[Hollywood2]

January 4, 2013

HERD HUMBLE HILLBILLIES


MANITOBA BISONS 4
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2

Links:
|> [awaiting upload: CIS Friday Round-Up] : [CW Friday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore (to be uploaded)]
|> [U of S Game Story] : [reposted at U of M Site]

The Bisons probably didn't enjoy the trip to Saskatown (the smelly outhouses, gap-toothed inbreds, and banjo music on every radio station can really grate on one), but the trip was worth it. At least on Friday night.

I watched most on CanadaWest.tv. But in-between the 2nd and 3rd periods the link was lost until the very end. The sound and picture were also not in synch.

Eric Mestery scored his first goal as a Bison to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead at the 1st intermission. The Bisons carried the play for most of the period. The Mutts took 4 penalties, and the Bisons 3, so there were power plays most of the time.

The 2nd period was drab. The teams could have played with shovels. The Mutts outshot the Bisons 5-3, and outscored them 2-1. Del Cowan notched his 1st of the year on a PP one minute in. Then the Bisons played like they were hungover from New Year's. Three shots in a period? The Canine Codys (Smuk and Hobbs) each scored their 2nd goals of the season so that it was all level after two.

The Bisons slammed the door on the Mangy Ones in the 3rd period. Tyler Dittmer scored his 7th and 8th goals, both on the PP, and they outshot their hosts 10-6. And two of those shots came at the end when Sask had a late PP and pulled their goaltender.

Jesse Deckert tended goal for the Bisons while Ryan Holfield was in goal for the Mutts, as he has been for every game this season.

Of note, Sask was 0-for-5 on the PP, and the Bisons were 3-for-6. And Sask's top two lines were held scoreless.

The Bisons are now 3 points in arrears of Sask pending the Saturday night rematch.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 3
REGINA COUGARS 6

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of R Game Story] : [U of L Game Story]

The Province of Banjoland hosted two games on Friday. The Banjo-Cats racked up a big win over the H0rny Ones to salvage a split. The Puddy-Tats jumped all over them from the start. The H0rny Ones were two men short of a full roster.

After two periods Regina held a 31-11 lead in shots and a 4-2 lead on the scoreboard. The H0rny Ones did come back from a 3-0 deficit and were as close as 3-2 and then 4-3 before Regina put them away.

On the positive side, Chase Schaber scored his 7th and 8th goals for Lethbridge.


CALGARY DINOS 6
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 2

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [UBC Game Story] : [reposted at U of C Site]

The Tweety-Birds entered the night one point ahead of the Bedrock Boys and exited one point behind. This was a big game in the race for 4th place and this was a decisive victory for the Dinos. Taylor Stefishen (his 2nd and 3rd) and Walker Wintoneak (with his 9th and 10th) scored twice each to pace the Dinos. Dustin Butler got the win in goal.


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3
NAIT OOKS 2

Links:
|> [U of A Linescore] : [NAIT Schedule/Results]

All I have on this one is the score. NAIT made it close, so good for them. The last time the Monkeys played they beat Team Canada.

OUT EAST:

Friday, January 4
Acadia 2 New Brunswick 4
St. Thomas 1 Saint Mary’s 7
Moncton 1 St. Francis-Xavier 5
Dalhousie 1 UPEI 2 (ot)
Carleton 5 McGill 2
Ryerson 3 Nipissing 5
Queen’s 3 RMC 1
Western Ontario 3 Brock 2
Windsor 4 UOIT 7
York 4 Waterloo 3 (so)
Guelph 3 Lakehead 4 (ot)

UP NEXT:

Saturday, January 5
Manitoba at Saskatchewan : CanadaWest.tv
Lethbridge at Regina
Calgary at UBC
NAIT at Alberta [non-conference]
Moncton at Saint Mary’s
Dalhousie at New Brunswick
St. Thomas at St. Francis Xavier
Acadia at UPEI
Ottawa at Concordia
Laurier at Brock
UOIT at Western Ontario
Windsor at York
Nipissing at RMC
Toronto at Queen’s
Guelph at Lakehead

Sunday, January 6
McGill at Ottawa
Toronto at Ryerson
Carleton at Concordia

[Hollywood2]

MEDIA REPORTS ABOUND

There are lots of stories posted the morning after. The above link for the Friday Round-Up has been updated, and I throw it in here for good measure. However, there is still no boxscore at the CIS site for the Bisons v Mutts game.

Links:
|> [CIS Friday Round-Up]
|> [Man v Sask: The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]
|> [Cal v UBC: Boxscore News]
|> [Alta v NAIT: Edmonton Journal]

Originally Posted by Star-Phoenix

"It was huge," said Manitoba forward Ian Duval, who was named the game's No. 1 star. "The boys knew we'd be in a battle and we pulled it out in the third period. We had all four lines going and our D, and our goaltending was awesome.

"We just pulled it out in the end."

Saskatchewan slips to 134-0 in conference play.

Manitoba improves to 104-3, three points behind the second-place Huskies in the Canada West.

"Especially if you want home-ice advantage - the one-two spots in playoffs - this is huge," Duval added. "We closed the gap."

Manitoba staked out a 2-0 lead on goals by D-man Eric Mestery, who pinched in and converted on a nice feed from Duval, and Del Cowan, whose rising shot from the high slot appeared to catch just enough of a Huskie de-fender's stick to fool goalie Ryan Holfeld.

Cowan's goal, at 1: 13 of the second period, gave the Bisons a 2-0 lead.

From there, the Dogs' so-called piss line took over. Cody Smuk capitalized from the slot at 6: 28 after a feed from linemate Matt Spafford following a hard rush down the right side.

It was Smuk who later combined with another Cody, Cody Hobbs, to knot the score up at 2-2 at 13: 14 of the second. Hobbs was able to tuck a shot under the crossbar from in tight.

In the third, Tyler Dittmer scored power-play goals to give the Bisons the win.

"They had a couple of goals that were rebound goals and that's a team effort there, preventing those types of goals," Smuk said.

"Our PK obviously needs to watch some video because they got three power-play goals on us. We need to obviously be better in that department. If we prevent those PP goals, it's a 2-1 win for us instead of a 4-2 loss."

Originally Posted by UBC at Boxscore

After killing off a power play to start the second period, the Thunderbirds started to turn up their offensive game, led by leading scoer Max Grassi. The fourth year product had three chances on one shift, including a point blank opportunity on a two on one, but Dustin Butler was there to deny him every time. Butler's counterpart Jordan White (Surrey, BC) was no slouch himself stopping Dinos captain Brock Nixon twice, once on a shorthanded partial breakaway and again on the power play with an outstanding left pad save on a one timer. The 'Birds would score the equlizer with 3:32 left in the second period as Neil Manning's (Nanaimo, BC) wrister found the back of the net for his first career CIS goal, tieing the game at 2-2. However, the excitement wouldn't last long as Walker Wintoneak scored on the power play with 4.9 seconds left in the frame to give Calgary a 3-2 lead after two periods of play.

"That goal killed us," said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. "We took a bad penalty, didn't get the puck, and they made us pay scoring the eventual game winner."

Originally Posted by Evan Daum at Edmonton Journal

Not only did former U of A defence partners turned head coaches Ian Herbers and Serge Lajoie face off behind the Bears’ and Ooks’ benches, respectively, but several Edmonton Oil Kings also renewed acquaintances.

Alberta, the top-ranked team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, handed the Ooks, who lead Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, a 3-2 loss in an entertaining affair at NAIT Arena, where Canadian women’s national team goalie Shannon Szabados stole the show, facing nearly 50 shots.

“I was very impressed by U of A,” NAIT head coach Serge Lajoie said. “They’ve set a tremendous measuring stick for us and it’s the kind of hockey we aspire to play.

“We gave up too many high-quality chances, but that’s the type of goaltending we’ve got all year. Shannon has been tremendous.”

Flying Monkey crushes female.

[Hollywood2]

January 5, 2013

BISON LOSS GIVES THEM A SPLIT


MANITOBA BISONS 2
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 3

Links:
|> [awaiting upload: CIS Saturday Round-Up] : [CW Saturday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [CIS Friday Boxscore]
|> [U of S Game Story] : [reposted at U of M Site - with summary]

The Bisons had to make two line-up changes, losing captain and defenceman Dane Crowley and forward Brendan Rowinski, to be replaced by Lee Christensen and Austin Lauder.

Once again, the goaltending match-up was Jesse Deckert v Ryan Holfield. After 21 minutes the shots were even, but the Mangy Ones had stormed out to a 3-0 lead, all goals coming from their top two lines. After that, the Bisons took control but all they could do was pull back two goals.

Ian Duval and Matthew Lowry both scored their 6th goals of the season for the Bisons. In the end the Bisons outshot the Mutts 40-27, 27-15 over the last two periods.

Next weekend the Mutts visit the Monkeys and the Bisons host Mount Royal.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 2
REGINA COUGARS 4

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of R Game Story] : [reposted at U of L Site]

Those confounding Cougars swept their series with the H0rny Ones in convincing fashion. The H0rny Ones were badly outshot (53-26 on the night) yet were tied well into the 3rd period. Brock Appleyard scored his first two goals of the season to break the 2-2 tie and give the Puddy-Tats the series sweep.


CALGARY DINOS 2
UBC THUNDERBIRDS 1
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [UBC Game Story] : [not yet posted at U of C Site]

The late game on the schedule took overtime to complete. Bad news for the Birds. The Dinos will be taking 4 points back to the Town of Bedrock. And in the process the Boys from British California's hopes of a 4th place finish are a page right out of history.

Calgary scored in the 1st, UBC in the 2nd, and then the two sides could only muster 6 shots on goal in the entire 3rd period.


NAIT OOKS 0
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3

Links:
|> [U of A Linescore] : [NAIT Schedule/Results]
|> [Friday CW Summary]

There is, as I post, no summary for the Saturday game, but they did get up a summary for Friday's game. All I know (from Twitter) is that Alberta scored late to put the game away. Hopefully, a late link for Saturday's game will appear.

STANDINGS:

Team`````````` W`` L``OTL``PTS
Saskatchewan``14`` 4`` 0`` 28
Alberta`````` 14`` 4`` 0`` 28
Manitoba``````10`` 5`` 3`` 23
Calgary`````` 11`` 7`` 0`` 22
Regina```````` 9`` 7`` 2`` 20
UBC````````````9`` 7`` 2`` 20
Mount Royal````4``14`` 0````8
Lethbridge```` 1``15`` 2````4

OUT EAST:

Links:
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]

Saturday, January 5
Moncton 2 Saint Mary’s 6
Dalhousie 0 New Brunswick 3
St. Thomas 0 St. Francis Xavier 3
Acadia 2 UPEI 4
Ottawa 0 Concordia 2
Laurier 4 Brock 3
UOIT 1 Western Ontario 7
Windsor 2 York 3
Nipissing 8 RMC 2
Toronto 3 Queen’s 2 (ot)
Guelph 5 Lakehead 2

UP NEXT:

Sunday, January 6
McGill at Ottawa
Toronto at Ryerson
Carleton at Concordia

Wednesday, January 9
Concordia at McGill
Carleton at UQTR

Thursday, January 10
UOIT at Laurier

Friday, January 11
Mount Royal at Manitoba
Saskatchewan at Alberta
Regina at Calgary
UBC at Lethbridge
Acadia at Moncton
Dalhousie at St. Thomas
New Brunswick at St. Francis Xavier
UPEI at Saint Mary’s
Lakehead at York
McGill at Carleton
Ottawa at UQTR
RMC at Nipissing
Brock at Windsor
Western Ontario at Waterloo

[Hollywood2]

WEEKEND PREVIEW


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (4-14-0, 5-16-1, OHT35 #28)
MANITOBA BISONS (10-5-3, 13-7-3-1, OHT35 #9)

Friday, January 11th, 7:00 p.m. CST @ Max Bell Arena, U of M
Saturday, January 12th, 2:30 p.m. CST @ Max Bell Arena, U of M

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]

Manitoba Links:
|> [U of M Preview story]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Mount Royal Links:
|> [MRU News Page]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Prior Games:
|> [Oct 19: Manitoba 4-1] : [Oct 20: Manitoba 3-2]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links] : [Standings]
|> [LeagueStat Daily] : [CW Weekly Media Notes #11]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

The Bisons are at home for the first time in 2013, and it is not too soon for me. Note that Saturday's game is a rare matinee performance.

There are only 10 games left for each team in the league. So the New Kittens on the Block really need points badly. They are 12 points out of a playoff berth.

The Bisons sit 3rd, and are 5 points out of 1st. Realistically, the race is now for 3rd (where they lead Calgary by a point).

The Bisons are now done with Alberta and Sask. They have a favourable closing schedule, provided of course that they run the table against teams like the Kittens.

One player to watch on MRU is Eric Galbraith, a sniper with 12 goals through 16 games.

Last weekend Dane Crowley and Brendan Rowinski did not suit up in Saturday's game. Hopefully, they will be ready to return.

ELSEWHERE:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS (9-7-2, 14-8-2-1, OHT35 #15)
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (1-15-2, 3-20-2, OHT35 #35)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Both Nights]
|> [U of L Preview Story] : [UBC Preview Story]

I am not expecting much from the H0rny Ones for the remainder if the season. They even had to play short last weekend. So will UBC be able to bounce back from last weekend's disaster against Calgary? If they want to be in the race with the top teams, this is the type of road series they must sweep. I suspect that on home ice the 'Horns will have at least one strong outing.

UBC has their own issues, summarized in their preview story:

The funk has seen the 'Birds go 1-4-1 in their last six games. Prior to that they were 8-3-1 on season. The reason is simple, UBC has struggled to find the back of the net. In their first 12 games of the year the Thunderbirds averaged nearly four goals a game, but in their last six games they have scored just eight goals total. Look no further then the team's veteran group of forwards for the answer. Max Grassi (North Vancouver, BC), Scott Wasden (West Kelowna, BC), and Nate Fleming (St.Albert, AB) have all gone six games without a goal, while Wyatt Hamilton (Cochrane, AB) is in the midst of a seven game scoring drought. It doesn't help either that the defence this season has chipped in with just three goals combined.

REGINA COUGARS (9-7-2, 10-13-2, OHT35 #18)
CALGARY DINOS (11-7-0, 14-10-0, OHT35 #14)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]
|> [U of C Preview Story - reposted at CW Site]
|> [U of R Preview Story]

I have said on many occasions that I am confounded by the Old Cougars. They are tied for 5th with 20 points and could vault past Calgary this weekend. Wow! They looked like one of the worst teams in CW history when they played the Bisons both in pre-season and in regular season.

I have a hunch that Calgary will bear down and sweep this, just as they did with UBC last weekend. They will close with series against Manitoba, Alberta, Sask., and MRU. So they need to establish some dominance in series like this one if they want to be competitive.

The Regina story says they have added a mid-season recruit of their own, namely Drew Czerwonka, a good Irish boy.


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (14-4-0, 16-5-1, OHT35 #3)
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (14-4-0, 25-4-0, OHT35 #1)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Both Nights]
|> [U of A Preview Story] : [U of S Site]
|> [Star Phoenix story on Reekie]

The Main Event of the weekend is the 1st place showdown in Edmontown. The Monkeys and the Mutts are both 14-4. The Monkeys went 0-2 against the Mutts in their first meeting. I'd be looking for a turn-around in this one. But the Monkeys are vulnerable to the physical teams, so maybe the Mutts can find a physical game.

The Alberta preview has some interesting factoids:

Since the 1996-97 season, only two teams have won the Canada West championship: Alberta with 11, and Saskatchewan with five. In fact, since the completion of the 2002 regular season, the Bears and Huskies have finished no worse than third in the conference standings, including eight straight years finishing 1-2 in the conference standings. The Golden Bears have been the best team in the regular season 10 out of the last 11 seasons, while Saskatchewan has been the No.2 team eight times, and the third-place team three times.

The linked story on Mutt goalie David Reekie says he is now cleared to play. He was in a car accident in September. I'd be surprised to see him debut against the Monkeys.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:

Wednesday, January 9
Carleton 3 UQTR 1 : [CIS Boxscore]
Concordia 2 McGill 3 (ot) : [CIS Boxscore]

NEWS:


Other than the newest top 10 news releases, there is an AUS Update at the CIS Blog and more speculation on the Dalhousie situation. The rumour at the CTV link is that it dealt with the team making payments to players. It would be nice for the CIS to release a finding. This is on the heels of the school suspending their women's team over hazing. We await details on that one, too.
Links:
CIS Blog: [AUS Update]
CTV: [Dalhousie men's hockey team braces for punishment]
CIS Top Ten: [CIS Press Release - reposted at [CW Site]]

[Hollywood2]

January 11, 2013

BISONS CRUSH THE NEW KITTENS ON THE BLOCK


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 3
MANITOBA BISONS 6

Links:
|> [awaiting upload: CIS Friday Round-Up] : [CW Friday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of M Game Story] : [reposted at MRU News Page]
|> [Pre-Game Audio Clip]

The City of Winnipeg was in pre-blizzard conditions, yet there was a decent enough turn-out to see the Bisons play their first home game of 2013. While the win was convincing, the performance was not. The New Kittens on the Block simply do not constiute a threat to the Bisons. They do have a big defence, and a few large forwards as well. Their solid blue uniforms tend to enhance the visual effect of their size. But their only offence tended to come from the Bisons making unncessary gambles in an attempt to pad the stats.

Matthew Lowry led the Bisons, scoring his 7th, 8th, and 9th goals of the season and was named 1st star. Dylan Kelly contributed his 3rd and 4th goals of the season to earn 2nd star honours. For some reason they named Jesse Deckert 3rd star. I thought he was fighting the puck. He was rolling around on his back on more than one occasion when it was not necessary. Tyler Dittmer also scored his 9th of the season. And new recruit Brodie Melnychuk made his debut on the Bison blue-line.

Here's how they lined up:

Manitoba

Goal:
35 Deckert (1 Caligiuri)

Defence:
4 Schappert - 20 Lockerby
6 Melnychuk - 2 Crowley
3 Mestery - 24 Bobbee

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 19 Duval - 26 Macaulay
21 Cowan - 9 Lowry - 10 Rowinski
29 Cain - 11 Henry - 27 Feakes
18 Kelly - 25 Ciarelli - 16 Paradis

Scratches:
G: 34 Dubyk
D: 5 Christensen - 12 Sutherland - 22 Bestland
F: 14 Green - 15 Scott - 17 Lauder

Mount Royal

Goal:
30 Cote (33 Flette)

Defence:
6 McKay - 20 Tresierra
5 Scott - 21 Strong
26 Beech - 4 Perreault

Forwards:
28 Knopp - 8 Turnbull - 14 J Burns
13 Brown - 25 Jewitt - 16 Galbraith
24 Marshall - 19 Harrison - 12 Eskesen
15 Asuchak - 17 Barrett - 9 Garrison

Scratches:
G: 1 Nickel
D: 3 Collister
F: 7 Reinbolt - 10 Ius - 11 M Burns
F: 18 MacMaster - 22 Brown

I'll be interested to see if Saturtday's matinee match-up (don't forget - 2:30) will see the Bisons introduce some of the taxi squad to the line-up. The 4th line got way more ice time than usual, and had two goals and several more good chances.

The snake-bit Bison of the night was easily Luke Cain. He had three goalposts.

The hit of the night was a double head-shot when two Kittens collided inside their blue-line. Jordon Harrison ran into Tyler Eskesen (or vice versa). Both were down and out as the Bisons were on the offensive. The ref blew play down perhaps early than the rules call for, simply because they needed help off.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 7
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of L Game Story] : [UBC Game Story]

The H0rny Ones are officially the free square on the CW Bingo Card. They were soundly whipped, and perhaps were even flattered by the scoreboard. The shots by period show how one-sided this debacle was: 21-7, 21-6, and 16-2. That's right. Down 3-1 entering the 3rd period on home ice and Lethbridge only gets two shots on goal in the period. Saturday's rematch is on CanadaWest.tv.


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Linescore and Game Story] : [reposted at U of S Site]

The U of A used to be fast with posting game stories, but still nothing as I draft this post. (EDIT: The links are added for Game Stories and CIS Boxscore.)

This was another game where the Monkeys dominated the stats but were unable to put the Banjo-Mutts away. The Mangy Ones were able to steal two games in Saskatown in the 1st half of the season, and could well have done so again on Friday night. After two periods the game was tied 1-1 but the shots were 28-14 in favour of the Primates. The Hillbillies then had only two shots on goal in the 3rd period, but one of them went in. The game was tied 2-2 when Kruise "Pokey" Reddick scored at 18:39 of the 3rd to give Saudi Alberta at least temporary control of 1st place.

Coupled with Manitoba's win, Sask is now just 3 points ahead of the Herd in the race for 2nd, while falling 2 points behind Alberta in the race for 1st.

Saturday night's rematch will be on CanadaWest.tv.


REGINA COUGARS 1
CALGARY DINOSUARS 2

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of C Game Story] : [U of R Site]

Those always surprising Banjo-Cats engaged the Bedrock Boys in quite a battle Friday night. A shorthanded goal by Walker Wintoneuk (his 11th) early in the 3rd period gave the win to the Dinos. Regina went with Lucas Gore in goal, while Calgary countered with Dustin Butler. Both sides have been rotating goaltenders most of the season, so look for that. Regina falls 4 points behind Calgary, and two behind UBC.

OUT EAST:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Thursday, January 10
UOIT 4 Laurier 6

Friday, January 11
Acadia 3 Moncton 4
Dalhousie 1 St. Thomas 2
New Brunswick 5 St. Francis-Xavier 2
UPEI 2 Saint Mary’s 1
Lakehead 2 York 4
McGill 3 Carleton 2
Ottawa 3 UQTR 7
RMC 3 Nipissing 8
Brock 4 Windsor 6
Western Ontario 5 Waterloo 4

UP NEXT:

Saturday, January 12
Mount Royal at Manitoba (2:30 PM CST)
Regina at Calgary (7:00 PM CST)
Saskatchewan at Alberta (7:00 PM CST) : CanadaWest.tv
UBC at Lethbridge (8:00 PM CST) : CanadaWest.tv
UPEI at St. F-X
Acadia at St. Thomas
UNB at Saint Mary's
Dalhousie at Moncton
UQTR at Concordia
Lakehead at York
Laurier at Windsor
Ryerson at Queen's
Western Ontario at UOIT
Brock at Waterloo
RMC at Toronto

Sunday, January 13
Ryerson at Ottawa
Nipissing at Toronto

NEWS:

The on-going troubles in Dalhousie continue to make headlines. The Chronicle-Herald laments the dwindling leadership affecting all of Dalhousie hockey, from the men's and women's teams problems to their arena being torn down as plans are still in preliminary stages (at best) for the construction of a new one. A separate story pins the likely source of the men's team investigation to "scholarship irregularities".

Links:
|> [Where is Dalhousie’s leadership in hockey?]
|> [CIS investigating allegations about improper financial awards]

[Hollywood2]

ONE CRAZY MATINEE!


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 7
MANITOBA BISONS 8
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [awaiting upload: CIS Saturday Round-Up] : [CW Saturday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of M Game Story] : [reposted at MRU News Page]

It was Minor Hockey Day in Manitoba, so the Bisons let in all kids in their hockey jersey free of charge. So the place was fairly packed with kids. That, plus the matinee start time, created somewhat of a surreal atmosphere. It seemed to rub off on the players. The goals were coming fast and furious all night. Which is just what the kids wanted.

The Bisons made numerous line-up changes, obviously feeling that this was a golden opportunity to give some playing time to depth players. Here's how they lined up:

Manitoba

Goal:
1 Caligiuri (1st & 2nd) 35 Deckert (3rd)

Defence:
6 Melnychuk - 4 Schappert
3 Mestery - 24 Bobbee
22 Bestland - 12 Sutherland

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 19 Duval - 26 Macaulay
21 Cowan - 9 Lowry - 10 Rowinski
15 Scott - 11 Henry - 16 Paradis
18 Kelly - 25 Ciarelli - 17 Lauder

Scratches:
G: 34 Dubyk
D: 2 Crowley - 5 Christensen - 20 Lockerby
F: 14 Green - 27 Feakes - 29 Cain

Mount Royal

Goal:
33 Flette (1st & 2nd) 30 Cote (3rd)

Defence:
6 McKay - 20 Tresierra
5 Scott - 21 Strong
26 Beech - 4 Perreault

Forwards:
28 Knopp - 8 Turnbull - 14 J Burns
13 Brown - 25 Jewitt - 16 Galbraith
15 Asuchak - 17 Barrett - 9 Garrison
24 Marshall - 19 Harrison

Scratches:
G: 1 Nickel
D: 3 Collister
F: 7 Reinbolt - 10 Ius - 11 M Burns
F: 12 Eskesen - 18 MacMaster - 22 Brown

I will be interested to see if Crowley returns next week. He was kneed on Friday night and left the game. The New Kittens on the Block played one short of a full litter. Tyler Eskesen was scratched after having been nailed by a team-mate on Friday.

The opening period was fairly even, and the Bisons took a 3-2 lead. MRU scored off the opening face-off. Therafter the Bisons took control of the game. They were able to score on nice passing plays and seemed able to skate around the MRU defence. Of note, Craig Scott scored his first as a Bison on his first shift of the season, and Tyler Dittmer scored two goals.

Jeremy Schappert converted an Ian Duval pass on a PP early in the 2nd period to give the Bisons a 4-2 lead and all appeared to be well in hand. But between 3:05 and 4:54 each team had two goals and the score was 5-4 Bisons. The additional Bison goal came from Blair Macaulay. There was controversy when the Kittens scored by knocking it with a paw.

Things calmed down for a bit when the Bisons went on the PP. Darren Bestland fumbled a puck at the blueline, allowing Kevin Knopp to jump on the loose puck and score on a breakaway tie level the score at 5-5. James Henry the noticed that no Kittens were looking at him and stood behind everybody. Macaulay hit him with a pass and the breakaway goal made it 6-5. The Bisons were unable to hold the lead as Caligiuri allowed a floater from the blueline to elude him and the teams entered the 2nd intermission tied 6-6.

Neither starting goaltender returned for the 3rd period. The Bisons started two men short. At the end of the 2nd period Del Cowan was killing a penalty when he scooped up a loose puck and was on a 2-1 with Dittmer. The pass was off and Cowan gave a two-hander to the defender with only 17 seconds left. Bad idea. They could have easily killed the last 17 seconds.

MRU then took advantage when they scored on the two-man advantage. But after that they only had 3 shots the rest of the period. Dittmer eventually completed his hat-trick (and his 12th goal of the year) and it was 7-7. MRU played kitty-bar-the-door hockey for pretty much the whole 3rd period and seemed happy going to OT. They didn't do too much in OT either. So in the 2nd OT period (3 on 3) Blair Macaulay scored his 2nd of the game and 9th of the season to give the Herd the win. Deckert assisted on the winner, giving him 3 assists for the weekend. Not many goaltenders can boast those offensive stats.

The Bisons host the Calgary Dinos next Friday and Saturday nights, in games that will also be available on CanadaWest.tv.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 3
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 0

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of L Game Story] : [UBC Game Story]

Pity the H0rny Ones. They have an injury bug and started two mean short then lost two more during the game. At least they put up a fight. I saw the 3rd period of this one on-line. I fear for Lethbridge going into Alberta next weekend. Nothing more needs to be said about this series.


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 2
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 3

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Linescore (Game Story to follow)] : [U of S Site]

I saw a lot of this one on CanadaWest.tv. The Monkeys dominated the 1st period with an 18-5 lead in shots and a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. But they seem to be unable to turn dominance into goals against the Mangy Ones. Two goals in the 2nd period, which bracketed one Monkey marker, made it 3-2 heading into the 3rd period. The final frame was scoreless, despite 11 shots from each side. Most of Sask's chances came late. Kelly Mucha started again for the Apes, the first time this season they did not split the starts between their goaltenders.

This gives Saudi Alberta a 4 point edge over Sask in the race for 1st. In fact, Sask is now just one ahead on Manitoba in the race for 2nd, which is their likely focus right now.


REGINA COUGARS 3
CALGARY DINOSUARS 5

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of C Game Story] : [U of R Reposted Friday Game Story]

The Banjo-Cats could not hold a lead on Saturday night and so go pointless over a weekend of hotly contested games. They entered the weekend within striking distance of 4th place, but are now 4 points out of 5th and 6 points behind the 4th place Dinos.

Regina held period leads of 2-0 and 3-2. However, Calgary had a solid edge in shots every period (3, 3, 4 over the game). Each side also continued their goaltender rotation, as Andrew Hayes dueled with Jacob Deserres.

This sweep makes it 7 in a row for the Bedrock Boys. Now comes the hard part of their schedule. Calgary, UBC, Regina, and Lethbridge have all played each other twice and now each has one series left against each of Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, and Mount Royal. The Dinos trail Manitoba by one point, and Sask by two. Can they run the table?

OUT EAST:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Saturday, January 12
Acadia 6 St. Thomas 3
Dalhousie 4 Moncton 0
New Brunswick 3 Saint Mary’s 5
UPEI 3 St. Francis-Xavier 2
UQTR 5 Concordia 3
Lakehead 5 York 3
Western Ontario 5 UOIT 2
Brock 3 Waterloo 2 (ot)
Ryerson 3 Queen’s 1
Laurier 2 Windsor 6
RMC 1 Toronto 6

UP NEXT:

Sunday, January 13
Ryerson at Ottawa
Nipissing at Toronto

Tuesday, January 15
Carleton at Queen’s

Wednesday, January 16
Saint Mary’s at Dalhousie
St. Francis-Xavier at Acadia
St. Thomas at New Brunswick
Moncton at UPEI
UQTR at McGill

Thursday, January 17
Waterloo at York
Western Ontario at Laurier

Friday, January 18
Calgary at Manitoba : CanadaWest.tv
UBC at Saskatchewan
Lethbridge at Alberta : CanadaWest.tv
Regina at Mount Royal : CanadaWest.tv
Acadia at Saint Mary’s
St. Thomas at Moncton
Dalhousie at St. Francis-Xavier
New Brunswick at UPEI
McGill at Ottawa
Queen’s at Nipissing
Toronto at Carleton
Windsor at Brock
UOIT at Lakehead
Waterloo at Guelph
UQTR at Concordia
RMC at Ryerson

[Hollywood2]

WEEKEND PREVIEW


CALGARY DINOSAURS (13-7-0, 16-10-0, OHT35 #12)
MANITOBA BISONS (12-5-3, 15-7-3-1, OHT35 #6)

Friday, January 18th, 7:00 p.m. CST @ Max Bell Arena, U of M
Saturday, January 19th, 7:00 p.m. CST @ Max Bell Arena, U of M

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]

Manitoba Links:
|> [U of M Preview story]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]
|> [Winnipeg Sun: Logjam in standings ...]

Calgary Links:
|> [Calgary Preview Story - reposted at CW Site]
|> [Flames to host CIS hockey doubleheader]
|> [LS Roster] : [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Prior Games:
|> [Oct 26: Manitoba 4-1] : [Oct 27: Calgary 3-2 (so)]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links] : [Standings]
|> [LeagueStat Daily] : [CW Weekly Media Notes #12]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

The home stretch is upon us. There are only four weekends left in the regular schedule, which means 8 games per team. To get the full gist of this weekend's series, just look at the standings:

Team`````````` W`` L``OTL``PTS
Alberta`````` 16`` 4`` 0`` 32
Saskatchewan``14`` 6`` 0`` 28
Manitoba``````12`` 5`` 3`` 27
Calgary`````` 13`` 7`` 0`` 26
UBC```````````11`` 7`` 2`` 24
Regina```````` 9`` 9`` 2`` 20
Mount Royal````4``15`` 1````9
Lethbridge```` 1``17`` 2````4

The major advantage the Bisons hold over the Bedrock Boys is that when the Dinos play Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Bisons will be facing Lethbridge and UBC. The Dinos will also face their cross-town rival New Kittens on the Block when the Bisons will face the Old Kittens in Banjoland.

What does this mean? Calgary needs to win this series if they hope to leap-frog the Bisons into 3rd, and Sask into 2nd. Frankly, the Bisons will be keeping more of an eye on those Mangy Inbreds. 2nd place carries with it a bye to the semi-finals whilst both 3rd and 4th host the quarter-finals.

Calgary was off to a mediocre start this year. They have now run up a 7-game winning streak, but notably none of those wins have been over the Top Three.

The Bisons have held a hot hand themselves. going 6-1-1 in their last 8 games. Those games include 2 games each against Alberta and Sask.

The Dinos have 6 of the top 20 scorers in the league, but only 7 of the top 40. Walker Wintoneak, Brock Nixon, Taylor Stefishen, Tyler Fiddler, and Kevin King are all amongst the top scoring forwards in the league, all at or around a point per game. Kodie Curran on D has 2 goals and 17 assists. Their goaltenders have been splitting series lately. Dustin Butler is a former CIS goaltender of the year and Jacob DeSerres was in the Phoenix Coyotes' camp last season.

The Bisons have been paced by the Dittmer-Duval-Macaulay line. They are all in the top 9 scorers. In fact, Macaulay and Duval are currently tied with Kyle Bortis of Sask for the league scoring lead. I'll be interested to see whether or not the Bisons will have all their usual starters available, in particular captain Dane Crowley.

I doubt we'll see another 8-7 game, either this weekend or for the remainder of the season. However, these teams can generate goals as well.

This series WAS scheduled to be on CanadaWest.tv, but not any more.


Jesse Deckert photo, from the Winnipeg Sun story.

ELSEWHERE:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS (11-7-2, 16-8-2-1, OHT35 #15)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (14-6-0, 16-7-1, OHT35 #4)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]
|> [Ron McLean to speak at Gala - reposted at CW Site]
|> [UBC Preview Story]

This series very much mirrors the Bison/Dino series. UBC is coming off an easy sweep of Lethbridge, which frankly is no big deal. Sask saw their 1st place hopes basically go up in smoke when they were swept by the Monkeys. This is a series where UBC must be feeling the pressure to prove whether they are ready to join the big boys in Canada West. Do they belong in that group? Or should they just be happy that they are ahead of Regina? This series is one where they can show what they are made of, for good or for bad.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (1-17-2, 3-22-2, OHT35 #35)
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (16-4-0, 27-4-0, OHT35 #1)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Both Nights]
|> [U of A Preview Story] : [U of L Preview Story]

Enjoy watching carnage from a train wreck? Then this series should be right up your alley. #1 v #35. Ugh, I cannot fathom how bad this might be.


REGINA COUGARS (9-9-2, 10-15-2, OHT35 #21)
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (4-15-1, 5-17-2, OHT35 #30)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Both Nights]
|> [MRU News Page] : [U of R Site]

Cougar vs. Cougar. Sounds like a catfight outside the Palomino on ladies' night. Regina have looked like crap in all four games I saw them play. But yet week after week I see their results and they have been competitive. They have an 11 point lead over MRU in what is not yet a race for 6th place. Regina could clinch a playoff berth this weekend, with 6 games left!

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Sunday, January 13
Ryerson 4 Ottawa 9
Nipissing 1 Toronto 5

Tuesday, January 15
Carleton 3 Queen’s 1

Wednesday, January 16
Saint Mary’s 3 Dalhousie 0
St. F-X 1 Acadia 5
St. Thomas 0 New Brunswick 7
Moncton 2 UPEI 3 (ot)
UQTR 2 McGill 4

NEWS:


The suspension of the Dalhousie women's team has been upheld. Now we need some detail as to what exactly happened. No report has made an allegation of anything that sounds the least bit serious. I guess we'll wait for internet rumours! And, as usual, the CIS released an official top ten list.
Links:
|> Dalhousie women's suspension: [TSN.ca] : [Winnipeg Sun]
|> CIS Top Ten: [CIS Press Release] - reposted at [CW Site]

[Hollywood2]

BISONS BEAT BEDROCK BOYS
... AND VAULT INTO 2ND PLACE


CALGARY DINOSAURS 0
MANITOBA BISONS 6

Links:
|> [CIS Friday Round-Up] : [CW Friday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of M Game Story] : [U of C Game Story]
|> [ChrisD Preview Story]

As The Rock would say, the Bisons put boots to @**** on Friday night. Six different Bisons scored goals, Jesse Deckert posted the shut-out, and Luke Cain laid the smack down on Rylan Wiest's roody poo candy @**.

Traffic was slow-moving Friday night in the `Peg so we got to the game about 7 minutes into the 1st period. By that time James Henry had already scored (his 6th). I was there for a mid-period powerplay goal by Travis Bobbee (his 4th). He walked in from the blueline untouched. The Dinos parted like the Red Sea before Moses to allow Bobbee to go 1-on-1 with Dustin Butler. The 1st period scoring concluded when the Bison 4th line (getting lots of ice time on the night) chalked up another when Paul Ciarelli notched his 2nd of the year from a goalmouth scramble.

The 3-0 lead was not enough. The Bisons generated several golden opportunities throughout the 2nd period. Cain had a breakaway whilst shorthanded and rang it off the crossbar. Then on a powerplay Matthew Lowry scored his 10th and it was 4-0. Butler made a great save off Blair Macaulay, but within seconds he did not miss on another setup by Ian Duval so that he, too, would have his 10th goal. That chased Butler, and Jacob DeSerres entered the Dino goal. But he could not stop Dylan Kelly on a breakaway, so it was 6-0 after two periods.

The Dino hopes for a comeback were as illusionary as a girlfriend for Manti Te'o. The Bisons seemed to just want to run the clock down as quickly as possible in the 3rd period. There was not a lot of cheap stuff or penalties. Then all of a sudden it became like Slapshot. Dino Rylan Wiest knocked the helmet off Luke Cain and was going to get two for roughing. After a little discussion Cain started to pound the living bejeebers out of Wiest. Cain may have sore fingers. Then right at the end of the game one Bedrock Boy was yapping at the Bison bench, which prompted a melee. Captain Dane Crowley picked up Blake Clement and tossed him into the boards. The tempers should be well-heated for the Saturday rematch.

After this weekend's games were listed, and then not listed, on the CAnaadWest.tv line-up, I see that they are back on.

Here's how they lined up:

Manitoba

Goal:
35 Deckert (1 Caligiuri)

Defence:
6 Melnychuk - 24 Bobbee
22 Bestland - 2 Crowley
3 Mestery - 4 Schappert

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 19 Duval - 26 Macaulay
9 Lowry - 21 Cowan - 10 Rowinski
29 Cain - 11 Henry - 27 Feakes
18 Kelly - 25 Ciarelli - 16 Paradis

Scratches:
G: 34 Dubyk
D: 5 Christensen - 12 Sutherland - 20 Lockerby
F: 14 Green - 15 Scott - 17 Lauder

Calgary

Goal:
31 Butler - 37 DeSerres

Defence:
27 Pritz - 4 Egener
22 Bartman - 17 Nyren
44 Curran - 11 Dzielski

Forwards:
39 Nixon - 10 Banfield - 24 Wintoneak
13 Ismond - 25 King - 40 Stefishen
7 Ross - 12 Grant - 19 Clement
5 Gillen - 18 Wiest - 21 Myers

Scratches:
G: 1 Lazaruk
D: 14 Stojan
F: 29 Edwards

That's right, Bartman was in the Dino line-up.


OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 6
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 4

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of S Game Story] : [U of S Preview Story] : [UBC Game Story]

This was the upset of the night. UBC usually falls apart like a cheap watch at this time of the season on the road against a contender. David Reekie made his first start of the year in the Banjo-Mutt goal and was chased after surrendering 4 goals on 21 shots in 37 minutes of work. UBC kept taking leads only to see Sask tie it up, up until Sask scored two in a row to claim a 4-3 lead. UBC's final goal was scored into an empty net. Although one guy claimed to have seen Lennay Kekua standing there.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 4

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Linescore] : [U of L Game Story]

The H0rny Ones were three men short of a full line-up but at least put in a credible performance on Friday night. This could have been so much worse. #1 v #35 makes one fear for the worst. Could the Monkeys actually drop a point this weekend? One would doubt it. Saturday night's rematch will be on CanadaWest.tv.


REGINA COUGARS 3
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 0

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [MRU Game Story] : [U of R Story]

The Cowtown Catfight resulted in yet another win for the Banjo-Cats. Lucus Gore got the shutout and Brock Appleyard to pace the Hillbillies to their win. The New Kittens on the Block would be officially eliminated from the playoffs with a loss on Saturday in the rematch. The game will be on CanadaWest.tv.

With only 7 games left in the season, Regina is within 4 points of Calgary and UBC. There's something that really surprises me.

OUT EAST:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Thursday, January 17
Waterloo 6 York 3
Western Ontario 0 Laurier 2

Friday, January 18
Acadia 2 Saint Mary’s 3 (ot)
St. Thomas 4 Moncton 5
Dalhousie 2 St. F-X 5
New Brunswick 3 UPEI 2 (ot)
McGill 5 Ottawa 3
Queen’s 0 Nipissing 3
Toronto 3 Carleton 5
Windsor 3 Brock 1
UOIT 2 Lakehead 3
Waterloo 2 Guelph 3
UQTR 4 Concordia 1
RMC 2 Ryerson 8
Calgary 0 Manitoba 6
UBC 6 Saskatchewan 4
Lethbridge 1 Alberta 4
Regina 3 Mount Royal 0

UP NEXT:

Saturday, January 19
Lethbridge at Alberta : CanadaWest.tv
Calgary at Manitoba : CanadaWest.tv
UBC at Saskatchewan
Regina at Mount Royal : CanadaWest.tv
Acadia at Dalhousie
New Brunswick at Moncton
Saint Mary’s at St. F-X
UPEI at St. Thomas
Concordia at Carleton
Brock at York
UOIT at Lakehead
Western Ontario at Guelph
Queen’s at Toronto
Windsor at Laurier

Sunday, January 20
Ottawa at Ryerson

[Hollywood2]

DINOS TAKE IT IN OT


CALGARY DINOSAURS 3
MANITOBA BISONS 2
(in overtime)

Links:
|> [CIS Saturday Round-Up] : [CW Saturday Stories]
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of M Game Story] : [U of C Game Story]

The Bisons scrambled from behind all night and in the end had to be satisfied with one point, and three on the weekend. The Bisons generally carried the play but Jacob Deserres was able to steal this one for the Bedrock Boys.

Calgary had a strong 1st period and scored the only goal, when Corey Banfield converted when the Dinos capitalized on an awkward Bison line change.

In the 2nd period there were no goals but the Bisons had their chances. Calgary was caught flat-footed on several occasions. In particular, Ian Duval had a clean chance from the top of the face-off circle in on a deft pass from Blair Macaulay only to have Deserres make a left-foot save.

The Bisons carried the 3rd period, Calgary even gave up a breakaway to Matthew Lowry on their own powerplay. But after being repeatedly foiled by Deserres the Bisons finally tied it up 13 minutes in on a goal by Duval (his 7th). But Calgary managed to regain the lead when Banfield notched another, this one from a hack-and-whack goalmouth scramble. With their goaltender pulled, the Bisons tied it up when James Henry pushed a loose puck under Deserres.

Overtime did not produce many high quality chances, but Walker Wintoneak pounced on a loose puck in the 3-on-3 stanza to give the Dinos the 2 points.

Here's how they lined up:

Manitoba

Goal:
35 Deckert (1 Caligiuri)

Defence:
22 Bestland - 2 Crowley
3 Mestery - 4 Schappert
6 Melnychuk - 24 Bobbee

Forwards:
23 Dittmer - 19 Duval - 26 Macaulay
9 Lowry - 21 Cowan - 10 Rowinski
15 Scott - 11 Henry - 27 Feakes
18 Kelly - 25 Ciarelli - 16 Paradis

Scratches:
G: 34 Dubyk
D: 5 Christensen - 12 Sutherland - 20 Lockerby
F: 17 Lauder - 29 Cain

Calgary

Goal:
37 DeSerres (31 Butler)

Defence:
27 Pritz - 4 Egener
22 Bartman - 17 Nyren
44 Curran - 11 Dzielski
14 Stojan

Forwards:
39 Nixon - 10 Banfield - 24 Wintoneak
13 Ismond - 25 King - 40 Stefishen
7 Ross - 12 Grant - 19 Clement
5 Gillen - 21 Myers

Scratches:
G: 1 Lazaruk
F: 18 Wiest - 29 Edwards

Luke Cain and Rylan Wiest were not dressed due to their Friday fisticuffs. When the Bisons shortened their bench in the 3rd period they kept the 1st and 4th lines intact and used Lowry-Henry-Cowan as a combination.

Next weekend Calgary plays Alberta in a home-and-home whilst the Bisons are off to Lethbridge. The Herd-Horns matchup will be available on CanadaWest.tv.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:


UBC THUNDERBIRDS 3
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 4
(in shoot-out)

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of S Game Story] : [UBC Game Story]

The Banjo-Mutts had a 3-0 lead after two periods before UBC made a massive comeback. The Tweety-Birds outshot their inbred hosts 16-4 in the 3rd period and outscored them 3-0 to force overtime. The overtime produced no goals. Sask then took the shoot-out, allowing them to pull 3 points ahead of UBC and level with Manitoba in 2nd place. Sask plays Regina in a home-and-home and UBC will host Mount Royal next weekend.


LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS 1
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 9

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [U of A Linescore and Game Story] : [U of L Game Story]

The H0rny Ones were 4 players short for this one. The Monkeys outshot them 56-15. I did not see this one on CanadaWest.tv and am thankful for that. One has to hope things go better for Lethbridge next year.


REGINA COUGARS 6
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS 5

Links:
|> [LS Summary] : [CIS Boxscore]
|> [MRU Game Story] : [to be posted at U of R Site]

Round Two of the Cowtown Catfight was quite the tussle. MRU got into yet another shoot-out. The game was 4-3 for the Banjo-Cats after two. They then scored twice early in the 3rd with Ward Szucki getting his 2nd and 3rd goals of the game. Two late goals by MRU improved the look of the scoreline.

The win assures Regina of a playoff berth and eliminates MRU. Regina plays Sask and MRU visits UBC next weekend. Regina is 3 points behind UBC and finish the season against the top 3 teams in the league.

STANDINGS:

Team``````````W``L OL PTS J25``F1`` F8
Alberta``````18``4``0``36 Cal``Reg``UBC
Manitoba```` 13``5``4``30 Leth UBC``Reg
Saskatchewan 15``7``0``30 Reg``Cal``Leth
Calgary``````14``8``0``28 Alta Sask MRU
UBC``````````12``7``3``27 MRU``Man``Alta
Regina`````` 11``9``2``24 Sask Alta Man
Mount Royal`` 4 17``1`` 9 UBC``Leth Cal
Lethbridge````1 19``2`` 4 Man``MRU``Sask

I have added columns for each teams' remaining opponents. There are only three weekends left (January 25-26, February 1-2, and February 8-9), or 6 games per team.

OUT EAST:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Saturday, January 19
Acadia 3 Dalhousie 1
New Brunswick 3 Moncton 2 (ot)
Saint Mary’s 4 St. F-X 5 (so)
UPEI 7 St. Thomas 2
Concordia 0 Carleton 4
Brock 3 York 4
UOIT 3 Lakehead 6
Western Ontario 3 Guelph 1
Queen’s 4 Toronto 3 (ot)
Windsor 1 Laurier 2
Lethbridge 1 Alberta 9
Calgary 3 Manitoba 2 (ot)
UBC 3 Saskatchewan 4 (so)
Regina 6 Mount Royal 5

UP NEXT:

Sunday, January 20
Ottawa at Ryerson

Tuesday, January 22
McGill at UQTR

Wednesday, January 23
RMC at Queen’s

Thursday, January 24
York at Guelph
Toronto at Ryerson

Friday, January 25
Saskatchewan at Regina
Alberta at Calgary
Manitoba at Lethbridge : CanadaWest.tv
Mount Royal at UBC : Live Audio - CITR.ca
Moncton at Acadia
St. Thomas at Dalhousie
Saint Mary’s at New Brunswick
St. F-X at UPEI
UOIT at Western Ontario
Concordia at McGill
Ryerson at Nipissing
Guelph at Brock
Toronto at Queen’s
Lakehead at Windsor
Waterloo at Laurier
Carleton at UQTR

[Hollywood2]

WEEKEND PREVIEW


MANITOBA BISONS (13-5-4, 16-7-4-1, OHT35 #6)
LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS (1-19-2, 3-24-2, OHT35 #35)

Friday, January 25th, 8:00 p.m. CST @ U of L
Saturday, January 26th, 8:00 p.m. CST @ U of L

Live Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Both Nights]

Manitoba Links:
|> [U of M Team Site]
|> [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]
|> [The Manitoban: The good, the bad, and the hockey]

Lethbridge Links:
|> [U of L Preview Story]
|> [LS Stats] : [LS Schedule/Results]
|> [Twitter] : [Facebook]

Prior Games:
|> [Nov 9: Manitoba 4-1] : [Nov 10: Manitoba 4-2]

Other Links:
|> [CIS Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links]
|> [CW Site] : [Schedule/Results/Links] : [Standings]
|> [LeagueStat Daily] : [CW Weekly Media Notes #13]
|> [Every Link Re: CIS Hockey]

The big question facing the H0rny Ones this weekend is: How many players will they have? In recent weeks they have played with as few as 16 players in their lineup. First year forward Chase Schaber has done well (8 goals and 10 assists in 19 games) and leads the team in scoring. He has missed the last 3 games with injury.

Lethbridge put in a gritty performance when they visited Friendly Manitoba in November. But their lack of finish, and skill in general, did them in. Even so, they played better than Regina. And Regina leads them by 20 points.

The standings tell us that the Bisons are favourites. The goals for and against stats tell us by how much. The Bisons have scored almost twice as many goals as the `Horns (79-40). And the `Horns have given up more that twice as many goals (115-56).

The Bisons cannot take any team lightly in their final 6 games. The `Horns have no playoffs to shoot for and, in such situations, teams try to at least pick up some wins at home. Adding to the pressure is the fact that nothing less than a 4 point weekend will do. The Herd is level with Saskatchewan and nose in front of Calgary in the race for 2nd place. They have to assume that Sask will sweep Lethbridge when they play in two weeks.

As a side-note there is one heck of a scoring race in the CW. Ian Duval leads with 30 points (7-23-30), one ahead of linemate Blair Macaulay (10-19-29). Tyler Dittmer is tied for 10th (12-10-22). The trio has combined for 29 goals thus far. The Bisons also boast three of the top 10 scorers amongst defencemen. Travis Bobbee (4-13-17) is 3rd, Jeremy Schappert (5-8-13) is 6th, and Dane Crowley (4-7-11) is 9th. Forwards James Henry (7-7-14) and Matthew Lowry (10-3-13) are also in the top 50 scorers.

At the other end of the ice the Bisons are solid in defence. Goaltender Jesse Deckert is 3rd in GAA (2.08) and 2nd in save percentage (.919). He is within range of top spot in those categories as well.

I shall be nestled into the Phone Booth watching the Jets host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. Otherwise, I would be watching CanadaWest.tv. Lethbridge has had a rough year on the ice but their website and on-line coverage has been top notch all season.



ELSEWHERE:


SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (15-7-0, 17-8-1, OHT35 #7)
REGINA COUGARS (11-9-2, 12-15-2, OHT35 #22)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [no on-line audio or video]
|> [U of S Preview Story] : [U of R Preview Story]
|> [Grow the Flow Video]
|> Regina Leader-Post: [January 21st] : [January 22nd]
|> Re Matt Strueby: [Darryl Wolski's Twitter] : [Elite Prospects CIS]

Zak Stebner and four other Mangy Mutts with bad mullets will be getting haircuts for a fundraiser. Check out the video. If anybody needs a haircut, it's Stebner.

This is a home-and-home series for all the moonshine. Rumour has it that the winning school will be awarded a generous supply of store-bought toilet paper imported from Dauphin. Expect the province's best harmonica orchestra to be there, as well.

The Banjo-Cats have been the pleasant surprise in the conference this year. They were dead last in 2011-12 and did not look any better heading into this season. They looked gawd-awful in pre-season when they visited Winnipeg. For that matter, they never looked any better when they were squashed twice again on their regular season return visit. But against everybody else they have been a solid .500. In fact, they have only been swept 3 times (by Manitoba, Calgary, and Alberta). Though squashed by Manitoba, they did have an OTL against Alberta and had two very tight games against Calgary.

Moreover, the Kittens notched up a win and an OTL against the Banjo-Mutts when they met in the first half. The fact that these are rivalry games makes the results less certain then the stats and facts might suggest.

While the Kittens may talk about moving up in the standings, it must be noted that they have the toughest schedule of anybody left in the race. After Sask, they play at Alberta then close by hosting Manitoba.

The Regina Leader-Post ran a couple of stories earlier this week (see links) about the Banjo-Cats and their return to the playoffs at long last. There was no confirmation there of Matt Strueby's departure for the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL, which is listed at Elite Prospects and sourced by agent Darryl Wolski. While Strueby's stats are not enormous (5-7-12), he is the Kittens' 4th leading scorer (44th in the conference) and one of only 5 players they have in the top 50. Their top scorer is Tyler Henry (10-6-16) and he sits 30th in the conference.

Conversely, the Mutts have 8 players in the top 50, including Kyle Bortis (9-20-29) who is duelling with Duval and Macaulay for the scoring title.


ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (18-4-0, 29-4-0, OHT35 #1)
CALGARY DINOSAURS (14-8-0, 17-11-0, OHT35 #12)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Video Saturday]
|> [U of A Preview Story] : [U of C Preview Story]

This is the traditional Battle of Saudi Alberta, fought in home-and-home format. Although the Bedrock Boys have been the conference runner-up the last two seasons, they have struggled against the Evil Monkeys. Earlier this year the scores were 5-2 and 4-1.

Calgary was off to an iffy start this year. But that also described their play for most of last year. They recovered and went on a 7 game winning streak until they were blown out by the Bisons 6-0 last Friday. The Monkeys also had a 11 game win streak halted in Manitoba, and since then have started another 4 game win streak. That means they have won 15 of 16 heading into the weekend.

While Calgary still have legitimate hopes of a 2nd place finish and a quarter-final bye, they are only one point away from falling into 5th place and playing away to UBC in the quarter-finals.

Both sides have been fond of rotating their goaltenders. Both Kelly Mucha and Jacob Deserres stole OTWs for their respective teams in trips to Manitoba. Will their coaches succumb and give them both starts on the weekend?


MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (4-17-1, 5-19-2, OHT35 #30)
UBC THUNDERBIRDS (12-7-3, 17-8-3-1, OHT35 #15)

Links:
|> [Live Stats Friday] : [Live Stats Saturday]
|> [Live Audio Friday]
|> [UBC Preview Story] : [MRU Preview Story]

The New Kittens on the Block were officially eliminated from playoff contention last weekend so now they enter “play-out-the-string” mode. I suspect they will be pumped to play Calgary, especially the game at the Saddledome. This weekend could be a bit of a downer.

This is a series UBC must sweep. After this they visit Manitoba and then host Alberta, so no easy points there. It has been an unbelievably long time since UBC hosted a playoff round. In 1989-90 the Tweety-Birds had a winning record and placed 3rd. They have not done that well since, placing between 5th and 7th every season. At that time only 4 teams made the playoffs, so they never hosted a playoff round that year, either. In fact, that was their only winning season, and their only finish higher than 5th, since GPAC rejoined the CW in the 1985-86 season. And it was not like they were just leaving an era of dominance. In the years of the split conferences UBC was usually 4th in a 4 team conference.

So, if UBC want to join the Big Boys of CW they must dominate the Little Guys, starting this weekend.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:

Links:
|> [OUA LeagueStat Daily]
|> [AUS Schedule/Results Page]

Tuesday, January 22
McGill 2 UQTR 3 (so)

Wednesday, January 23
RMC 2 Queen’s 1 (ot)
Toronto 1 Ryerson 3

NEWS:


Brandon Maxwell (goaltender for the Guelph Gryphons) has left school to play in the KHL. I also found some video highlights of last week's McGill win over the Patties. And, last and least(!), we have the new CIS Top Ten release.
Links:
|> Guelph: [Gryphon goalie, Brandon Maxwell signs with Russian Team]
|> McGilligutties v Patties: [Jan 16th Boxscore News Story] : [Video Highlights]
|> CIS Top Ten: [CIS Press Release] - reposted at [CW Site]