2024-25 Manitoba Bisons/CW

[Hollywood3]

December 7, 2024: UNABLE TO HOLD A LEAD, BISONS END SEMESTER ON A DOWN NOTE

REGINA COUGARS 5
MANITOBA BISONS 3

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : Game Centre
➤ Game reports: LeagueStat : CW
➤ UofM: Cougars battle back from two down to beat Bisons 5-3
➤ UofR: Team Website

Quick Summary
Reg: B. Heward (12:45 1st) , J. Brook (15:53 1st) , C. Whyte (09:05 2nd) , J. Borysiuk (12:17 2nd) , J. Doucet (18:53 3rd)
Man: M. King (07:17 1st) , J. Hooker (11:04 1st) , G. Lane (11:31 2nd)
Goal: Reg: Evanoff (21 shots, 18 saves), Man: Holt (22 shots, 18 saves)

I saw the game but was heading out on Saturday evening, hence a delayed recap.

MANITOBA BISONS
Goal:
31 Holt (30 Thornton)

Defence:
15 Bonni - 4 Malchuk
8 Toth - 25 Calder
5 Casey - 2 Whittle

Forwards:
9 Alarie - 22 Stotts - 11 Ostir
20 Zaplitny - 21 Pasternak - 17 Bruce
19 Arpin - 18 Hooker - 28 Behun
23 Lane- 29 King - 26 Boucher

Scratches:
G: 34 Hawryluk
D: 6 Fry - 24 Wareham
F: 10 Paulhus - 12 Trimble - 13 Sutter - 14 Zimmerman - 16 Joss

REGINA COUGARS
Goal:
39 Evanoff (35 Fellner)

Defence:
20 Holoien - 22 McNutt
7 Sass - 28 Heward
4 Reimer - 3 Third

Forwards:
18 Whyte - 23 Pearce - 8 J Brook
29 Doucet - 17 McMillen - 12 Houk
9 Shindle - 37 Belitsky - 27 Barlage
19 Bjorklund - 14 Culling - 21 Borysiuk

Scratches:
G: none
D: 5 Fishley - 44 Friedt-Mohr
F: 11 Runke - 15 Kesslering - 24 Wills - 32 Steele

For some reason, the Bisons replaced Kolby Thornton (and his 22 hour old shutout and .911 save percentage) with Braden Holt (and his .879 save percentage). In my opinion, they are relatively equal in calibre. So I would use the hot hand. Especially in a must-win game.

In any event, the Bisons had a 2-0 lead in the 1st period and this looked like a replay of Friday night’s win. Once the Bisons stopped skating, it became a chippy game where the teams swapped powerplays. Each side had two powerplay goals in the end. Captain Hooker scored his 10th of the season for the Bisons.

The Christmas break is now upon us. The Bisons play in the Excited States on Dec 28 & 29, and Jan 3 & 4. The next home series is against Holy Trinity on Jan 10 & 11. The Bisons must sweep both TWU and MacEwan in the new year.

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
N.A.I.T. OOKS 4

Links:
➤ UofA: Team Website
➤ UofA: Schedule & Results
➤ NAIT: Schedule & Results

What a rebound by the Ooks! From a 10-2 loss, to a 4-3 win. Good for them!

NEXT UP

Sat Dec 28 Manitoba at Omaha 2:00 CST EX
Sun Dec 29 Manitoba at Minnesota State 3:00 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 MacEwan at Alberta 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Fri Jan 3 Mount Royal at Calgary 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Fri Jan 3 Manitoba at Bemidji State 7:07 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 Red Deer Poly at Saskatchewan 7:00 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 U.B.C. v BCIHL All-Stars (at Nanaimo) 7:15 PST/9:15 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Alberta at MacEwan 5:00 MST/6:00 CST
Sat Jan 4 Calgary at Mount Royal 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Sat Jan 4 Manitoba at North Dakota 6:07 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Red Deer Poly at Saskatchewan 5:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Trinity Western v BCIHL All-Stars (at Nanaimo) 4:30 PST/6:30 CST EX

STANDINGS

OUT EAST

No games.

OUT WEST

No games.

 

[Hollywood3]

Preview: December 28-29, 2024: MANITOBA at MAVERICKS

MANITOBA BISONS (3-11-2, 6-18-2, OHT35 #26)
NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS (4-4-0, 7-9-0, USCHO N/R)
MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS (9-1-2, 14-4-2, USCHO #11)

Sunday, December 29th at 2:00 CST at Baxter Arena, Omaha
Monday, December 30th at 3:00 CST at Mayo Clinic HSEC, Mankato

Live Links:
➤ Sunday: NCHC TV ∞ Radio ∞ Live Stats
➤ Monday: KTOE Radio

Other Links:
➤ GoBisons: Team Website
➤ UNO: Team Website
➤ MSU: Mavericks Ranked #11/12 in National Polls : Schedule & Results

The Christmas break is over for the Bisons, and they finish 2024 with games against two teams of Mavericks, one in Omaha and one in Minnesota State. They will then open 2025 with their last two non-conference games, against UND and Bemidji State. There could be more reportage on these games Friday and Saturday as people get back to work after holidays.

ELSEWHERE IN THE CW

No games.

OUT EAST

Sun Dec 29 Concordia at Clarkson 4:00 EST/3:00 CST NCAA EX
Mon Dec 30 Guelph at Niagara 2:00 EST/1:00 CST NCAA EX

No games.

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

OUT WEST

No games.

No games.

Non-Conference Games
Sat Dec 28 Simon Fraser (NCAA2) at Massachusetts 6:00 EST/5:00 CST EX
Sun Dec 29 Simon Fraser (NCAA2) at Massachusetts-Lowell 3:30 EST/2:30 CST EX

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

 

[Hollywood3]

December 29, 2024: BISONS SHUT-OUT IN NEBRASKA

MANITOBA BISONS 0
NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS 5

Links:
➤ UNO: Hockey scores five unanswered in exhibition win
➤ UofM: Team Website
➤ Sidearm Stats: Stats & Summary
➤ Video: YouTube Highlights
➤ Video: 1997 Complete Game
➤ MSU: PREVIEW: Mavericks Host Bisons in Exhibition Hockey

This game was 2-0 until a UNO penalty shot goal 13:55 into the 3rd period opened the floodgates. Kolby Thornton started in the Bison net, and stopped 24 of 25 1st period shots. Third-string goaltender Ross Hawryluk stopped 12 of the 16 shots he faced in the closing two periods. The final shots-on-goal were 40-20 in favour of UNO.

The game drew a crowd of 6,455 Nebraskans who could not give a crap about the NFL.

The radio team pointed out that UNO’s first game in program history was in 1997, which was a loss to the Bisons. I found a link to that game. The Bisons won 3-2 and over 8,400 fans were there.

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

Sat Dec 28 Simon Fraser (NCAA2) 3 Massachusetts 4 (NCAA) : Story
Sun Dec 29 Concordia (OUA) 5 Clarkson 1 (NCAA) : Story
Sun Dec 29 Simon Fraser (NCAA2) 2 Massachusetts-Lowell 9 (NCAA) : Story
Mon Dec 30 Manitoba at Minnesota State 3:00 CST EX
Mon Dec 30 Guelph at Niagara 2:00 EST/1:00 CST EX

 

[Hollywood3]

December 30, 2024: 2024 ENDS ON A DISAPPOINTING NOTE

MANITOBA BISONS 1
MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS 6

Links:
➤ MSU: Mavericks Top Bisons 6-1 in Exhibition
➤ MSU: Stats & Summary
➤ UofM: Team Website

This was the end of the calendar year, and the Bisons lost to the #11-ranked team in the NCAA. Josh Paulhus had the Bison goal.

I have to talk about goaltending. Braden Holt went the distance in the Bison net, stopping 28 of 34 shots (.824 S%). Hopefully, the coaching staff will look at the weekend stats, and the season stats, and give Kolby Thornton the starting job when conference play resumes. On the weekend, Thornton stopped 24 of 25 shots (.960 S%) in one period, and Hawryluk stopped 12 of 16 (.750 S%) in two periods. On the regular season, Thornton has a 3.27 GAA and .911 S% while Holt has a 4.82 GAA and .879 S%.

If the Bisons want to make a playoff push, they will need to go with the hot hand in the crease.

The radio announcers pointed out that the teams played a pair of overtime games in December of 1992. MSU won the first one (3-2) and the second ended tied (6-6).

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

Mon Dec 30 Guelph (OUA) 2 Niagara (NCAA) 5 : Story

NEXT UP

A mix of conference and non-conference play before classes start on the Monday.

CWUAA
Fri Jan 3 MacEwan at Alberta 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Fri Jan 3 Mount Royal at Calgary 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Fri Jan 3 Manitoba at Bemidji State (NCAA) 7:07 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 Red Deer Poly (ACAC) at Saskatchewan 7:00 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 Briercrest College (ACAC) at Regina 7:30 CST EX
Fri Jan 3 U.B.C. v BCIHL All-Stars (at Nanaimo) 7:15 PST/9:15 CST
Sat Jan 4 Alberta at MacEwan 5:00 MST/6:00 CST
Sat Jan 4 Calgary at Mount Royal 7:00 MST/8:00 CST
Sat Jan 4 Manitoba at North Dakota (NCAA) 6:07 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Briercrest College (ACAC) at Regina 3:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Red Deer Poly (ACAC) at Saskatchewan 5:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Trinity Western v BCIHL All-Stars (at Nanaimo) 4:30 PST/6:30 CST

OUA
Fri Jan 3 York at Lakehead 7:00 EST/6:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 York at Lakehead 7:00 EST/6:00 CST
Sat Jan 4 Guelph at R.I.T. (NCAA) 5:00 EST/4:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 Concordia at Colgate (NCAA) 3:00 EST/2:00 CST EX
Sat Jan 4 China at Windsor 7:30 EST/6:30 CST EX
Sun Jan 5 R.M.C. at Toronto 2:00 EST/1:00 CST

ACAC
Fri Jan 3 S.A.I.T. at N.A.I.T. 7:00 MST/8:00 CST EX

 

[jetsmooseice]

The radio announcers pointed out that the teams played a pair of overtime games in December of 1992. MSU won the first one (3-2) and the second ended tied (6-6).

They also mentioned how sluggish the Bisons looked. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to play two games against tough D1 opponents on back to back days, but it's hard to believe they couldn't have squeezed a rest day in there.

 

[Hollywood3]

They also mentioned how sluggish the Bisons looked. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to play two games against tough D1 opponents on back to back days, but it's hard to believe they couldn't have squeezed a rest day in there.

They play only back-to-back all season.

 

[jetsmooseice]

They play only back-to-back all season.

That is true, but not with travel squeezed in there to make it more difficult. Not to mention the fact that the opponents are usually in the same boat, as opposed to this case where the Bisons went in taking on a fully rested team on the second half of the back to back.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

They play only back-to-back all season.

Yes, but never with a 5-hour bus ride between those back-to-back games.