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2014-15 Manitoba Bisons/CIS Thread


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CIS BOOKMARKS

In recent years the announcement of new signings has started in late April or early May. So, this year I am starting the thread a bit early.

Bookmark this post for the links you will need to follow CIS hockey. I will update this post throughout the season.

League Sites:

CIS Men's Hockey Site - Tw - FB

... sub-links : Standings : Schedule/Results : Playoffs : U-Cup

Canada West Men's Hockey Site - Tw - FB

... sub-links : Schedule/Results/Links : History and Records : Media Stats

OUA Men's Hockey Site - Tw - FB

... sub-links : Schedule/Results

AUS Men's Hockey Site - Tw - FB

... sub-links : Schedule/Results

ACAC Men's Hockey Site

BCIHL Site

Canada West Team Sites:

Alberta Golden Bears - Tw - FB

Calgary Dinos - Tw - FB

Lethbridge Pronghorns - Tw - FB

Manitoba Bisons - Tw - FB

Mount Royal Cougars - Tw - FB

Regina Cougars - Tw - FB

Saskatchewan Huskies - Tw - FB

UBC Thunderbirds - Tw - FB

Media Sites/Blogs:

SportsNet CIS Page - SNU

TSN CIS Page

CISblog.ca

Canadian University Press

Island Sports News

UNBHockeyFans.com

Hockey Scene - AUS

STUTommies.com

AcadiaAxemenHockey.com

RedmenHockey.com (McGill)

Online video/audio:

CanadaWest.tv - Stretch Internet link

CIS-SIC.tv

AUSTV.ca

SSN Canada

CITR.ca - UBC radio

Rock 94 FM - Lakehead away games

UMFM.com - occasional Bison games

Canada West stats and data:

CW LeagueStats - Standings

CW LeagueStats - Daily Schedule

CW LeagueStats - Rosters

CW LeagueStats - Skaters' Stats

CW LeagueStats - Goalies' Stats

CW LeagueStats - Team Schedules

Stats:

Elite Prospects : CIS Page - individual player stats on everybody

Internet Hockey Data Base (IHDB) : CWUAA Page - like Elite Prospects

Old Bison Site - Schedule/Results - with links to stories and summaries from 2004-05 to 2007-08

CIS Stats and Rosters - 2004-05 to 2008-09 links dead

CIS Stats - 2009-10 to 2013-14

CIS Schedule/Results - 2004-05 to 2008-09 links dead

CIS Schedule/Results - 2009-10 to 2013-14

CIS Playoff Schedule/Results - 2004-05 to 2008-09 links dead

CIS Playoff Schedule/Results - 2010 to 2014

AUS Schedule/Results - 2012-13 to 2013-14

AUS Archive

OUA LeagueStat

ACAC LeagueStat

Bob Adams' Archives - CIS hockey from 1995-96 to 2008-09

Wikia - University Cup - 1963-present

Wikia - Canada West - 1973-present

Wikia - GPAC - 1973-1985

Wikia - WIAA - 1963-1972

Wikia - WCIAU - 1919-1962

Wikia - OUA/QOAA - 1903-present

Wikia - QUAA - 1972-1987

Wikia - OSLC - 1951-1971 (Ottawa St. Lawrence Conference)

Wikia - AUS - 1920-present

AUS Team Sites:

Acadia Axemen

Dalhousie Tigers

Moncton Aigles Bleus- Google Translate

New Brunswick Varsity Reds

UPEI Panthers

St. Francis-Xavier X-men

Saint Mary's Huskies

St. Thomas Tommies

OUA-West Team Sites:

Brock Badgers

Guelph Gryphons

Lakehead Thunderwolves

Laurier Golden Hawks

Ryerson Rams

Toronto Varsity Blues

Waterloo Warriors - Tw - FB

Western Ontario Mustangs

Windsor Lancers

York Lions

OUA-East Team Sites:

Carleton Ravens

Laurentian Voyageurs

Nipissing Lakers

Ottawa Geegees

Queen's Golden Gaels

RMC Palladins

UOIT Ridgebacks

RSEQ (OUA-East) Team Sites:

Concordia Stingers

McGill Redmen

UQTR Patriotes

ACAC Team Sites:

Augustana Vikings

Briercrest Clippers

Concordia Thunder

Keyano Huskies

MacEwan Griffins

NAIT Ooks

Portage Voyageurs

Red Deer Kings

SAIT Trojans

BCIHL Team Sites:

Eastern Washington Eagles

Selkirk Saints

Simon Fraser Clan - Tw

Thompson Rivers Wolfpack

Trinity Western Spartans

Victoria Vikings

Threads:

OHT34 2009-10

OHT34 2010-11

OHT34 2011-12

OHT35 2012-13

OHT36 2013-14

CIS Playoff Formats

Manitoba Bisons 2007-08

Manitoba Bisons 2008-09

Manitoba Bisons 2009-10

Manitoba Bisons 2010-11

Manitoba Bisons 2011-12

Manitoba Bisons 2012-13

Manitoba Bisons 2013-14

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Some fired, some hired

The 2013-14 thread ended with news of the UBC firing and the CIS change to the U-Cup format. But that is just the start of news for 2014-15.

MRU-50x50.jpg

Jean Laforest resigned as head coach at MRU for "personal reasons", thus prompting a search for a new head cat. The second link describes all the duties of a coach, should you be interested in applying. The New Kittens on the Block must be disappointed with this news. They program improved a great deal when moving from the ACAC to the CIS and the team was in the playoffs.

Links:

:. [Coach Jean Laforest to Step Down for Personal Reasons]

:. [Job Posting - Men's Hockey Coach]

Lethbridge-50pxw.jpg

Lethbridge canned Greg Gatto and hired Spiros Anastas, currently as assistant coach with Grand Rapids of the AHL. The Griffins are the farm club of the Detroit Red Wings, coached by former Lethbridge coach Mike Babcock.

Gatto was 80-143-20 and the team was clearly not recruiting worth a hoot. However, they did play hard for him. Not sure how Anastas intends to recruit. I don't know if he has a pipeline to any new talent.

Links:

:. [Horns Make Coaching Change]

:. ['Horns tap Red Wings organization for next head coach] : [CW repost]

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  • 3 weeks later...

There has been a smattering of official news, including a new coach.

MRU-50x50.jpg

The MRU Cougars have announced three recruits from Junior A: Jared Van Ree, Austin Yadlowski, and Grant Baker.

Links:

:. [Jared Van Ree] : [Austin Yadlowski] : [Grant Baker]

UBC-50x50condensed.jpg

After the surprise coaching change in British California they have announced that former assistant Tyler Kuntz has been promoted. Does this qualify as a "new direction" as originally touted?

Links:

:. [UBC Story] : [Repost at CW] : [Repost at CIS]

Sask-green-50x50-1.jpg

So, the Rutherdump could be replaced. The Star-Phoenix says they want new digs, provided they don't have to pay.

Links:

:. [U of S wants new rink 'without incurring additional capital or operating costs']

OTTAWA GEEGEES

The Ottawa Citizen has a story on the on-going saga of the Gee Gees hockey team. Here's the blurb on hockey:

The sharp-eyed among you perhaps noticed that there are no award winners listed for men’s hockey. This is not a surprising development given that the University of Ottawa announced the suspension of that program after being notified of an alleged sexual assault incident in Thunder Bay.

The university is conducting an internal review of the alleged incident, and police are investigating.

As of April 7, Ontario University Athletics had not been notified that the U of O would be withdrawing from its men’s hockey league. The next deadline for doing so would be the OUA’s annual general meetings scheduled for May 5-9, but that’s only a deadline in the sense that pulling out of the league would allow U of O to restrict the amount of the fine it would pay to $500.

Withdrawing between the AGM and the release of the 2014-15 men’s hockey schedule would result in a fine of approximately $1,000. Pulling the plug on Gee-Gees men’s hockey for next season after the release of the schedule, which would normally occur around June 1, would result in a $3,000 fine.

The only way to avoid a fine would be to give a year’s notice of withdrawing from a particular OUA sports league. That wouldn’t be the case here.

If the university does decide to withdraw from men’s hockey for 2014-15, then what becomes of any Gee-Gees team members not found to have been part of the alleged incident. (I keep saying that because, as of this writing, no charges have been laid. Even if charges are laid, there’s no indication that they would involve all members of the team. Above all else, no finding of guilt has yet been made by a court of law.)

If U of O were to extend the suspension of the men’s hockey program through 2014-15 and beyond, those student-athletes not found to be responsible for this alleged incident might very well want to continue their post-university hockey careers at other CIS institutions.

To do so, they would have to transfer. CIS has in the past granted “humanitarian” transfers to athletes whose programs have been suspended by their schools, allowing them to participate on behalf of the new schools immediately, rather than having to sit out the usual one-year transfer period.

The most recent example of that involved the University of Waterloo football team. That program was suspended in 2010 following a performance-enhancing drug scandal that involved nine players.

Links:

:. [Gee-Gees Award Winners Celebrated, But Not In Men’s Hockey]

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  • 2 weeks later...

New Kittens Have a New Coach

MRU-50x50.jpg

Bert Gilling, formerly an assistant coach from Bemidji, is now in charge of the kitty litter at Mount Royal. He was born in Alexander, Manitoba and played Junior A in Banjoland before heading to the NCAA to play, and then to coach. He inherits a team on the rise and we will soon see if he has the recruiting connections necessary to keep the Blue Kittens in the playoffs ahead of the Green Kittens.

Links:

:. [MRU Story] : [CW Re-post]

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  • 4 weeks later...

End of May News Trickle

Bisons-50px.gif

Well, the Manitoba Bisons have one game scheduled. On Sunday, October 5th they will head down Highway 75 to face the North Dakota Fighting Farmers. The CW schedule has not yet been announced (mid-June is the usual time), but this has the smell of a 3rd game in 3 nights following a season-opening double-header.

There have been no updates at all at GoBisons.ca since the end of the 2013-14 season. They usually announce commitments of new players from late April or early May onwards. The rumoured new Bisons are:

Chad Robinson - C/LW - Brandon/Red Deer (WHL), Neepawa (MJHL)

Rene Hunter - D - Brandon (WHL), Portage (MJHL)

Josh Elmes - D - Fargo/Dubuque (USHL), OCN (MJHL)

Joel Schreyer - F - Blues (MJHL)

Justin Augert - F - Steinbach (MJHL)

Colin Mospanchuk - F - Melville (SJHL), Blues/Terriers (MJHL), Raiders (MMJHL), Medicine Hat (WHL)

Links:

:. [UND Hockey Schedule]

Elite Prospects pages:

:. [Chad Robinson] : [Rene Hunter] : [Josh Elmes]

:. [Joel Schreyer] : [Justin Augert] : [Colin Mospanhuk]

lakehead-wolf-50x50.jpg

I also saw from Facebook that the Lakehead Thunderwolves announced their new schedule. A quick look confirmed that the OUA schedule was out. They open with a home exhibition series against the Mount Royal Cougars on September 19-20.

There are a number of exhibition games on NCAA team sites, including:

Oct 3 - Western Ontario at Alaska Fairbanks

Oct 4 - Western Ontario at Alaska Anchorage

Oct 4 - NAIT at Minnesota

Oct 4 - McGill at Denver

Oct 5 - McGill at Colorado College

Oct 6 - Lakehead at Minnesota-Duluth

Jan 2 - Minnesota-Duluth at Lakehead

Jan 3 - Minnesota-Duluth at Lakehead

It would appear that UBC and Lethbridge have been replaced from their traditional tours.

Links:

:. [Lakehead Schedule Page]

:. [OUA Announcement] : [OUA Regular Season Schedule]

UNB

There is loads of recruiting news for other CIS teams. One name signing is Randy Gazzola from Val-d'Or going to the New Brunswick Varsity Reds. Here's an excerpt from a Yahoo story on him:

A lot of overages will be mum about playing in university hockey, hoping that a pro job materializes. It might yet for Gazzola. He didn't waste any time lining up a CIS spot, committing to UNB and coach Gardiner MacDougall, who's had a number late bloomers sign pro contracts after finishing a degree.

Reinhart's dad, Paul, once said the development debate in hockey isn't major junior vs. NCAA inasmuch as it's Canada's higher education system vs. America's. Gazzola would appear to be a proof of that, but he's careful not to let himself be used that way.

"I'm Canadian, so the Canadian school system is fine for me," he says. "I’ve got a friend at Brown now who’s getting an excellent education. You can get a good education anywhere."

True to form, Gazzola didn't jump for the big shiny thing when deciding which team to join down east, where the Atlantic University Sport league gets prime-time billing. The next two CIS University Cup championships will both be in his old home rink, the Halifax Metro Centre. St. Francis Xavier get the host berth for next season and Saint Mary's will for 2016. To get another chance to win a national championship in your former home arena?

That would seem storybook, but Gazzola saw a bigger picture.

"Saint Mary’s and St. FX, they both pushed that — 'we’re going to be hosting,' " Gazzola said. "That was a big chip. But when I was talking with Gardiner it just felt right."

Links:

:. [Yahoo.com Story]

aus-2012-50x50.jpg

The AUS has approved a playoff format change.

The AUHC post-season will consist of a best-of-three final playoff series during the years when the Atlantic conference has two guaranteed berths in the CIS championship.

During the years when the conference has more than two berths at the nationals, the AUS championship quarter-final series will be a best-of-three, semifinals a best-of-five and the final will be a best-of-three.

The Atlantic conference is guaranteed three berths in the next two CIS championships being held in Halifax. As a result, it is possible a best-of-three consolation final series will be required to determine the third AUS team. St. Francis Xavier will be the host team next season while Saint Mary’s hosts the following year.

If St. Francis Xavier, in 2015, or Saint Mary’s, in 2016, reach the AUS final, a consolation series will be held.

Links:

:. [Halifax Chronicle-Herald Story]

CIS NATIONALS

Speaking of nationals, the expanded 8 team format continues to draw comments. Queen's U's student paper laments that it came a year late for their women's team. But they are happy as heck to have so many berths in nationals.

IMO 3 berths to a conference is a lot. Especially for the OUA. Now they get that every year, and a 4th berth if they host. My proposal would be to have two berths per conference, plus one for the host, and the final spot to go to a wild-card tournament winner. Every semi-final loser who is not the host would enter a last-chance qualifier. It is time to tell the Q to either form a proper league or give up their automatic berth.

Links:

:. [Queen's Journal Story]

DALHOUSIE AND OTTAWA

This last segment has no links. You know why? No word yet on the on-going sagas in Dalhousie and Ottawa.

The CIS was investigating Dalhouise and were supposed to get a decision by the end of the 2012-13 season. IMO this is worse. The program twists in the wind. I find it hard to beleive that the CIS is being diligent on this file.

Meanwhile, Ottawa is included in the above-noted OUA schedule. Does this mean that the team is no longer "suspended"?

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First Official Recruits

Bisons-50px.gif

Well, I post one day and then the next day the Bisons issue a press release to confirm the recruitment of 3 new players, all from the list of rumours. The Bisons often do not make announcements for the recruitment of Junior A grads. Often those players are enrolled at the school but are competing for spots on the team.

The confirmed recruits are:

Chad Robinson - C/LW - Brandon/Red Deer (WHL), Neepawa (MJHL)

- After getting a couple games with Neepawa and Red Deer in his midget year, he went on to play 2 full seasons in Red Deer then started a 3rd before going to Brandon in 2012-13. That was his best season, where he scored 11 goals in 59 games. He was also once on the Western Canadian U17 team.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [Wheat Kings] : [WHL]

Rene Hunter - D - Brandon (WHL), Portage (MJHL)

- This kid is a 6'1" defenceman, needed to replace the departing captain, Dane Crowley. Hunter does not have the offensive upside but is lauded for his defensive work. The Bison defence has been their strength for a few seasons now. They had an embarassment of riches with as many as 9 or 10 high quality blueliners in some seasons. The depth has been chipped away. However, with 6 returnees and the addition of Hunter, and some likely recruits from the Junior A ranks for depth players, they should have a solid defence yet again.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [Wheat Kings] : [WHL]

:. [Manitoba Hockey News Story]

Joel Schreyer - F - Winnipeg Blues (MJHL)

- The EP stats page is inconsistent with the rest as I post. I saw him play for the Blues in the playoffs and he was one of the key players in their run to a provincial title. Last season he had 20 goals and 21 assists in 55 games. Hopefully, he will have kicked the chewing tobacco habit!

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [MJHL Stats] : [MJHL Player of the Week]

:. [CTV Chewing Tobacco Story]

With these additions, and the rumoured additions, this is how the Bison line-up for 2014-15 looks right now:

DEFENCE (6+2=8)

3 Pierre Landry

5 Lee Christensen

6 Luke Paulsen

12 Brock Sutherland

24 Travis Bobbee

28 Kyle Rous

* Rene Hunter

? Josh Elmes

FORWARDS (11+4=15)

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

GOALTENDERS (2+0=2)

34 Deven Dubyk

35 Joey Rewucki

* confirmed new recruit

? rumoured new recruit

There are 22 confirmed players, and 25 if one includes the rumoured players. Of course, not everybody eligible to return comes back. They will need a 3rd goaltender as well. I am wondering if any NCAA players will come over now that they don't have to red-shirt.

Links:

:. [U of M Story] : [Chris D Story]

UBC-50x50condensed.jpg

UBC has announced that Cole Wilson has a tryout with the Washington Capitals.

Links:

:. [UBC Story] : [CW Repost]

MRU-50x50.jpg

The Blue Cougars have announced two more recruits. Cam Maclise is a forward from the Brook Bandits (AJHL) and Mackenzie Johnston is a defenceman from the Saskatoon Blades (WHL). They fit the MRU mold - Maclise is 6'4" and Johnston is 6'2".

Links:

:. [Maclise Story] : [Johnston Story]

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Four More Recruits Confirmed

Bisons-50px.gif

The Bisons have lined up four more new recruits, three from the previous rumoured list (all Manitoba boys) and a new goaltender from California. The latest recruits are:

Brendan Jensen - G - Fargo (USHL), Vancouver (WHL), and others

- The Bisons have made a habit of recruiting local boys, and Jensen is definitely NOT local. He is from La Granada, California. Hockey is certainly growing in areas like that. He went to the Vancouver Giants and in 2011 attended the Canucks' rookie camp. After the WHL came the USHL and a trip to Fargo. While there his fellow recruit Josh Elmes must have extolled the virtues of Manitoba. I suspect the Bison goaltending will be a competition this year, similar to what happened after Steve Christie moved on.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [NHL] : [Fargo Force]

:. [Vancouver Sun Training Camp Story]

Josh Elmes - D - Dubuque/Fargo (USHL), OCN (MJHL)

- The Bisons are into big guys who have worn letters on their jerseys. Elmes fits the bill on both counts. He is 6'2" and 218 lbs. He started at OCN and then had one last season in the USHL to finish his junior days. The internet also claims he has been in a few scraps.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [Our Sports Central Story] : [Fargo Force]

Justin Augert - F - Steinbach (MJHL)

- He's 6-foot-3 and wore a "C". For the Steinbach Pistons. He also weighs 206 lbs and shoots left. He has played four seasons for the Pistons. As I recall, he was fairly quick. If you check the YouTube link you can also find links to more Steinbach On-line stuff for him. The EP stats page is incomplete for 2013-14. The HDB links have him topping 30 goals in each of the last two seasons.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [Wikia] : [YouTube - playoff goal]

Colin Mospanchuk - RW - Melville (SJHL), Blues/Portage (MJHL), Medicine Hat (WHL), and Raiders (MMJHL)

- He fits the prototype of a Bison recruit: 6'2", 216 lbs, and was Melville's captain last year. In 2010 he played for the Blues, Medicine Hat, and Team Western U-17s. However in 2011 he returned to Manitoba where he played for the Blues, Portage, and the Raiders all in one season. Things stabilized for him once he went to Banjoland where he stayed for 3 full seasons. He peaked at 20 goals in Junior A.

:. [Elite Prospects] : [Hockey DB]

:. [SJHL Stats] : [SJHL Players to Watch]

:. [WHL]

Here is the updated Bison line-up as it stands, although we never know for sure if some eligible players have chosen to not return to school:

DEFENCE (6+2=8)

3 Pierre Landry

5 Lee Christensen

6 Luke Paulsen

12 Brock Sutherland

24 Travis Bobbee

28 Kyle Rous

* Rene Hunter

* Josh Elmes

FORWARDS (11+4=15)

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

GOALTENDERS (2+1=3)

34 Deven Dubyk

35 Joey Rewucki

* Brendan Jensen

* confirmed new recruit

Links:

:. [U of M Story] : [Chris D Story]

CW-condensed.jpg

Still no CW schedule. It is usually out in early June. Hopefully we will see it this week, or early next. Then comes the waiting for exhibition announcements.

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U of M History: Part I: Memorial Cup, Allen Cup, and World Championship

This off season I have been looking up old stats and records, and it is a tiresome yet fascinating process. The conference sites do not have an archive. In fact, since the CIS site changed its url there is even less readly accessible information out there than there was just a few short years ago. Nevertheless, I have found some interesting stuff about the early days of University of Manitoba and Western Canadian hockey.

The first Manitoba senior hockey championship was held in 1891-92, and was won by the Winnipeg Victorias, an early rival of the University of Manitoba. The Victorias became the first western Stanley Cup winner when they defeated the Montreal Victorias in 1896. Since these were the days before radio play-by-play he only way to follow was through updates posted at telegraph offices. It must have been like following a game on Twitter now-a-days. This would have to qualify as the first live coverage of a sporting event, as it were. Then, when the team came home, the city held a parade, thus creating the tradition of championship parades.

The University of Manitoba's first recorded foray into hockey then came in 1908-09. A university league was still a decade away. So they entered the Manitoba senior playoffs, where they won 4, lost 3, and placed second to those same Winnipeg Victorias. [LINK] Clearly, from the beginning the U of M Varsity hockey team was rubbing shoulders with the best teams in Manitoba.

In 1910 the U of M Varsity (or “Manitoba Varsity Hockey Club” or, latterly, “Manitoba Bisons”) did one better, winning the Pattison Cup (the Manitoba senior title) with a 6-2 record. They were to have received a challenge for the Allan Cup. However, they got late notice and were unable to make arrangements to head east and the challenge never materialized. These were the days when this was a challenge cup, where the trustees would grant challenges to certain league champions. [LINK] By this time the Stanley Cup had become the trophy for professionals and the Allan Cup was the trophy for amateurs.

In 1911 the U of M played in the 3-team Winnipeg Senior League, while there was a separate 4-team Manitoba Senior League. This set-up prevailed for a number of years. The U of M placed 2nd to the Victorias in 1911 and 1912. [LINK] and [LINK] There is no record of the U of M playing anywhere in 1913. Then WWI came about in 1914, so sport hit a dry spell.

The Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU) started play in 1918-19 with two teams, the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan. The U of M joined in 1920, and won the league with a 3-1 record. [LINK] Alberta never entered for a 4 year stretch from 1921 to 1924.

The interesting twist is that university teams still played senior hockey, or even junior hockey if they had enough eligible players. (The CIAU and national university championships did not come about until 1961. The first University Cup hockey tournament was not held until 1963.) From 1921 to 1923 the western university winner was granted a berth alongside the various provincial winners in the western Allan Cup playoffs.

In 1921 Saskatchewan beat Manitoba 9-5 on aggregate in a 2-game total-goals series (which was the common playoff format in that era) to win the WCIAU title. [LINK] They were then beaten by the Port Arthur North Ends 17-6 on aggregate in the western Allan Cup playoffs. [LINK]

The 1922 WCIAU competition was a 2-game total-point series, in which Manitoba beat Saskatchewan 9-6. [LINK] That season the U of M also played senior hockey, finishing with a 2-5 record and in 3rd place in the Winnipeg Senior League. [LINK] In the western playoffs the U of M lost to Brandon (from the Manitoba Senior League) 13-7 on aggregate. [LINK]

The 1922 season also saw the advent of the U of M Juniors in the Winnipeg and District Junior Hockey League, the forerunner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). (They competed in that league every season until 1937.) In 1922 they beat the Tammany Tigers to win the league, then beat Brandon to win the Turnbull Cup (provincial title), then lost to Regina in the Abbott Cup final (western championship). [LINK], [LINK], and [LINK]

There was some controversy in 1923. Manitoba used ineligible players, so Saskatchewan was awarded the WCIAU title. [LINK] At the same time, the U of M went 6-6 in the Manitoba League, where they finished 3rd. Thus, no Allan Cup playdowns for the Herd.

However, Saskatchewan made a noteworthy run at the 1923 Allan Cup. They entered the Western Canadian playdowns and won 3 straight series to take the title. On aggregate scores, they beat the Weyburn Wanderers 5-4, the Vancouver Young Liberals 8-5, and the Souris Elks 7-6. [LINK] Saskatchewan was defeated in the national final by the Toronto Granites 11-2 on aggregate. [LINK]

Meanwhile, the U of M juniors made a run at the 1923 Memorial Cup. They won the league over the Winnipeg Victoria Bisons in the final. [LINK] In rural playdowns the Brandon Tigers beat the Brandon College Caps (predecssors of the Brandon University Bobcats) en route to the provincial final. The U of M beat the Tigers 8-1 in the provincial final. [LINK] (Brandon College later played in the Big Six intermediate league and the WCIAU. I found no other references to them playing junior hockey, although it is likely they did.) In the western playoffs the juniors beat the Calgary Canadians and Fort William Cubs to win the Abbott Cup. [LINK] So it was off to Toronto where they beat the Kitchener Colts 14-6 on aggregate to win the Memorial Cup. [LINK] This was the U of M's first national title, and put the team in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. [LINK]

400px-22-23Univman.jpg

In 1924 the WCIAU was just a one-game sudden-death playoff, which the U of M won 8-1 over Saskatchewan. [LINK] In senior play the U of M went 5-7 in the Winnipeg League and were tied for 2nd. [LINK] There was no berth for the university winner in the western Allan Cup playdowns from 1924 onwards. At the same time, the U of M junior team went 3-4-1 and finished 3rd in the league.

Following the 1924 season, the U of M did not compete in university hockey until 1928, and then not again until 1940 and 1947.

In 1925 the U of M played only in junior competition. It was quite a strong team, going 9-0 in the season and then beating the Tammany Tigers 5-2 in the final. [LINK] They steamrolled the Portage la Prairie Vics 11-3 to win the Turnbull Cup. [LINK] In the western Memorial Cup playoffs they tied the Regina Pats 9-9 on aggregate and lost the tie-breaker game 4-2. [LINK]

The senior records are sketchy for 1926 and 1927. The U of M did compete in the Winnipeg League in 1926, but results are not availble. In any event, they did not win the league. [LINK] In the Junior League they went 2-5-1 in both 1926 and 1927 and did not qualify for playoffs. [LINK] and [LINK]

1928 was the start of a remarkable period in U of M hockey history. They did play in the WCIAU, where they went 2-2. [LINK-pdf] The U of M were also in the Manitoba-Thunder Bay Senior League where they finished 2nd with a 6-4-1 record. They beat Fort William in the playoffs 3-0 on aggregate. [LINK] In the Western Canadian final they beat the Trail Smoke Eaters 10-0 on aggregate. [LINK] That set up a trip to Montreal where they beat the Montreal Victorias 2-games-to-1 to win the Allan Cup. (Yes, that's the same team beaten by the Winnipeg Victorias for the Stanley Cup back in 1896.) [LINK]

U._Manitoba.jpg

The prize for winning the Allan Cup title was significant. The U of M was off to represent Canada in the 1931 World Championships.

In the meantime, the U of M played one last season of senior hockey in 1929, competing in the Manitoba-Thunder Bay League. They finished first with an 8-1-2 record, then lost the final to Port Arthur 3-2 on aggregate. [LINK] It would appear that this was the end of university teams challenging for the Allan Cup.

The 1931 team competed as the “U of M Grads”. Their European tour lasted from January 13th (when they beat the Berliner Skating Club 5-1) to March 13th (when they beat Scotland 11-1). In that era, a typical season was from sometime around Christmas to the end of March. So this tour was basically the season. Prior to the worlds, they went 11-2-1 in prep games. After the worlds they went 22-0 on tour! Amongst their wins in the post-championship leg of the tour was a 4-0 win over Oxford University. [LINK] and [LINK] That Oxford team won the Spengler Cup in 1931 and 1932. In that era they had many famous Canadians (like Lester Pearson and Roland Michener) play for them, and they won European titles. [LINK]

When at the worlds, the U of M won a qualifying game 9-0 over France, then went 4-0-1 to win the round-robin and gold medal without giving up a goal. The players on the team were: George Garbutt, George Hill, Sammy McCallum, Gord McKenzie, Ward Mcvey, Frank Morris, Jack Pidcock, Art Putee, Blake Watson, and Guy Williamson. They beat Czechoslovakia 2-0, beat Poland 3-0, tied Sweden 0-0, beat Austria 8-0, and beat the USA 2-0. [LINK], [LINK], [LINK], and [TRANSLATION]

Although their keeper Art Puttee has not conceded a goal in the tournament, the Manitoba Grads dropped a point against Sweden. They must win against the Americans to keep the world title in Canada. 2-0 is registered five seconds left by Frank Morris, but the decisive goal is scored after nine minutes before the game by the player featured Blake Watson, a medical student who won the Memorial Cup in 1923 (with University of Manitoba where he graduated, hence its presence in "Grads" - Graduates) with future NHL players and Art Chapman Murray Murdoch. For several years Dr. Watson, fast forward to the insured technique, plays its European opponents with his class because, after Vienna, he joined the LTC Prague, contributing more than anyone in hockey development on the Old Continent. He played briefly with yet Grasshoppers before crossing the Atlantic and become a famous gynecologist in Hollywood and consulted by Greta Garbo and Rita Hayworth.

This team, too, is in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. [LINK]

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Meanwhile, the U of M continued to compete in the junior leagues every year until 1937. From 1926 onwards most seasons were unremarkable. [LINK] In 1930 they lost the league final to the Elmwood Millionaires 8-4 on aggregate. [LINK] In 1934 they were first in their division with a 9-1-1 record, but lost the league final to the Kenora Thistles 2-1-1. [LINK]

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.

For 1937-57 the only records of the U of M playing the game come from 1940, where they went 1-6-1 [LINK] and 1947, where they went 2-2 (playing 4 point games) [LINK] in the WCIAU.

This brought to an end the early days of the history of Manitoba Bisons hockey. The days of varsity and junior teams competing with both campus and off-campus opponents had come to an end. The days of modern university-vs-university competition were yet to begin.

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U of M History: Part II: The Intercollegiate Era

The dry years for university hockey, the depression, and WWII were well in the rear view mirror as the 1950s came about. And intercollegiate sport was about to see a whole new era. However, it did take a while.

The Brandon College Caps made a brief appearance in the WCIAU starting in 1955. They operated in the Big Six Intermediate League from 1950-54. [LINK] The regular season records for that league are quite sparse. [LINK] However, Brandon College appears to have been a bottom-dweller and only once competed in the semi-final playoff round. [LINK] Their 1955 debut in the WCIAU was to be their best season. They went 2-6 and were outscored “only” 53-40. [LINK]

University of Manitoba hockey was revived in 1957 and has been played continuously every season since, but for 1962. The WCIAU has more-or-less been a stable outfit making minor strides forward as Western Canada itself grew in size.

The 1957 and 1958 seasons saw the league operate with a record 4 teams, as Brandon College played in 1957 and then became Brandon University in 1958. In three seasons of university hockey, Brandon's cumulative record was 5-27, and they were outscored 257-112. They would not resurface until 1970.

From 1957 to 1961 the U of M finished 2nd twice and 3rd three times. Once Brandon withdrew, the league was down to just 3 teams. In 1962, Manitoba did not compete but UBC did. The 1962 season was the final one under the WCIAU banner. [LINK]

In 1963, the WCIAU became the Western Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAA). [LINK] IMO, it can safely be said that 1963 was the beginning of the modern era of the WIAA and its successors. In no season thereafter did the league have fewer than 4 teams. The CIAU, which was created a couple years earlier, held the first University Cup competition.

In any event, “the original four” included one team from each western province. (British California, Saudi Alberta, Banjoland, and Manitoba, in case you hadn't guessed.) UBC took a hiatus in 1965 and 1966, but otherwise all four schools have competed annually ever since. UBC's temporary departure was overcome by Calgary's addition in 1965.

The 1965 season was a memorable one for the U of M. They went 10-2-0 in league play [LINK] to claim the title. They hosted a four-team University Cup where they beat the Laurentian Voyageurs 10-4 and St. Dunstan's Saints (now UPEI Panthers) 9-2 to take the cup. This was their 3rd national title, for three different cups. This became yet another Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame team. [LINK]

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Subsequent years saw more teams added. The Winnipeg Wesmen (1969), Brandon Bobcats (1970), and Victoria Vikings (1970) all joined the fray and all have since departed. Brandon was the only one to have experienced some success. Both Winnipeg and Victoria were winless in their first seasons, and Victoria had 3 winless seasons in their 4 year existence. [LINK], [LINK], [LINK], and [LINK]

The WIAA came to an end after the 1972 season. It was split into two new conferences for 1973: the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) and Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). The CWUAA had Victoria, UBC, Alberta, Calgary, and Saskatchewan. GPAC started with Brandon, Manitoba, Winnipeg, and Lakehead. The Lakehead Norwesters came over from the International Collegiate Hockey Association (ICHA), based in the USA, where they had played since 1965-66. [LINK]

In 1973, Victoria folded their program after their third winless season. They started a team in the BCIHL in the 2005-06 season, where they continue to play. [LINK]

GPAC became the larger conference in 1977 with the addition of the Regina Cougars. They won conference titles in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1982. Manitoba and Brandon also won four GPAC conference titles, and Lakehead had one. The Manitoba Bisons' GPAC titles were won in 1976, 1977, 1984, and 1985. [LINK]

In 1976 there was no GPAC conference playoff. The top two teams (Manitoba and Brandon) advanced to a western regional tournament. [LINK] They were joined by Calgary and Alberta, where Calgary beat Brandon 6-4 and Alberta beat Manitoba 6-3. Calgary beat Alberta 3-1 in the final. [LINK]

In 1977 there was again no GPAC conference playoff. The first place Bisons took the title then hosted the Toronto Varsity Blues in a best-of-three regional series, and lost 4-2 and 7-4. [LINK] and [LINK]

By 1984 GPAC was holding conference playoffs. Manitoba finished first and had a bye to the final. Brandon beat Regina in the sudden-death semi-final. Manitoba then defeated Brandon 4-5, 9-5, and 8-5 in a best-of-3 series. [LINK] In the western regional, Alberta beat Manitoba 4-2 and 7-1 to win the series 2-0. [LINK]

GPAC and the CIS maintained their same playoff formats in 1985. Manitoba finished first and had a bye to the final. Regina beat Lakehead in the semi-final after Brandon was suspended. Manitoba defeated Regina 3-2 and 8-2 in the final. [LINK] In the western regional, Alberta beat Manitoba 5-1, 1-5, and 6-5 to win the series 2-1. [LINK]

As the 1980s wore on, the programs at Winnipeg and Lakehead started falling apart and it became apparent they were on their last legs. The Wesmen ceased hockey in 1984, and Lakehead ceased all sports after the 1985 season. This led to Manitoba, Brandon, and Regina joining the CWUAA for the 1986 season. Meanwhile, the CWUAA added the Lethbridge Pronghorns in the 1985 season.

The new CWUAA started play in 1986 with 8 teams: UBC, Calgary, Lethbridge, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Regina, Brandon, and Manitoba. [LINK] Brandon folded after the 2002 season and the Mount Royal Cougars were added to start in the 2013 season. [LINK]

In retrospect, the GPAC years were not good for the Manitoba Bisons. Though they won the conference's last two titles, they really should have won it more often. The merger with the CWUAA exposed them to tougher competition and they have become a much better program as a result. In particular, one has to wonder if the 1985 team could have beaten the Alberta Golden Bears had they played just a slightly tougher regular season schedule. In the GPAC years they were battling with the likes of Regina and Brandon. From 1986 onwards they had to be better, and were. In most seasons, they have been part of the western “Big Four”, along with Calgary, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

For the 1986 to 2002 seasons the CWUAA achieved complete stability, with no additions nor deletions from the league roster. Also, there was perhaps a bit too much stability at the top. The Big Four were the Top Four in 1986 through 1989. Regina then had a few good years, finishing within the Top Four from 1990 to 1995. UBC broke the barrier in 1990. Lethbridge also made the grade in their improbable run to the University Cup in 1994, being coached by Mike Babcock, and stayed through 1996. In those years, Manitoba and/or Saskatchewan were usually the teams knocked down (the exception being Alberta in 1995). From 1997 onwards the only Top Four replacements were: Regina over Manitoba in 2004, Lethbridge and UBC over Calgary and Manitoba in 2007, and Lethbridge for Calgary in 2009. Moreover, Alberta almost always finishes first. Since the 1986 amalgamation the sole exceptions have been Manitoba in 2012, Saskatchewan in 1998 and 2000, Calgary in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1996, Lethbridge in 1994, and Regina in 1992. Alberta finished first the other 19 years. [LINK]

Starting in 1998, the CIS re-adopted a 6-team national tournament. Rather than have some conferences get byes to the nationals whilst others had to qualify through preliminary rounds, there were automatic berths given to the CWUAA, AUS, and tournament host. The OUA had two berths, one adopted from the QSSF (now RSEQ). The 6th berth was a wild-card berth rotated between the three conferences. The Bisons twice claimed that berth, in 2005 and 2010. In 2005 the Bisons beat Calgary 3-1 and 5-2 in a qualifying playoff series. [LINK] In 2010 no playoff was required. The Bisons beat Saskatchewan 2-5, 4-2, 5-1 in the semi-finals and then lost to Alberta 4-1, 1-2, 2-4 in the final.

The Bisons' two trips to the nationals in the 2000s were similar, a win over a Quebec-based OUA team to start followed by a loss to the eventual champion. In 2005 they beat the UQTR Patriotes 4-1 and lost 5-1 to the Alberta Golden Bears. [LINK] In 2010 a 5-4 win over the McGill Redmen was followed by a 5-0 loss to the St. Mary's Huskies. [LINK]

Will any new teams come into the CWUAA? Well, rumours surfaced in Brandon and Winnipeg a few years ago. The Brandon rumours disappeared after Andy Murray went into NCAA hockey. Winnipeg appeared to have a women's program ready to go, and even had a deal with the Manitoba Moose to use the MTS Centre for home games. Lloyd Axworthy was even quoted in newspapers speculating about a men's program. They have since started baseball and soccer programs. I would just as soon see those schools follow the lead of second tier leagues like the BCIHL and ACAC and get a league going with the MCAC to include Red River College, Assiniboine College, Canadian Mennonite University, and maybe some North Dakota or Minnesota junior colleges.

In any event: here is a synopsis of past titles won by the University of Manitoba:

JUNIOR

WJHL – 1922, 1923, 1925

Turnbull Cup – 1922, 1923, 1925

Abbott Cup – 1923

Memorial Cup – 1923

SENIOR

Pattison Cup – 1910, 1928

Allan Cup - 1928

World Championship – 1931

UNIVERSITY

WCIAU – 1920, 1922, 1924

WIAA - 1965

GPAC – 1976, 1977, 1984, 1985

University Cup – 1965

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Schedule Corrections?

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So, the CW link still has what I hope is a wrong schedule: http://www.canadawest.org/sports/mice/2014-15/schedule?confonly=1 The U of M link has what I hope is right: http://gobisons.ca/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey So far no "official" announcement has been released by the CWUAA.

I am not a big fan of Saturday afternoon games, and there are three of them, plus one Sunday. Still better than Friday afternoon! The non-conference games are not up yet. It looks like the conference will converge on Regina the September 12th weekend and on Edmonton the September 19th weekend.

The Bison link has this for home games:

Oct 03 7PM Regina

Oct 04 1PM Regina

Oct 17 7PM Mount Royal

Oct 18 1PM Mount Royal

Nov 07 7PM Alberta

Nov 08 6PM Alberta

Nov 14 7PM Calgary

Nov 15 6PM Calgary

Jan 03 6PM UBC

Jan 04 1PM UBC

Jan 09 7PM Lethbridge

Jan 10 1PM Lethbridge

Jan 23 7PM Saskatchewan

Jan 24 6PM Saskatchewan

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.

I do not like the timing of the Universiade. There will be a 2 week gap between the regular season and the quarter-finals, and a 2 week gap for the top 2 teams with byes to the semi-finals. IMO if they want a Canadian team they should play it in early January.

The unwanted ripple effect is that the opportunities for CW teams to play non-conference games is greatly reduced.

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With the recruits from the Blues, this is the potential updated Bison training camp roster:

DEFENCE (6+2=8)

3 Pierre Landry

5 Lee Christensen

6 Luke Paulsen

12 Brock Sutherland

24 Travis Bobbee

28 Kyle Rous

* Rene Hunter

* Josh Elmes

FORWARDS (11+5=16)

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

GOALTENDERS (2+2=4)

34 Deven Dubyk

35 Joey Rewucki

* Brendan Jensen

* Byron Spriggs

* new recruit

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Two CW Coaches to NHL

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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]

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's July!

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

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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]

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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.”

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?]

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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]

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  • 3 weeks later...

...

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.

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Bisons to Visit The Big Lemon

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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]

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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]

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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]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/hollywoodin2001/CIS/CWUAA/lethbridge-letters-50x50.jpg

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]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/hollywoodin2001/CIS/CWUAA/Alberta-50px.jpg

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:

 

Quote

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]

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  • 3 weeks later...

August begins with Recruits, Rumours, and News

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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

UBC-50x50condensed.jpg

There is good news on the coast. Instead of flailing away with desperation recruits, UBC has picked up for 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]

Thompson-Rivers-50x50-1.gif

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]

CANADA WEST

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)

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Mid-August Update

Lethbridge-50x50-head.jpg

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

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]

Alberta-50px.jpg

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]

DALHOUSIE

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]

CW-condensed.jpg

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)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Regina 0-2 in Europe

Regina-50pxw.jpg

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.

CW-condensed.jpg

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 os raising money for his former teammate (from junior days), Cody Smuk, for his battle with cancer. Good luck! Also, former goaltender Justin Coye was named the ACAC goaltender of the decade.

Links:

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

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REGINA AND UQTR LOSE

August 29th

Regina-50pxw.jpgRiessersee-50x50.gif

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-50x50.jpg

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.

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UQTR-50x50.jpg

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.

CW-condensed.jpg

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]

Bisons-50px.gif

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

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Bisons-50px.gif

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-50px.gifAlberta-50px.jpg

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

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OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 6, 2014

Mount-Royal-head-50x50.jpgCalgary-50x50-head.gif

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?

LethbridgeHornswhite50h.jpg

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)

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OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 9, 2014

Regina-50pxw.jpgBriercrest-50x50-1.jpg

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.

UBC-50x50condensed.jpg

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)

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OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

September 11, 2014

Sask-hockey-50x50.jpgRegina-old-50x50condensed.jpg

SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 7

REGINA COUGARS 5

Links:

:. [Regina Schedule & Results] : [Regina Tweet]

:. [Regina Tournament]

I don't know if the Regina event this weekend can be called a "tournament", but who cares? Seven of the eight teams in the CW are converging on the Capitol of Banjoland for 10 hockey games. Lethbridge will play twice, Mount Royal won't be there, and the rest will play 3 games. A drive out there is tempting. Just remember Regina's town slogan: "Regina, it rhymes with FUN!"

The Canine Hillbillies defeated the Feline Hillbillies, and all we have is the score. The links might lead to links with more information in due time. Regina is now 1-4-0 and this was Sask's first game.

Ottawa-50x50-1.jpg

Links:

:. [Metro News Story]

:. [Yahoo Story]

There is a story on Metro News about former Gee-Gee Alexander Touchette, collateral damage in the suspension of the team.

Touchette was a driving force on the Gee Gees squad last season, netting 11 goals and 26 points in 24 games. He’s now playing with the Division 1 Aigles de Nice in the Nice Hockey Côte d’Azur league. He scored two goals and two assists in his debut game and leads the team in scoring.

“I have played hockey since I was four-years-old. I (left) home at the age of 14 to go play hockey in Saskatchewan. I didn’t come to Ottawa just for the school, I went there to play hockey and the university took that away from me,” added the forward.

...

The 24-year-old said he tried to stay in Canada and spoke to several other teams about playing hockey, but they all just wanted to know if he was involved in the scandal.

“As soon as the school suspended the entire team and told the media about it my reputation was damaged,” he said, adding that his parents were receiving emails from all over wondering if their son was part of the alleged sex assault. He said because no charges were laid for months after the allegations came to light, the entire team had to pay for the actions of two players.

“Suspending a CIS hockey team is something that can really damaged a career for someone like me.”

...

Touchette’s former Gee Gees coach Réal Paiement, who was fired amid the allegations, also found work coaching in France – running the bench for Les Ducs d’Angers in the Ligue Magnus.

The Yahoo story had a bizarre response:

... it's long past time for the media to have a sympathetic ear for a former player who is playing the victim.

Actually, the time for that should be never, but we'll get to that.

The only victim in the University of Ottawa hockey sex assault scandal is the 21-year-old woman in Thunder Bay, Ont.

So why was Allan Rock not suspended? Why not smear all of Yahoo's reporters when charges are pending against one?

NEXT UP

Thu Sep 11 Saskatchewan at Regina (7:00)

Fri Sep 12 Calgary at Regina (5:00)

Fri Sep 12 NAIT at Mount Royal

Fri Sep 12 Saskatchewan v Manitoba (at Regina 8:00)

Fri Sep 12 UBC v Alberta (at Regina 7:00)

Fri Sep 12 RMC at McGill

Fri Sep 12 Ryerson at Western Ontario

Sat Sep 13 Alberta at Regina (12:30)

Sat Sep 13 Manitoba v Lethbridge (at Regina 4:00)

Sat Sep 13 NAIT at Mount Royal

Sat Sep 13 UBC v Calgary (at Regina 7:30)

Sat Sep 13 Concordia at McGill

Sat Sep 13 Nipissing v Carleton (at Pembroke)

Sat Sep 13 RMC v Queen's (at Gananoque, Ont)

Sat Sep 13 UOIT at York

Sun Sep 14 Calgary v Sask (at Regina 3:00)

Sun Sep 14 Manitoba v Alberta (at Regina 12:00)

Sun Sep 14 UBC v Lethbridge (at Regina 2:00)

Sun Sep 14 Guelph at UOIT

Mon Sep 15 New Brunswick at St. Thomas

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