Women’s hockey
The 17-7-4, fourth-ranked Manitoba Bison women’s hockey team was ready to do battle in the post-season. The Bisons hosted the Regina Cougars in their first home playoff series since the 2010-11 season, when they went on to capture their second Canada West Championship.
This year the Cougars finished fifth in the Canada West standings, with an overall record of 11-13-4. The Bisons went 3-1 against Regina in the regular season, and were looking to continue their regular season success in the quarter-final matchup.
Unfortunately, Manitoba ran into a hot goalie, netting just one goal over the two games played at Wayne Fleming Arena, and was bounced from the playoffs in the first round.
Special teams was the difference in game one on Friday, as Regina scored on both of their goals on the power play, en route to a 2-0 victory.
“You kill off every power play against you in the last five games, then you give up two in a playoff game – that’s just not gonna get it done,” said head coach Jon Rempel.
The following afternoon, the Bisons were hoping to take the series to a deciding third game. It was not to be. Regina scored three unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes, eliminating Manitoba with a 3-1 win. Kyleigh Palmer scored the lone goal for Manitoba early in the first period, but Regina ultimately completed the sweep to move on in the Canada West playoffs.
Track and Field
The Bison track and field team earned seven medals at the 2014 Canada West Track and Field Championships. Hosted by the University of Alberta, the two-day event was held on Feb. 21 and 22.
On day one, five Bison athletes competing in individual events and one relay team reached the podium.
In the men’s pentathlon, Wyatt Eyford finished in first place with 3,711 points while teammate Arthur Buchanan finished in third place with 3,496 points. Matthew Fitkowsky earned silver in the men’s 300-metre with a time of 35.32 seconds.
Melissa Richards tied for second in women’s pole vault with a jump of 3.62-metres, and Wilfred Samking finished third in the 60-metre hurdles with a time of 8.44 seconds. In the women’s 4×800-metre relay, Manitoba finished with a time of 9:18.
On day two, fourth-year track star Buchanan finished in third place in the men’s high jump with a leap of 1.98-metres. Bison teammate Neil Clark ended up tying for fourth place with a jump of 1.95-metres. The men’s 4×400-metre relay team clinched a bronze medal with a time of 3:20.44.
Overall, the Bison men’s team finished in fifth place overall with 50.5 points, while the women’s team finished in seventh place with 22 points.
Three Bison athletes qualified for nationals: Eyford, Fitkowsky, and Richards will be heading to Edmonton for the 2014 CIS T&F Championships from Mar. 6-8.
Swimming
Three Bison swimmers took to the pool at the 2014 CIS Swimming Championships, hosted by the University of Toronto. But all eyes were on Dillon Perron; the third-year Bison athlete and team co-captain had a phenomenal weekend, reaching the podium and setting multiple provincial records during the three-day event.
Perron won the first national swimming medal for the University of Manitoba since 2006 on the first day of competition, in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke. His time of 1:00.86 is a new provincial record. On day two, he set two more provincial records: a time of 2:12.76 in the 200-metre breaststroke and 24.28 seconds in the 50-metre butterfly.
Bisons Artur Kroitor and Kimberly Moors improved on their results in previous appearances at the national championships, and both managed to crack the top 10 in one event: eighth for Moors in the women’s 50-metre butterfly and 10th for Kroitor in the men’s 50-metre freestyle.
