So far it’s been a busy off-season for the University of Manitoba Bisons. Here’s a few highlights.
Bison football players compete at annual East-West Bowl
From May 5-9, four athletes from the U of M Bisons football program had the opportunity to show their stuff on the gridiron at the annual East-West Bowl. The event was a week long, and gave the top CIS prospects a chance to practice and play in front of CFL scouts.
Wide receiver Dustin Pedersen, offensive tackle Alex McKay, defensive tackle David Onyemata, and middle linebacker D.J. Lalama were all selected to participate for Team West.
Despite losing 29-21, all four members of the herd made strong cases towards getting drafted in 2016, and will look to continue that success later this year when the season begins.
Bennaroch selected to Team Canada
Third year men’s basketball player Kennan Bennaroch was recently handed a tremendous honour, as he was selected as a member of Team Canada’s basketball team for the Pan American Maccabi games , which begin in December of 2015.
The games occur every four years, and offer increased awareness of Jewish and Israel identity via various sport outlets.
This year’s event will occur in Santiago, Chile, and feature Jewish athletes from North, Central, and South America, as well as Great Britain, Australia, Israel, and more.
Bennaroch, who red-shirted with Manitoba last year, after two years in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference, was the only player from all of Western Canada selected.
Women’s hockey recruits Finnish star
Back in late May, the U of M Bisons women’s hockey team made a huge splash, announcing their final recruit for the 2015-16 season – Venla Hovi, from Tampere, Finland.
Hovi has extensive international experience, having participated as a member of the Finnish National Team in 2007, 2008, and 2009, as well as the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games. She won a bronze medal with her squad in Vancouver in 2010.
The 27-year-old is head coach Jon Rempel’s first ever international recruit, and is sure to make an immediate impact as the Bisons look to return to the conference championship for a second consecutive year.
