Hockey:
The No.9 ranked Bison men’s hockey team had a successful road trip to Regina this past weekend. They won in both their games against the Regina Cougars.
On Jan. 6, the Bisons were dominant in the first period. On the penalty kill, Ian Duval forced a turnover as he and Mike Hellyer earned a 2-on-1 opportunity. Ian Duval opted to pass and Hellyer beat the Huskies goaltender for a short-handed goal. Later in the period, the Bisons extended their lead to two as Jared Walker scored on the power play.
Regina would cut the lead to one in the second, but that was as close as they would get. Blair Macaulay would score in the first minute of the third period to restore the two-goal lead, as the Bisons hung on for a 3-2 victory.
The following day, the Bisons continued their dominant performance, as they scored three straight second period goals en route to a 4-1 victory. Duval scored a pair, while Macaulay and Travis Mealy also pitched in with goals of their own.
The pair of victories help to solidify Manitoba’s playoff chances; currently third in the Canada West conference standings, they are only two points back from Alberta and Saskatchewan who sit tied for first with 28 points.
The Bisons are on the conference bye next week, before hosting the Saskatchwan Huskies in a pair of pivotal contests on Jan. 20 and 21.
Basketball:
Both the men’s and women’s Bison basketball teams travelled to British Columbia this past weekend, as they took on a pair of Pacific Division opponents.
The Bison men’s team opened 2012 with a victory on Jan. 6 against UBC-Okanagan. The Heat kept the game close through the first quarter, but the Bisons took the game over from there earning a comfortable 80-65 victory.
The following day, the Bisons travelled to Kamloops where they took on the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack. The teams were evenly matched, the lead remained up for grabs heading into the fourth quarter. The Bisons proved better in the final frame, as they capitalized on inconsistent play by TRU and outscored them by 13 points for the 86-78 victory.
With the victories, the Bisons record has improved to 6-4, as they sit tied for second in the Canada West prairie division.
Meanwhile, it was rough going for the Bison women’s basketball team. They lost their first two games of the new year, failing to make up any ground in the Canada West standings.
UBC-Okanagan picked up only their second victory of the season on Jan. 6. The Bisons couldn’t stop the surging Heat in the third quarter, they headed into the fourth quarter down by nearly 20 points. The Bisons were unable to complete a comeback in the final quarter, losing 74-61.
The trouble continued for the Bisons the following day as they fell to TRU 67-49. The Bisons were outscored 20-10 in the first quarter and never managed to recover.
The Bison women fall to 3-7, and will need to turn things around quickly in the last half of the season if they hope to make the post-season.
