat Sep 16 N.A.I.T. at MacEwan 5:00 MDT
Sat Sep 16 Trinity Western at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT


OUT EAST

Thu Sep 14 Ontario Tech 3 Toronto Metro 2
Thu Sep 14 Waterloo 2 Queen's 4
Fri Sep 15 Carleton at York (no report)
Fri Sep 15 McGill 4 U.Q.T.R. 3
Fri Sep 15 Ohio (ACHA) 3 Brock 2
Fri Sep 15 Ottawa 3 Toronto 4
Fri Sep 15 Queen’s 4 Nipissing 2
Fri Sep 15 Waterloo 1 Western Ontario 2
Fri Sep 15 Windsor 4 Laurier 1
Sat Sep 16 Carleton at Toronto 6:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Windsor at Ontario Tech 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 16 Ottawa at York 7:15 EDT

Fri Sep 15 Moncton 3 St. F.X. 2 (ot)
Fri Sep 15 New Brunswick at U.P.E.I. (cancelled)

OUA-AUS Inter-Conference
Fri Sep 15 Saint Mary’s 1 Concordia 2
Sat Sep 16 Saint Mary’s at Concordia 8:00 EDT

Links:
➤ OUA: LeagueStat Daily
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Fri Sep 15 UA-Augustana 3 Red Deer Poly 5
Sat Sep 16 Minot State (ACHA) at Briercrest College 2:00 CST

Fri Sep 15 Vancouver Island 1 Victoria 2 (ot)
Fri Sep 15 Penticton Silver Bullets (Sr AA) 3 Okanagan 7
Sat Sep 16 Victoria at Vancouver Island 7:00 PDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[Hollywood3]

September 16, 2023: BISONS END TRIP WITH LOSS

After falling asleep waiting for eastern scores, here's the Saturday report.

MANITOBA BISONS 2
REGINA COUGARS 4

Links:
➤ UofM: Schedule & Results
➤ UofR: Schedule & Results
➤ UofR: YouTube

The Banjo-Cats live-streamed the game on YouTube, but I only found out about it early in the 3rd period via a YouTube notice. USports teams need to announce these sorts of things in advance.

The good thing about a YouTube stream is that I could watch the game afterwards. The players did not have names on their jerseys. So I just covered the Bison roster. Here’s how they lined up:

Goal
34 Hawryluk - 35 Murphy

Defence
16 Hartje - 24 Wareham
4 Malchuk - 25 Calder
5 ??????????

Forwards
18 Hooker - 9 Thiessen - 17 Veloso
11 Ostir - 19 Arpin - 20 Apetagon
14 Zimmerman - 28 Behun - 26 Boucher - 10 Paulhus
23 Fawkes - 12 Trimble - 13 Sutter

Scratches
G 1 Harkness - 30 Thornton
D 6 Fry - 8 Toth - 27 Gottfried
F 21 Basarab - 29 King

The scoring was kinda like this (SOG and time of goals was not announced):

1st
UofM - Behun - 1st shot of game before stream started
UofR - McCabe - PP

2nd
UofR - Culling - a long shot where Hawryluk whiffed on it
UofR - Runke - PP
UofM - Ostir - PP

3rd
UofR - empty-netter - not sure if it counted because time expired

Ethan Anders went the distance in the Regina goal.

There is no #5 on the Bison roster and the announcers never said his name. Of the scratched players, it could be #27 Gottfried in a different jersey but I never got a good look at him.

I infer that some injuries happened on the blueline, otherwise it makes no sense to dress just 5 d-men and 13 forwards. With 5 d-men they all played a lot. Malchuk and Hartje never paired up, and neither did Calder and Wareham. #5 played with everybody. I believe I saw Boucher back on the blueline a couple of times. In any event, IMO a team cannot play a season with just 7 d-men. Last year the injuries were up front, but playing a d-man up front is no problem in my view.

Four goaltenders is also too many, obviously. I am hoping the new guy Thornton pans out. He looked solid against Briercrest. But that’s a far cry from the upper echelons of the CW.

Overall, the Bisons had the majority of possession and territory. They had a lack of finish and the goaltending was okay, but for that one whiff.

I suppose I’ll find out more next weekend when Lakehead and Regina come to town. The Bisons are 1-1-0, Regina is 2-2-0, and Lakehead has not yet played.


OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4

Links:
➤ MRU: Schedule & Results
➤ UofA: Schedule & Results

Nothing but the score for this one. The Bluegars’ split makes them 2-1-0, and the Evil Monkeys fall to 2-4-0.

CALGARY DINOSAURS 5
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : CW
➤ UofS: Boxscore
➤ UofC: Schedule & Results

Quick Summary
Calg: D. Melin (05:29 1st) , J. Gricius (11:42 1st) , J. Gricius (14:51 1st) , C. Gutenberg (19:16 1st) , J. Joseph (12:03 2nd)
Sask: M. Gross (14:24 1st) , C. Petruic (00:18 2nd)
Goal: Calg: Stankowski (44 shots, 42 saves), Sask: Ross (31 shots, 26 saves)

Bedrock U is now 4-0-0, and Sask falls to 1-3-0. That big lead in shots would infer that Sask needs better goaltending, and that Stankowski would have been the 1st star.

N.A.I.T. OOKS (ACHA) 1
MACEWAN GRIFFINS 8

Links:
➤ NAIT: Schedule & Results
➤ MacU: Schedule & Results

Mac needed the win to avoid the embarassment of a sweep against their former ACAC rival. They clearly did so in fine fashion. I got the scores off Instagram and X. Mac’s got the best website this year, but they need to upload to LeagueStat.

TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS 1
U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS 6

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : CW
➤ TWU: Lowe Scores Lone Goal in Loss to UBC (report with boxscore)
➤ UBC: Schedule & Results

Quick Summary
TWU: C. Lowe (16:00 3rd)
UBC: S. Huo (04:52 1st) , S. Huo (01:31 2nd) , S. Mutala (15:56 2nd) , S. Atkinson (02:45 3rd) , C. Miller (07:48 3rd) , J. Lee (15:12 3rd)
Goal: TWU: Audet (36 shots, 30 saves), UBC: Schwebius (14 shots, 13 saves)

After a close win on Friday night, the T-irds destroyed the Holy Trinity. That shot clock looks ominous. Kudos to the T-irds for uploading stats, and to TWU for uploading a game story. Now TWU needs to verify if they are playing the next two weekends on their schedule page.


NEXT UP
Thu Sep 21 Briercrest College (ACHA) at Trinity Western TBD #
Fri Sep 22 Alberta v Saskatchewan 7:00 MDT (at Cold Lake)
Fri Sep 22 Lakehead (OUA) at Manitoba 7:30 CDT
Fri Sep 22 Mount Royal at Calgary 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 23 Calgary at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT
Sat Sep 23 Lakehead (OUA) v Regina TBA (at Winnipeg)
Sat Sep 23 N.A.I.T. (ACHA) at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT
Sat Sep 23 Saskatchewan v Alberta 7:00 MDT (at Cold Lake)
Sat Sep 23 Okanagan (BCIHL) at Trinity Western 7:00 PDT #
Sun Sep 24 Regina at Manitoba 1:00 CDT
Sun Sep 24 N.A.I.T. (ACHA) at U.B.C. 3:00 PDT
Sun Sep 24 Vancouver Island (BCIHL) at Trinity Western 12:30 PDT #

# indicates game not on both teams’ schedules


OUT EAST

Fri Sep 15 Carleton 4 York 1
Sat Sep 16 Carleton 3 Toronto 0
Sat Sep 16 Windsor 2 Ontario Tech 1
Sat Sep 16 Ohio (ACHA) 0 Brock 7 : [ BU ]
Sat Sep 16 Ottawa 6 York 2
Wed Sep 20 Ontario Tech at Laurier 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 Guelph at Brock 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 Laurier at Toronto 6:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 McGill at Toronto Metro 6:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 R.M.C. at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 Windsor at York 7:15 EDT #
Sat Sep 23 Guelph at Nipissing 7:00 EDT (regular season)
Sat Sep 23 Laurier at Waterloo 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 McGill at Toronto Metro 2:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 R.M.C. at Western Ontario 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Toronto at Ontario Tech 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Windsor v York 2:00 EDT (at Ayr, ON) #
Sat Sep 23 Windsor at York 3:15 EDT #
Sun Sep 24 Windsor v York 2:00 pm EDT (at Ayr, ON) #

# indicates team schedules conflict

Tue Sep 19 Acadia at Dalhousie 7:00 ADT

OUA-AUS Inter-Conference
Sat Sep 16 Saint Mary’s 5 Concordia 4
Thu Sep 21 Queen's at Acadia 7:30 EDT
Fri Sep 22 New Brunswick at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 St. F.X. at Concordia 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 New Brunswick at Ottawa 4:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 St. F.X. at U.Q.T.R. 4:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Queen’s at Dalhousie 2:00 ADT

Links:
➤ OUA: LeagueStat Daily
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Sat Sep 16 Minot State (ACHA) 5 Briercrest College 4
Fri Sep 22 S.A.I.T. at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 22 TBD at Concordia-Edmonton 7:00 MDT

Sat Sep 16 Victoria 1 Vancouver Island 2
Fri Sep 22 Logan Lake at Okanagan 8:30 PDT
Fri Sep 22 Victoria at Simon Fraser 12:30 PDT DH

ACAC-BCIHL Inter-Conference
Fri Sep 22 Briercrest College at Simon Fraser 7:00 PDT DH
Sat Sep 23 Briercrest College at Simon Fraser 1:00 PDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[jetsmooseice]

Given the quality of the university, the fact that Manitobans love to come home, and the absence of other programs in MB, the Bisons should be on par with UBC, Alberta, Calgary, and Saskatchewan. Instead, they are trending towards Regina and Trinity Western.

It will be interesting to see whether the new coach can improve the situation. Given that the Bisons have a province to themselves you would expect them to be running with the big dogs. However, the incoming recruits for this season and the lack of WHL talent makes me think that is likely going to be another underwhelming season.

 

[AUS Fan]

It will be interesting to see whether the new coach can improve the situation. Given that the Bisons have a province to themselves you would expect them to be running with the big dogs. However, the incoming recruits for this season and the lack of WHL talent makes me think that is likely going to be another underwhelming season.

There has to be Something wrong with the program. It can't be the rink because SMU played for years in a tiny rink, STU at the LBR, UofS in a cow barn and all teams survived.

Is it the city? Is it the school? What is it?

I'm asking anyone in the 'Peg to find out and get back to us.

 

[Rob]

It will be interesting to see whether the new coach can improve the situation. Given that the Bisons have a province to themselves you would expect them to be running with the big dogs. However, the incoming recruits for this season and the lack of WHL talent makes me think that is likely going to be another underwhelming season.

Hopefully in two or three years they will be challenging for a spot at the Nationals.
I believe the last time they were there was 2006?

 

[Hollywood3]

Preview: September 22-24: MANITOBA v LAKEHEAD v REGINA

MANITOBA BISONS (1-1-0)
LAKEHEAD THUNDERWOLVES (OUA: 0-0-0)
REGINA COUGARS ( 2-2-0)

Friday, Sept 22nd at 7:30 CDT at Wayne Fleming Arena, Winnipeg
Saturday, Sept 23rd at 7:00 CDT at Wayne Fleming Arena, Winnipeg
Sunday, Sept 24th at 1:00 CDT at Wayne Fleming Arena, Winnipeg

Live Links:
➤ Friday: Live Stats ∞ Hockey Tech
➤ Saturday: Live Stats ∞ Hockey Tech
➤ Sunday: Live Stats ∞ Hockey Tech

Manitoba Links:
➤ UofM: Schedule & Results
➤ UofM: Wichita Thunder sign Bisons standout Devon Skoleski
➤ CW: Roster
➤ LeagueStat: Exhibition Schedule/Results/Links

Other Links:
➤ USports: Schedule/Links
➤ CW: Home Page ∞ Season Schedule ∞ Daily Schedule
➤ LeagueStat: Media Stats ∞ Daily Schedule
➤ LU: Team Website
➤ UofR: Team Website

After a one-weekend revival of the old GPAC last year, the idea has been reprised for a second season. The Lakehead Norwesters (as they were known in the GPAC days) won this event last year. They then had a pretty good season, losing the OUA bronze medal playoff for the final berth in the University Cup. They were 18-6-3, and first in the OUA West. They lost to Windsor two games to one in the division final, and 4-0 to Concordia in the winner-take-all bronze playoff.

Lakehead does not at present have any non-conference games on their scheduled. Not even the upcoming Christmas tour by the Bisons. So these may be their only pre-season games before they open the regular season on October 6th.

Regina has had mixed results thus far. Without uploaded stats and rosters for any of their games thus far, it is hard to draw conclusions. Or even inferences. But a split with Sask followed by a loss to Minot State is peculiar. Unless Sask’s crop of WHL grads is not all it’s cracked up to be, or the Beavers are better than ACHA teams have been.

The Bisons still have four goaltenders (one too many), seven defencemen (two too few), and 15 forwards (a decent number). The Mystery Man wearing #5 last weekend on defence looks to have been Lucas Fry, who had been listed as #6. My impression of last weekend’s games was that the Bisons need some offensive finish to capitalize on their significant edge in territory and possession, and hopefully new recruit Kolby Thornton will be good enough to seize the starting goaltender slot.

GoBisons.ca also uploaded a story on Devon Skoleski signing in the ECHL. This was on Elite Prospects a week ago. He becomes the third player from last year’s squad to sign a pro contract, following Zach Patrick and Brett Davis.

ELSEWHERE IN THE CW

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (2-4-0)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (1-3-0)

Links:
➤ UofS: Team Website
➤ UofA: Team Website

It is not common to see the Monkeys and Mutts facing each other when both are sub-.500, pre-season or not. This is a Friday-Saturday neutral ice doubleheader from Cold Lake, Alberta. There’s nothing out there about live links being set up.

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (2-1-0)
CALGARY DINOSAURS (4-0-0)

Links:
➤ MRU: MHKY: Home Opener Hype Video
➤ MRU: Team Website
➤ UofC: Team Website

In the Town of Bedrock there is a home-and-home series between the Dinos and the Bluegars. Both sides have run up some good results so far. Friday night is hosted by the Dinos, and Saturday night the scene shifts to MRU’s home rink.

N.A.I.T. OOKS (ACAC: 1-1-0)
U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS (3-0-0)

Links:
➤ NAIT: Team Website
➤ UBC: Hockey ‘Birds add Jake Wright, Ben Kotylak to forward group

The Ooks split with MacEwan last weekend, and have had no ACAC opponents thus far. UBC’s record is somewhat deceptive. They have had one game against Simon Fraser and two games against Holy Trinity. The linked story says they have just two new players this year, one from the Dub and one who toured the BCHL, AJHL, and SJHL.

TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (1-2-0)
BRIERCREST CLIPPERS (ACAC: 0-2-0)
OKANAGAN LAKERS (BCIHL: 0-0-0)
VANCOUVER ISLAND MARINERS (BCIHL: 1-0-1)

Links:
➤ TWU: Team Website
➤ Briercrest: Instagram
➤ Okanagan: Instagram
➤ Okanagan: X/Twitter
➤ VIU: X/Twitter
➤ VIU: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

Holy Trinity’s schedule has none of these games on it. Briercrest’s website has nothing on exhibition games, but they do put up pretty pictures on Instagram. The Lakers’ site has been down for a while, but their social media links are working. VIU’s links are going. They even had a game on YouTube last weekend. Briercrest plays Thursday, and the BCIHL games go Saturday and Sunday.


OUT EAST

Fri Sep 22 Guelph at Brock 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 Laurier at Toronto 6:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 McGill at Toronto Metro 6:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 R.M.C. at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 Windsor at York 7:15 EDT #
Sat Sep 23 Guelph at Nipissing 7:00 EDT (regular season)
Sat Sep 23 Laurier at Waterloo 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 McGill at Toronto Metro 2:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 R.M.C. at Western Ontario 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Toronto at Ontario Tech 3:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Windsor v York 2:00 EDT (at Ayr, ON) #
Sat Sep 23 Windsor at York 3:15 EDT #
Sun Sep 24 Windsor v York 2:00 pm EDT (at Ayr, ON) #

Tue Sep 19 Acadia at Dalhousie 7:00 ADT

OUA-AUS Inter-Conference
Thu Sep 21 Queen's at Acadia 7:30 EDT
Fri Sep 22 New Brunswick at Carleton 7:00 EDT
Fri Sep 22 St. F.X. at Concordia 7:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 New Brunswick at Ottawa 4:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 St. F.X. at U.Q.T.R. 4:00 EDT
Sat Sep 23 Queen’s at Dalhousie 2:00 ADT

Links:
➤ USports: Presto Schedule & Results
➤ OUA: LeagueStat Daily
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST

Fri Sep 22 S.A.I.T. at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT
Fri Sep 22 TBD at Concordia-Edmonton 7:00 MDT

Fri Sep 22 Logan Lake at Okanagan 8:30 PDT
Fri Sep 22 Victoria at Simon Fraser 12:30 PDT DH

ACAC-BCIHL Inter-Conference
Fri Sep 22 Briercrest College at Simon Fraser 7:00 PDT DH
Sat Sep 23 Briercrest College at Simon Fraser 1:00 PDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results

 

[Hollywood3]

It will be interesting to see whether the new coach can improve the situation. Given that the Bisons have a province to themselves you would expect them to be running with the big dogs. However, the incoming recruits for this season and the lack of WHL talent makes me think that is likely going to be another underwhelming season.

The new coach came on board too late for big-time recruiting this year. We'll have to see how he does next year. In any event, the CW recruits from the WHL are down this year.

 

[Hollywood3]

There has to be Something wrong with the program. It can't be the rink because SMU played for years in a tiny rink, STU at the LBR, UofS in a cow barn and all teams survived.

Is it the city? Is it the school? What is it?

I'm asking anyone in the 'Peg to find out and get back to us.

It's a cyclical thing. All the CW teams have loads of WHL grads enrolled who never play hockey. Sask moved from the condemned Rutherdump to one of the best USports facilities. Their team seems to be no better after the switch. The best facilities are UBC, Sask, then possibly Alberta and Calgary. The Fleming Arena seems comparable or better than six of the other eight arenas. I also note that the Bison football team was 12-0 at Pan Am Stadium. Sometimes facilities and program quality do not correspond.

Hopefully in two or three years they will be challenging for a spot at the Nationals.
I believe the last time they were there was 2006?

In 2005 and 2010 they qualified. Both times they beat a Quebec-based OUA team then lost to the champion next.