Last season, the University of Manitoba Bison men's hockey team was electric on offence, averaging 3.54 goals per game, good for third in the conference. Their 34 regular season points was also the highest total in five years.

The team was bounced from the playoffs in the first round by Mount Royal however, and also gave up 97 goals, which was in the bottom third of the Canada West.

With that in mind, head coach Mike Sirant says that the team has been transitioning to more speed over the past several years, and the expectation this season is that all four forward lines are going to "compete hard on both sides of the puck, offensively and defensively."

Additionally, the defence – which will maintain its physicality on the forecheck – will also be relied upon for mobility and puck movement.

"Our key to success this year is going to be our speed, our quickness and our fitness. I believe we're going to be one of the best conditioned teams in the conference," says Sirant. "Also, our commitment to team play, team execution and our compete and work ethic."

Sirant describes this year's recruiting class as having great character. "They're very driven and committed to winning and to personal development," he says.

"Based on what we saw and how well they performed in the [pre-season tournament in the] United Kingdom, we're expecting that our first-year guys are going to make a real solid contribution to us right off the start, and they have to, because again, this is a different look to our team. We don't have one or two players that we're going to rely on."

The forward group is relatively young, with veterans Brett Stovin and Zach Franko expected to continue in their leadership roles. The former was fourth on the team in assists last year, with 14, while the latter finished third on the team in points, with 24.

"We expect and are counting on those guys to lead our forward group, not only offensively but defensively as well, and being really strong two-way players for us," says Sirant.

The bench boss also noted that due to the significant amount of fresh faces this season, the offensive production is likely to be more spread out.

"We're a team that's going to score, as the saying goes, by committee," he says.

Rookies such as left winger Jeremey Leipsic — the younger brother of Vancouver Canucks winger Brendan Leipsic — who averaged 61 points over the past three years with the Portage Terriers (MJHL), as well as former Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL) captain Keaton Jameson are a couple young players to keep an eye out for.

Defensively, the Bisons will continue to operate with big body blue-liners such as veterans Sean Christensen and Adam Henry, as well as recruits Mackenize Dwyer, Thomas Lenchyshyn, Mitchell Dyck and Carter Doerksen.

Henry, a former member of the Canada West All-Rookie Team and a Second Team All-Star last year, along with Dwyer, are two players to watch out for in terms of their offensive abilities and puck moving.

Henry was great on special teams as well, posting a team-best plus-minus of 7 and notching nine power play assists during the regular season — the latter good for third in Canada West. Head coach Mike Sirant is also complimentary of Henry's leadership role on the team.

"Adam is providing outstanding leadership to our young Bison team by setting high work standards on the ice, in the gym, and in the classroom," said Sirant. "He is going to receive a lot of playing minutes this season as we will be relying on him in all situations.

One area of consistency will be in net, where Manitoba returns all three goaltenders from last year, in Byron Spriggs, Dasan Sydora and Justin Paulic.

"Each one of those players could play for us and do a real good job of helping this team win, so we definitely have experience in the goaltending position," says Sirant. "All three players are outstanding goaltenders and great team players who are all very committed to our program and to training. They all work very hard."

The men's hockey team kicks off their 2018-19 campaign on the road against the Calgary Dinos on the Sept. 28-29 weekend. Their home opener takes place on Friday, October 12 at Wayne Fleming Arena at 7 p.m. versus the Alberta Golden Bears. Tickets are $10 at the door, with University of Manitoba students and fans 17-and-under getting in free.