2014-15 Manitoba Bisons/CIS Thread

[SP Saskatuned]

The Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes have recently hired new coaches. Both are former coaches in the CW.

Willie Desjardins will now be coaching the Canucks. He formerly coached the Calgary Dinos, starting there when a student and then taking the head reigns when George Kingston left to ultimately coach the San Jose Sharks in the NHL. Desjardins led Bedrock U to a CW title in 1990.

Former Lethbridge Pronghorns' coach Bill Peters will be coaching the Hurricanes next year. He coached the H0rny Ones for 3 dismal seasons, 2002-05, where they went 17-59-8. He follows his mentor and also former H0rny One Mike Babcock to the NHL. I doubt he looked at theat record as a stepping-stone to the NHL at the time.

In addition to Kingston and Babcock, several other CW alumni have coached in the NHL. Local boys Barry Trotz, Andy Murray, and Wayne Fleming come to mind. And, of course, there is also Dave King from Sask.

Links:
:. [U of C Story] : [Reposted at CW] : [CP Story]
:. [U of L Story] : [Reposted at CW]

Holly, Desjardins was a student at the U of S, where he won a CIAU title in 1983 with the Huskies. He was captain of that squad, coached by Dave King. He went on to the U of Calgary from there.

 

[Hollywood3]

It's July!

Although it is July there is still some news. Here we go ...

The original schedule glitch has been resolved. The Bisons have sent their news release, and it is primarily a Friday-Saturday schedule as the Good Lord intended. The home opener is Friday, October 3rd against the Regina Cougars.

All is quiet on the recruiting front. But I did find a new link for MyToba.ca. It is a local blog which has lots of stuff on the Bisons amongst its fare. I have the link for the first recruiting announcement.

Links:
:. [U of M Scheduling Story] : [Bison Hockey Schedule]
:. [MyToba.ca Recruiting Story]

This is once again a Universiade year. Jon Rempel, coach of the Bison Broads, will coach the women's team and Mike Sirant, coach of the Bison men, will be an assistant for the men's team. The women's team is a CIS nation-wide effort and the men's team is a CWUAA effort.

TEAM CANADA COACHING STAFF – EN
Team Leader: Todd Johnson, University of Regina
Head Coach: Dave Adolph, University of Saskatchewan
Associate Coach: Mark Howell, University of Calgary
Associate Coach: Mike Sirant, University of Manitoba
Video Coach: Spiros Anastas, University of Lethbridge
Equipment/Athletic Therapy: Chris Linder, University of Calgary
Equipment/Athletic Therapy: T.J. Mussbacher, University of Alberta

Links:
:. [CW Story] : [Repost at GoBisons]

The UfO chose to suspend their hockey program for the 2014-15 season. This will require a revamping of the OUA schedule. Allan the Rock also had lots to say without divulging any details. He has thus allowed himself to smear everybody while not making any direct allegations. Hence, the potential for law suits. There was to be a meeting on July 2nd to decide if the players could transfer elsehwere, as was allowed when Waterloo football was suspended for a season. Still no word I know of.

Rock suspended the program on March 3 after the university learned about an incident of alleged sexual assault involving some members of the team in Thunder Bay, where the team had travelled for games at Lakehead University. The incident was alleged to have occurred Feb. 1 but was not reported to the university until Feb. 24, by a friend of the alleged victim.

The university launched an internal review, which wrapped up earlier this month.

The review determined, Rock said, that head coach Réal Paiement learned of the alleged incident within hours and took his own disciplinary action, but he didn’t inform university authorities. That led “in great part†to his dismissal, Rock said.

Paiement did not respond to a request for comment.

Several University of Ottawa hockey players have retained a lawyer and are threatening to sue. Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said the university and its president have defamed, punished and even ended the careers of some “innocent†players who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

“You’ve got a team of 24 players. My information is that, at the absolute most, there were three that are alleged to have been involved in misconduct,†Greenspon said.

“There have been no charges laid by the police, the university has carried out an investigation for almost six months now, and there are, by my math, some 21 players who have not done anything wrong but have had their careers ended in some cases and their reputations seriously damaged as a result of this university’s policy or practice of punishing the many for the alleged sins of the few.â€

LINK

Rock, a former federal cabinet minister, employed some interesting semantics during a news conference, stating: "We're suspending the program, not the team." That should make it clear where the burden lies: on the authority figures who, in the milieu of a university, went rogue. It also arguably makes it harder for the players to seek redress since they haven't been suspended; their program has just ceased to be for a while.

No charges have been laid, but uOttawa is reacting to how this was handled and not what might/might not be established by a police investigation. Anyone who thinks there needs to be a conviction in order to justify the suspension is missing the point. It's about accountability; it's on coaches to show it doesn't put players being named in a sexual assault complaint on the same level with, say, missing practice. That is how it looks with Paiement, a former national junior team coach, trying to discipline players internally.

LINK Of course, somebody should point out the irony that Allan the Rock was part of a corrupt Liberal government which, despite their transgressions, was NOT suspended and allowed to contest elections.

Still, was suspension fair to the uninvolved players? Is dumping the 2014-15 season fair to fresh, incoming players, who now lose a year of competition?

Of course not. Do some yet live under an unwanted shadow? Surely they do. Hopefully, time fixes this.

There were alternatives. The school could have suspended the players involved, fired or reprimanded the coach, let the police do their work, and start the fall season with a fresh page. But if the suspended players, named or not, are not charged, how does that serve the aims of justice, Rock wondered. In other words, would the school be adding to the wrong?

LINK

Other links:
:. [CIS Story] : [What's next for the players?]

The MRU Cougars seem to make the news quite often this off-season. Now Eric Galbraith has left the program to play for the Hull Stingrays in the EIHL (British Isles). They also have three more recruits: Sebastien Pare (BCHL), David Stephens (MHL), and Zach Henry (MHL).

Other links:
:. [MRU Story] : [Repost at CW]
:. [Pare] : [Stephens] : [Henry]

 

[NorthStar]

Hollywood, gotta say this, your providing the U of M history is certainly cool!!! Especially the pics posted.. I wonder, if I recall right as I did see a few U of M Bisons hockey games on CKND (now Global) years ago and I swear I saw an interesting uniform with the logo of a Bison with futuristic glasses (could be sunglasses?).. I have been searching for that one for a long time to confirm if I wasnt dreaming that one up... do you by any chance have anything regarding that, jersey pics or the logo pic?? Would be very eager to see it...

 

[Hollywood3]

Hollywood, gotta say this, your providing the U of M history is certainly cool!!! Especially the pics posted.. I wonder, if I recall right as I did see a few U of M Bisons hockey games on CKND (now Global) years ago and I swear I saw an interesting uniform with the logo of a Bison with futuristic glasses (could be sunglasses?).. I have been searching for that one for a long time to confirm if I wasnt dreaming that one up... do you by any chance have anything regarding that, jersey pics or the logo pic?? Would be very eager to see it...

Before the current logo there was a brief stylized Bison head logo. I have never seen it on-line. The early logos were just a letter "M" and then the centennial logo (the word "Manitoba" in the shape of a bison).

 

[NorthStar]

Before the current logo there was a brief stylized Bison head logo. I have never seen it on-line. The early logos were just a letter "M" and then the centennial logo (the word "Manitoba" in the shape of a bison).

Yeah but that stylized Bison head logo was what got my attention when I saw the few games on CKND.. would love to get my hands on that one and study it good... wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the U of M Bisons about this???

 

[Hollywood3]

Yeah but that stylized Bison head logo was what got my attention when I saw the few games on CKND.. would love to get my hands on that one and study it good... wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the U of M Bisons about this???

You could. They also have team photos where that jersey was used on the walls of the arena behind the seating area.

 

[Hollywood3]

Yeah but that stylized Bison head logo was what got my attention when I saw the few games on CKND.. would love to get my hands on that one and study it good... wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the U of M Bisons about this???

This one?

 

[Hollywood3]

Yeah but that stylized Bison head logo was what got my attention when I saw the few games on CKND.. would love to get my hands on that one and study it good... wonder if it would be a good idea to contact the U of M Bisons about this???

I also like Manitoba in the shape of a Bison:

 

[NorthStar]

This one?

That is the one....that is what got my attention years ago and I would have loved to see maybe a pennant of that Bisons logo.. perfect for putting on the wall...

 

[NorthStar]

I also like Manitoba in the shape of a Bison:

Also that one was very interesting and cool as well..

 

[Hollywood3]

Update

...
Hockey at the U of M dwindled after the World Championship season. True, the junior team continued for 6 more years in the MJHL. But without the Allan Cup varsity teams had no national title to chase. In any event, it appears that the era of university teams competing for junior or senior provincial or national honours had gone not only in Manitoba, but throughout Canada. I have seen no records of junior competition past 1937 nor senior competition past 1929 for any university team.

...

I have found updated senior/intermediate records and the most recent dates of competition are:

[1935] Saskatchewan
[1940] Alberta
[1946] UBC

And, of course, the Brandon College Caps were in the BSIHL until 1954.

 

[Hollywood3]

Update on Pre-Season

...

Here are the other teams' schedule links and status:
Alberta: nothing: http://athletics.ualberta.ca/teams/hockey-m/schedule
Calgary: conference only: http://www.godinos.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey&
Lethbridge: still on 2013-14: http://gohorns.ca/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey
Mount Royal: still on 2013-14: http://www.mrucougars.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey
Regina: conference only: http://www.reginacougars.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey
Saskatchewan: no page for their hockey team! http://huskies.usask.ca/
UBC: conference only: http://www.gothunderbirds.ca/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey

It will be useful to check the team schedule links in coming weeks as the non-conference games are added.

...

From Sask: http://huskies.usask.ca/

They will be playing at Regina on September 10th and 12th. On the 10th they will play Regina and on the 12th they will play Manitoba.

From MRU: http://www.mrucougars.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey

They will host NAIT (from the ACAC) September 12th-13th and will visit Lakehead September 19th-20th.

 

[Hollywood3]

Bisons to Visit the Big Lemon

The Bisons are off to Banjoland and the Big Lemon as part of their pre-season. Since the regular season starts at the end of September, there is not much chance for games.

Friday, September 12th the Herd will face Saskatchewan in Regina. They will likely face either Regina or some other CW team that Saturday as part of a gaggle of exhibition games.

Then on September 19th-21st it is off to The Big Lemon for games against the Toronto Blues (Friday and Saturday) and then the Ryerson Rams (on Sunday) at the former Maple Leaf Gardens.

Links:
:. [U of T Schedule] : [Ryerson Schedule]

MRU leads the league in off-season news. On September 12th and 13th they will host the NAIT Ooks in an ACAC reunion series. The following weekend they will travel to Lakehead.

For new recruits they have Jamie King and Connor Collett, both from the Calgary Mustangs of the AJHL. There was supposed to be a link for a radio interview with Coach Gilling, but I couldn't find anything clickable. Try it yourself!

Links:
:. [CW Story] : [Gilling on radio?]
:. [King] : [Collett]

Meanwhile, across the Town of Bedrock, three Dinos became a page right of history. Off to France are defencemen Brett Bartman (to Gap Rapaces) and Cory Pritz (to Briançon Red Devils). Forward Taylor Stefishen is off to the Elmira Jackals (ECHL). They will be tough to replace.

Link:
:. [U of C Story]

Brian Burke is on his way south to speak at a Lethbridge dinner in September. Will he help a struggling blue-and-white clad team find some pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence?

Link:
:. [U of L Story]

The Monkeys had a fairly standard story on their regular season schedule. Usually, they are quick to announce exhibition games. Not so this year. Still no word on their pre-season. However, they made a faux pas about last year's playoffs:

Alberta finished in first place in the Canada West standings in 2013-14, thanks to a 25-2-1 record, and then went undefeated in the conference playoffs, sweeping aside Manitoba and Calgary, to capture their second consecutive Canada West crown. At the University Cup tournament, held for the second year in Saskatoon, the Bears defeated Carleton, McGill and the host Huskies to win their CIS record 14th national championship trophy.

Oooops! They never played Manitoba in last year's playoffs. Of course, they beat UBC (who advanced with an upset win over Sask) and Bedrock (who beat the Bisons in OT of game 3). Somebody has been monkeying around with their computers!

Link:
:. [U of A Story]

 

[Hollywood3]

August begins with Recruits, Rumours, and News

The Bison site has nothing new, however the Blues' site tells us that defenceman Channing Bresciani has committed and the rumour mill has forward Shaq Merasty coming as well. Both hail from Thompson, Manitoba. Here are their backgrounds:

Channing Bresciani - D - Winnipeg Blues (MJHL)
- Like many Bison recruits, Bresciani is used to wearing a letter. He was the captain of the Blues and was widely acknowledged to be their leader in their run to the Manitoba title. He was voted the outstanding defenceman at the Western Canada Cup Junior A tournament. Unlike most Bison recruits, he is not very big (5'11" 175 lbs in most listings). He is highly touted as a player who can move the puck. His commitment is reported by the Blues and Elite Prospects.

Links:
:. [Blues' Story]
:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB (incomplete)]
:. Scott Taylor story at: [Manitoba Hockey News] & [MyToba.ca]
:. [Dauphin WCC Report]

Shaq Merasty - F - Sagkeeng Braves (MSHL), Adrian Bulldogs (NCAA)
- This is still a rumour. Merasty was a big-time goal scorer for the Portage Terriers. He then went to Adrian, Michigan to play NCAA Div III (they have no Div II). There he was an all-American with 22 goals in 28 games, and was Rookie of the Year. He chose to red-shirt last year, something which is no longer required for NCAA transfers.

From MHN:

When he played with the Portage Terriers, Shaquille Merasty was one of the most feared players in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The kid was an MJHL star.

He could fight if he had to, but at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds nobody really wanted to fight him. He could skate, score and was one of the best playmakers in the MJHL. He had all the tools.

He’d even finished high school before he finished his MJHL career. He’d have made a great NCAA Division 1 player.

However, because there aren’t many D-1 scouts around the MJHL, Merasty never really got noticed. Despite playing only 38 games because a couple of serious injuries, Merasty finished 21st in league scoring with 30 goals and 30 assists.

Still, he led the Terriers to the 2012 Turnbull Cup, emblematic of the MJHL championship and he did get a sniff from one U.S. College – a Division 3 school in Adrian, Mich.

For most, that might not be a big deal, but Shaq Merasty, with some financial help from his band, Berens River First Nation, made it a big deal. He chose to attend Adrian College and he’s made a gigantic impact on the Division III game.

His numbers were huge: He finished second in the nation in goals scored with 22 in 28 games, and was tied for 10th in the nation in overall scoring with 38 points for a 1.36 points per game average. He was tied for seventh in the country in power-play goals with eight, and tied for third in the nation in game-winning goals with five. He also finished second in the MCHA in scoring with 18 goals and 29 points, one point behind teammate Zach Graham, and averaged 1.45 points per game in the conference.

To top it off, he earned All-American honors [the 2012-13] season (selected to the West second team) and was named to the MCHA All-Conference team and All-Freshman teams.

Last season he played for the Sagkeeng Braves in the MSHL (Senior A), where he led the league with 30 goals in 15 games. If he could put it all together he could be an impact top 6 forward, either this year or next.

Links:
:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]
:. [Manitoba Hockey News profile] : [USCHO story on awards]
:. [Sagkeeng Stats]

Bearing in mind that we do not know which eligible-to-return players may not be registered at the U of M, this is a complete list of recruits and eligible players for this year's team:

DEFENCE (6+3=9)
3 Pierre Landry
5 Lee Christensen
6 Luke Paulsen
12 Brock Sutherland
24 Travis Bobbee
28 Kyle Rous
* Rene Hunter
* Josh Elmes
* Channing Bresciani

FORWARDS (11+6=17)
8 Jory Coates
10 Brendan Rowinski
15 Craig Scott
16 Jesse Paradis
17 Austin Lauder
18 Dylan Kelly
20 Aaron Lewadniuk
21 Taylor Dickin
25 Paul Ciarelli
26 Jon Gaudet
27 Jordan DePape
* Chad Robinson
* Joel Schreyer
* Justin Augert
* Colin Mospanchuk
* Warren Callis
* Shaq Merasty

GOALTENDERS (2+2=4)
34 Deven Dubyk
35 Joey Rewucki
* Brendan Jensen
* Byron Spriggs

* new recruit

There is good news on the coast. Instead of flailing away with desperation recruits, UBC has picked up four solid recruits, two goaltenders and two forwards.
* Eric Williams - goaltender (Spokane Chiefs WHL and Colorado Eagles ECHL)
* Manraj Hayer - left wing (Everett Silvertips WHL)
* Robert Lindores - right wing (Northern Michigan NCAA)
* Khaleed Devji - goaltender (Salem State University NCAA)

Hayer had 38 goals in the Dub. Williams could be a worthy starting goaltender in the CW.

Links:
:. [UBC Story] : [repost at Boxscore News]

The BCIHL is down to 5 teams with the folding of the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. This was somewhat shocking. The team had existed for 5 years and the BCIHL is a low-budget league.

“ I would like to thank the past and current members of the Hockey Board of Directors for their hard work and tireless effort,” said Olynyk. “They established this program five years ago for student/athletes who wanted to continue to play competitive hockey while pursuing their education. They made every effort possible to maintain the program to this point, but due to economics and a lack of a sustainable model, we have no choice but to dissolve the program.”

The league also suffered a relatively last-minute departure from the Okanagan Coyotes a couple years back. With many players having already laid down money for the school year, this is not a happy scenario.

Links:
:. [TRU Story]
:. [BCIHL Story]

The CW teams are slow to upload exhibition games into their on-line schedules this year. This is all we have so far:

Tue Sep 09 Regina at Briercrest (ACAC)
Wed Sep 10 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 NAIT (ACAC) at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 NAIT (ACAC) at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 Saskatchewan v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Fri Sep 19 Manitoba at Toronto (OUA)
Fri Sep 19 Mount Royal at Lakehead (OUA)
Fri Sep 19 Saskatchewan at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Manitoba at Toronto (OUA)
Sat Sep 20 Mount Royal at Lakehead (OUA)
Sat Sep 20 Saskatchewan v Calgary (at Edmonton)
Sun Sep 21 Manitoba at Ryerson (OUA)
Sat Oct 04 Trinity Western (BCIHL) at St. Cloud State (NCAA)
Sat Oct 04 Simon Fraser (BCIHL) at Bowling Green (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Manitoba at North Dakota (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Trinity Western (BCIHL) at Minnesota State (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Simon Fraser (BCIHL) at Miami (Ohio) (NCAA)

 

[Hollywood3]

Mid-August Update

The Lethbridge H0rny Ones dominated the news release category, with a list of recruits, a staffing announcement, and an exhibition schedule.

First, their schedule has them as part of Regina's mass event on Sept 12-14. It conflicts with Sask's but is more likely the correct one. (Sask's website is just plain weird and you have to wonder if anything uploaded was done by a hillbilly puffing on a corn cob pipe.) The U of L has Lethbridge v Manitoba on Saturday at 4:00 and Lethbridge v UBC Sunday at 2:00. After that they play the Dinos at Bedrock on Sept 18th and then face Sask in Edmontown on Sept 20th.

Second, the `Horns have 6 new recuits, two CIS transfers, two NCAA transfers, and two Junior A newcomers.
- Warren Shymko - G - UfO transfer
- Greg Trichilo - F - Laurier transfer
- Brandon Clowes - F - Alabama-Huntsville transfer
- Manny Gialedakis - F Oswego transfer
- Justin Valentino - F - Dauphin Kings
- Cody Bardock - D - Sherwood, Trail, and Chilliwack

Trichilo will have to red-shirt but the new exception for NCAA transfers and the one-time waiver for UfO players gives them 3 players right away. Check out the link for their backgrounds. Shymko and Trichilo have stats packs that would make them solid recruits.

Finally, the staff additions are assistant coach Sean Gillam, athletic therapist/equipment manager Brennan Mahon, director of hockey operations Jesse Hale, and strength and conditioning coach Austin Davenport.

Links:
:. [U of L Schedule]
:. [Recruiting Story] : [Staffing Story]

UBC had no announcement but their schedule has one exhibition, and not the one Lethbridge listed. They will host the SFU Clown of the BCIHL on Sept 9th.

Links:
:. [UBC Schedule]

Fernando Pisani will be the new assistant monkey-trainer, replacing Ryan Marsh. He moves up from 2nd assistant. The story ends by stating that the Mo keys will be in Regina on the weekend of Sept 12th and that they will again host the Brick Invitational Sept 19-20. They do not state any schedules. The Monkeys usually go ape with pre-season games, but apparently not this year.

Links:
:. [U of A Story]

The CIS/Dalhousie saga has come to an end.

Dalhousie University has been fined $7,000 for unauthorized financial awards to six hockey players between 2009 and 2012.

Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), which governs university athletics, has also placed Dalhousie on two years’ probation and ordered it to pay about $3,450 to cover the costs of the investigation.

So all these years later, big whoop. At least its done. ITM, Dal-Lousy has become even weaker and they seem to be pencilled in for 8th in the AUS.

Links:
:. [CBC Story] : [Dalhousie Story]
:. [Chronicle-Herald] : [same story different link]

The sparse new announcements at least add something. It looks like a dull pre-season in the CW, with mass events in Regina and Edmonton and little else. Would the Bisons host games on the Labour Day weekend? If not, they would have no home exhibitions. This is the update:

Tue Sep 09 Regina at Briercrest (ACAC)
Tue Sep 09 Simon Fraser (BCIHL) at UBC
Wed Sep 10 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 NAIT (ACAC) at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 NAIT (ACAC) at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 Saskatchewan v Lethbridge (at Regina) ?
Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Thu Sep 18 Lethbridge at Calgary
Fri Sep 19 Manitoba at Toronto (OUA)
Fri Sep 19 Mount Royal at Lakehead (OUA)
Fri Sep 19 Saskatchewan at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Manitoba at Toronto (OUA)
Sat Sep 20 Mount Royal at Lakehead (OUA)
Sat Sep 20 Saskatchewan v Calgary (at Edmonton)
Sat Sep 20 Saskatchewan v Lethbridge (at Edmonton)
Sun Sep 21 Manitoba at Ryerson (OUA)

Thu Sept 25 Regular Season starts

Sat Oct 04 Trinity Western (BCIHL) at St. Cloud State (NCAA)
Sat Oct 04 Simon Fraser (BCIHL) at Bowling Green (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Manitoba at North Dakota (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Trinity Western (BCIHL) at Minnesota State (NCAA)
Sun Oct 05 Simon Fraser (BCIHL) at Miami (Ohio) (NCAA)

 

[Hollywood3]

Regina 0-2 in Europe

August 24th
REGINA COUGARS 1
RAVENSBURG TOWERSTARS 3

August 26th
REGINA COUGARS 2
THURGAU HOCKEY CLUB 8

Links:
:. [Regina Leader-Post: Tour Preview] : [U of R Preview]
:. [Ravensburg boxscore/recap]
:. [Thurgau Story] : [Google Translation]

The Banjo Cats have the privilege of being the first CIS team to start their season with a 3-game trip to Europe.

A total of 27 players are making the trip to Europe with the Cougars, including 22 returning veterans and five rookies. Brock Appleyard, Liam Brennan, Cody Fowlie, Tyler Henry, Skyler Hladun, Troy Hunter, Sanfred King, Christian Magnus, Ian McNulty, Tyler Penny, Carter Selinger, and Ward Szucki are the team's 12 returning forwards, while Erik Benoit (Penticton Vees), Tyler Giebel (Yorkton Terriers), Dylen McKinlay (Kelowna Rockets), and Zach McPhee (Kootenay Ice) will all put on a U of R uniform for the first time this weekend.

The team brings seven returning defencemen to Europe, including Austin Bourhis, Ryan Dech, Brody Luhning, John Neibrandt, Jordan Reeve, Mark Schneider, and John Sonntag. Devon McMullen (Yorkton Terriers) is the team's lone rookie on the blue line, while Lucas Gore, Andrew Hayes, and Mitch Kilgore will be the Cougars' three goalies for the third year in a row.

Their opponents (two German and one Swiss) come from the second level in their respective countries. The Bisons went 5-3-1 against such teams in their 2011 and 2013 tours.

The Kittens have not fared quite so well, starting 0-2.

Former Manitoba Moose Shawn Weller played for Ravensburg, and picked up several PIMs in the process. The lineups are posted at the link, which comes from Pointstreak. This looks like a fairly close game, with shots at 32-28 for the hosts. Regina spoiled the shut-out with 3 seconds left in the game.

The Thurgau game has just a story and photo. Seems the Swiss team took it to the Kittens. But, without stats one cannot glean too much.

The tour ends Friday at 12:00 noon CDT against SC Riessersee.

UBC has a story about "open tryouts" and added some exhibition games to their schedule:
Sept 9: SFU at UBC
Sept 12: UBC v Alberta at Regina
Sept 13: UBC v Calgary at Regina
Sept 14: UBC v Lethbridge at Regina
Dec 31: UBC at SFU

Links:
:. [UBC Story] : [UBC Schedule]

Bedrock U has also added exhibition games to their schedule page:

Sept 6: MRU at Calgary
Sept 12: Calgary at Regina
Sept 13: Calgary v UBC at Regina
Sept 14: Calgary v Sask at Regina
Sept 18: Lethbridge at Calgary
Sept 20: Calgary at Alberta

Links:
:. [U of C Story]

MRU player Matt Strong is raising money for his former teammate (from junior days) and current Husky, Cody Smuk, for his battle with cancer. Good luck! Also, former goaltender Justin Cote was named the ACAC goaltender of the decade.

Links:
:. [Strong/Smuk Story] : [Cote Story]

 

[Hollywood3]

Regina and UQTR lose

August 29th

REGINA COUGARS 3
HC RIESSERSEE 4

Links:
:. [Boxscore] : [Recap]

The Kittens completed their European tour on Friday with a 3rd straight loss. A last-minute goal made the scoreline look better. The boxscore does not have shots on goal, but the recap is in English!

UQTR PATRIOTES 4
ROUEN DRAGONS 5

Links:
:. [Rouen Story] : [Google Translate]

This was the opening game of the Napoleon Cup in France. UQTR will face the Amiens Gothiques on Saturday and the Nottingham Panthers on Sunday. UQTR held a 4-2 lead after two periods but then gave up 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd.

 

[Hollywood3]

UQTR win shoot-out

August 29, 2014

UQTR PATRIOTES 2
ROUEN DRAGONS 3

Links:
:. [Rouen Story] : [Google Translate]
:. [Amiens Story] : [Google Translate]
:. [Nottingham-Amiens report]
:. [Rouen Site]

OK, first we need an explanation. The game I posted about earlier between these teams was in fact played on August 24th in Rouen and was not the opening game of the Napoleon Cup. This was. In the other game, the host Amiens lost 4-3 to Nottingham in a shoot-out.

August 30, 2014

UQTR PATRIOTES 4
AMIENS GOTHIQUES 3

Links:
:. [Amiens Story] : [Google Translate]
:. [Nottingham-Rouen report]
:. [Amiens Site]

There is not much detail about this game, but at least we found out that UQTR avoided the cellar. In the other game, Nottingham beat Rouen 3-1.

August 31, 2014

UQTR PATRIOTES 6
NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS 5

Links:
:. [Nottingham Story]
:. [Amiens Story] : [Google Translate]
:. [Nottingham Site]

The fact the game was tied after regulation guaranteed Nottingham the title. The shootout win then gave UQTR a .500 record on the tour. So just as Napoleon was vanguished by the English, so too the Napoleon Cup is claimed by the English. Rouen beat Amiens 6-0 to close the tournament, and on tie-breaker got 2nd place.

So what does all this say about UQTR? Over two tours, the Bisons went 5-3-1 against mainly German 2nd tier teams, and similar level opponents from Austria and Italy. One would think that teams from France and the UK would be slightly lower in quality. So, not bad, but not great either.

UBC also announced more recruits. They have added Justin Georgeson (a tiny winger from the BCHL), David Robinson (another tiny winger who has been coaching for two years after having played for the Calgary Dinos), and Adam Rossignol (a 6' forward coming from a long list of WHL teams). These acquisitions do not sound like transformational recruits but may be necessary once we see who is returning and who is departing from last year's roster.

Link:
:. [UBC Story]

The Evil Monkeys announced that they will once again face the Greasers Rookies. The game will be on September 17th. And their coaching staff has been filled out with Sean Brown and Lee Zalasky.

Links:
:. [Greasers Story] : [Coaching Story]

The Bisons have yet to announce an exhibition schedule. Saskatchewan and Alberta are other laggards All we can do is piece together what exists on other team schedules. So far, there is nothing for September 5-7. Since they are in the Regina tournament September 12-14 and in the Big Lemon September 19-21, it is looking like there will be no home exhibition games this year.

Here's what we have for CW exhibition games:
Sun Aug 24 Regina at Ravensburg Towerstars
Tue Aug 26 Regina at Thurgau
Fri Aug 29 Regina at Reissersee
Sat Sep 06 Mount Royal at Calgary
Tue Sep 09 Regina at Briercrest
Tue Sep 09 Simon Fraser at UBC
Thu Sep 11 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Calgary at Regina
Fri Sep 12 NAIT at Mount Royal
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 UBC v Alberta (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 Alberta at Regina
Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 NAIT at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 UBC v Calgary at Regina
Sun Sep 14 Calgary v Sask (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Wed Sep 17 Alberta v Edmonton Oilers Rookies
Thu Sep 18 Lethbridge at Calgary
Fri Sep 19 Manitoba at Toronto
Fri Sep 19 Mount Royal at Lakehead
Fri Sep 19 Saskatchewan at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Calgary at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Manitoba at Toronto
Sat Sep 20 Mount Royal at Lakehead
Sat Sep 20 Regina v NAIT (at North Battleford)
Sat Sep 20 Saskatchewan v Lethbridge (at Edmonton)
Sun Sep 21 Manitoba at Ryerson
Sun Sep 21 Laurier at York
Sun Sep 21 UQTR at Concordia
Wed Sep 24 Moncton at Acadia
Wed Sep 24 Toronto at York
Thu Sep 25 Canada West Season Starts

 

[Ched]

Well, there were a few fans in the stands of the Wayne Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba today during a scrimmage of the 2014-15 version of the Bisons.

not only can it be confirmed that Shaq Merasty is skating with the Bisons (on a line with Chad Robinson and Aaron Lewadniuk) but it was also reported that Reid Gow was looking fantastic back on the blueline. Interesting.

 

[Hollywood3]

Well, there were a few fans in the stands of the Wayne Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba today during a scrimmage of the 2014-15 version of the Bisons.

not only can it be confirmed that Shaq Merasty is skating with the Bisons (on a line with Chad Robinson and Aaron Lewadniuk) but it was also reported that Reid Gow was looking fantastic back on the blueline. Interesting.

Too bad that neither the Bisons nor the rest of the CW have seen fit to post rosters. Also, Alberta, Sask, and Manitoba have not posted pre-season schedules. This is a record for lateness.

 

[Hollywood3]

More games and news ...

The Bisons have finally added the exhbition games to their schedule page, and there were no home games added. The only game not previously mentioned elsewhere is a game in Regina on September 14th against Alberta.

Links:
:. [Manitoba's Schedule/Results Page]

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 4, 2014

AUGUSTANA VIKINGS 6
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 0

Links:
:. [U of A Story] : [U of A Schedule/Results]
:. [UAA Story]

I never got advance notice of this one due to the lack of an update on the Monkeys' schedule/results page. But here we go! The puck has dropped in North American exhibition games.

While the Monkeys started perhaps their weakest possible line-up, this has to be a major upset. They usually destroy ACAC teams. In fact, in recent years the ACAC has not done very well at all against any team in the CW. And 6-0? That's not even close. Is this a one off or are the Monekys short on quality depth this year?


September 5, 2014

PORTAGE VOYAGEURS 1
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 7

Links:
:. [UL Twitter] : [Schedule/Results Page]
:. [UL Recruits Story]

The H0rny Ones just added this weekend series to their Schedule/Results Page. However, the only information they have on the game itself is from their Twitter. The rematch goes Saturday afternoon. Portage is usually a weaker ACAC team, and Lethbridge has been by far the weakest CW team the last two seasons.

Lethbridge has also added three late recruits: Sam Wilbur (from NOJHL), Artyom Kalashnikov (a Belarussian from the Virden Oil Capitals), and Aaron Enns (from Simon Fraser).

OTHER NEWS

The Dinos will face the Flames for the 3rd time on September 17th.

Link:
:. [U of C Story]

Both Regina and UBC have updated their websites so as to post their 2014-15 training camp rosters.

Links:
:. [Regina's Roster Page]
:. [UBC's Roster Page]

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Sun Aug 24 Regina at Ravensburg Towerstars
Tue Aug 26 Regina at Thurgau
Fri Aug 29 Regina at Reissersee
Thu Sep 04 Augustana at Alberta
Fri Sep 05 Portage College at Lethbridge
Sat Sep 06 Mount Royal at Calgary
Sat Sep 06 Portage College at Lethbridge
Tue Sep 09 Regina at Briercrest
Tue Sep 09 Simon Fraser at UBC
Thu Sep 11 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Calgary at Regina
Fri Sep 12 NAIT at Mount Royal
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 UBC v Alberta (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 Alberta at Regina
Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 NAIT at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 UBC v Calgary at Regina
Sun Sep 14 Calgary v Sask (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 Manitoba v Alberta (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Wed Sep 17 Alberta v Edmonton Oilers Rookies
Thu Sep 18 Lethbridge at Calgary
Fri Sep 19 Manitoba at Toronto
Fri Sep 19 Mount Royal at Lakehead
Fri Sep 19 Saskatchewan at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Calgary at Alberta
Sat Sep 20 Manitoba at Toronto
Sat Sep 20 Mount Royal at Lakehead
Sat Sep 20 Regina v NAIT (at North Battleford)
Sat Sep 20 Saskatchewan v Lethbridge (at Edmonton)
Sun Sep 21 Manitoba at Ryerson
Thu Sep 25 Canada West Season Starts

 

[Hollywood3]

Sept 6:Out of Town Scoreboard

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 6, 2014

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4
CALGARY DINOSAURS 2

Links:
:. [U of C Story]

This one was the first exhibition game of the season between two CW teams. In the absence of a boxscore, we have this:

Second-year forward Danny Gayle and defenceman Kodie Curran scored for the Dinos. Chris Collins, Elgin Pearce and Spencer Edwards had helpers.

David Stephens led all skaters with a pair of goals in the win. Brett Zarazun and Tyler Eskeson also scored for Mount Royal. Eight different Cougars had assists.

Playing the entire game for Calgary, Jacob DeSerres made 28 saves. Kris Moore was given the start for the Cougars and turned away 10 shots, before being replaced by Dusty Nickel half way through the game. Nickel had 18 stops.

Mount Royal outshot Calgary 32-30.

So, last year's finalists in the CW have both started with upset losses. Could this be a sign of a season of surprises?

PORTAGE VOYAGEURS 2
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 11

Links:
:. [Schedule/Results Page]

So confident of victory were the H0rny Ones in this one that they did not bother to even tweet about it. All we have is a score.

To put this in perspectove, last year, Lethbridge was 4-21-3 and were outscored 161-52. In 2012-13 they were 2-22-4 and were outscored 141-54. Meanwhile, Portage was 11-20-0-1 (they still have tie games in the ACAC) whilst being outscored 136-90.

IMO, an opening weekend which would give the H0rny Ones some confidence after an off-season Viagra program was a good idea.

NEXT UP

Tue Sep 09 Regina at Briercrest
Tue Sep 09 Simon Fraser at UBC
Thu Sep 11 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Calgary at Regina
Fri Sep 12 NAIT at Mount Royal
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 UBC v Alberta (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 Alberta at Regina
Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 NAIT at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 UBC v Calgary at Regina
Sun Sep 14 Calgary v Sask (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 Manitoba v Alberta (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina)

 

[mikeandI]

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 6, 2014

MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 4
CALGARY DINOSAURS 2

Links:
:. [U of C Story]

This one was the first exhibition game of the season between two CW teams. In the absence of a boxscore, we have this: So, last year's finalists in the CW have both started with upset losses. Could this be a sign of a season of surprises?

NOPE!!!
Don't count your chickens, speed goats, cougars, buffalo, dogs, birds, monkeys, T-Rex's too soon gentlemen.

 

[Hollywood3]

Sept 9:Out of Town Scoreboard

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 9, 2014

REGINA COUGARS 5
BRIERCREST CLIPPERS 2

Links:
:. [Regina Schedule & Results]
:. [Osborne Story]

For Briercrest this must be the best result ever obtained against Regina. "Only" a 5-2 loss! Amazing! No other details are available at either site. Mark Osborne is helping with the Briercrest camp this year, so maybe they are making a move to improve.

SIMON FRASER CLAN 0
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 6

Links:
:. [LeagueStat Summary]
:. [UBC Story]

This was the opener for both sides on the exhibition schedule. The summary doesn't add up. It says The Clown had period shot totals of 13-0-5 but the UBC goaltender save numbers per period were 6-5-7. Anyhow, the 3 UBC goaltenders shared a shutout and the game was all one-way action. Anthony Bardaro notched a hat-trick for the Birds.

NEXT UP

Thu Sep 11 Saskatchewan at Regina
Fri Sep 12 Calgary at Regina
Fri Sep 12 NAIT at Mount Royal
Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina)
Fri Sep 12 UBC v Alberta (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 Alberta at Regina
Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina)
Sat Sep 13 NAIT at Mount Royal
Sat Sep 13 UBC v Calgary at Regina
Sun Sep 14 Calgary v Sask (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 Manitoba v Alberta (at Regina)
Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina)

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Geordie Wudrick not on the UBC roster? He didn't.last long in tweetie land.