The No. 9 University of Manitoba Bisons return to the TBayTel Varsity Cup for the second time; they also took part in the 2004 tourney. The Bisons have a storied hockey history; having won the Memorial Cup, the Allan Cup, the University Cup, and a World Championship in 1931.
This season the Bisons have posted a 9-6-1 Canada West record (11-13-1 overall) and sit in third place in the conference behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Bisons ended the first half of regular season play with a sweep over the then No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies.
Manitoba Head Coach Don MacGillivray said his squad is looking forward to the tourney. We are excited to be participating at the Varsity Cup. We do not know a lot about our opponents but expect high competitive games throughout the tournament. This will be a good opportunity for our team to compete against non-conference teams and get a good start to our second half of the season.
The Bisons feature some dangerous scorers in Rick Wood (7 goals, 9 assists), Chris Falloon (6 goals, 8 assists), Travis Kornelsen (7 goals, 4 assists), and Mike Hellyer (5 goals, 4 assists).
Other Bisons to watch are Rob Smith (1 goal, 11 assists), Nick Cowan (1 goal, 9 assists), and Mark Olafson (2 goals, 7 assists). Krister Toews is an excellent netminder and has a 7-6 record, GAA of 3.00, and SV% of .899.
The Thunderwolves have an all-time record of 4 wins and 3 losses vs. Manitoba and both teams have scored 26 goals in those seven very close games.
Manitoba 07-08 Results:
DATE OPPONENT TIME RESULT
Sept. 15 Regina* 7:00 W 4-2
Sept. 16 Saskatchewan* 5:00 W 4-2
Sept. 21 Alberta* 7:15 L 5-1
Sept. 22 Calgary* 4:00 L 8-3
Sept. 26 Manitoba Moose* 7:30 L 7-1
Oct. 5 Regina 8:00 W 4-2
Oct. 6 Regina 8:00 W 3-0
Oct. 7 North Dakota* 6:07 L 9-3
Oct. 12 Saskatchewan 7:00 L 3-1
Oct. 13 Saskatchewan 7:00 L 4-3
Oct. 19 Nebraska-Omaha* 7:00 L 8-1
Oct. 20 Canisius/Alabama* TBA L 3-2
Oct. 26 Alberta 7:00 W 5-3
Oct. 27 Alberta 7:00 L 7-4
Nov. 2 UBC 9:30 W 4-3
Nov. 3 UBC 9:30 W 3-2
Nov. 9 Lethbridge 8:00 W 6-4
Nov. 10 Lethbridge 8:00 L 5-2
Nov. 16 Calgary 7:00 L 6-4
Nov. 17 Calgary 7:00 L 3-2 OT
Nov. 20 Bemidji* 7:05 L 5-1
Nov. 23 Regina 7:00 L 2-1
Nov. 24 Regina 7:00 W 3-2
Nov. 30 Saskatchewan 7:00 W 5-1
Dec. 1 Saskatchewan 7:00 W 4-2