At Saturday's Bisons women's hockey and basketball games, we celebrate the Spirit of the Bison — capping an exciting first half with a special day on campus.
Spirit of the Bison day features Indigenous cultural performances throughout the day, including fiddling, a Fancy Shawl Dancer, a Jingle Dress Dancer, the Walking Wolf Singers and lacrosse demonstrations. The games should be exciting too, as both sports feature matchups with teams close to each other in the standings.
Get ready for that and the action on the road in our weekend preview.
Basketball vs. Fraser Valley – November 29 (6/8 PM), November 30 (5/7 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonWBB and @BisonMBB on Twitter
Closing their first half at home, Bisons basketball host the Cascades looking to head into the holidays with some momentum.
For the
Bisons women (2-4), the team is looking to snap a four-game losing streak full of tough losses; save for last Thursday's loss to Winnipeg, three have been by less than seven points. One boost is that fourth-year guard
Taylor Randall is coming off her best game of the season so far, as she scored 28 points (10-for-26) on Saturday against Winnipeg.
On the Cascades side, forward Taylor Claggett comes in as the second-leading scorer in the conference at 19.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Fraser Valley (4-2) have won their last four games, as the Bisons will look to end that streak and start their own.
The
Bisons men, meanwhile, are 5-1 with their only loss coming to Lethbridge in OT two weeks ago. Manitoba is making their name by owning the finer details so far this season, as they rank first in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.7), free throws made (19.3) and free throws attempted (28.8) while being second in blocks per game (3.5).
Fourth-year
Keiran Zziwa has also elevated his offensive game, as he's shooting 47.9% from the field for 18.8 points per game and coming off 51 combined points against Winnipeg last weekend.
In this series, Manitoba will have to be weary of the Cascades' (3-3) elite shooter Parm Bains. The guard is averaging a torrid 47.4% shooting from three on 9.5 attempts per game, scoring 21.0 points per game.
Bisons basketball tickets are $10 at the door, with UM students and fans 12-and-under in free!
Women's Hockey vs. Lethbridge – November 29 (7 PM), November 30 (2 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
LISTEN: UMFM second stream
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsWHKY on Twitter
The first half has been an offensive struggle for Bisons women's hockey (3-10-0-1), but motivation is high as the team welcomes Lethbridge (6-6-1-1) to Wayne Fleming Arena.
Needing to make up points in a hurry to catch the Pronghorns, who currently sit in the sixth and final playoff spot in Canada West, any head-to-head matchups are critical for the Bisons. Their last home game broke the seal on a five-game scoring drought, as
Chloe Snaith potted a blue line goal against Saskatchewan. Snaith has been excellent on the power play this season, scoring all but one of her four points on the man advantage.
This matchup features two teams who struggle overall in that regard, though. Manitoba has scored on just 5-of-57 power play opportunities (8.8%), with only the Pronghorns below them at 4-for-49 (8.2%). On the flip side, the Bisons have the best penalty kill in the conference at 91.7% while Lethbridge comes in seventh at 81.0%. It all adds up to PP goals looking like a critical ingredient to Bisons wins this weekend.
Bisons hockey tickets are $10 at the door, with UM students and fans 12-and-under in free!
Volleyball at MacEwan – November 29 (7/9 PM), November 30 (6/8 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonMVB and @BisonWVB on Twitter
It's been an up-and-down first half for Bisons volleyball, as they close their first half on the road against MacEwan.
For the
Bisons men (3-5), two losses to cross-town rival Winnipeg have them below .500 but with an opportunity to bounce back against the Griffins (1-7). Both teams feature one player who carries a heavy attacking load, as Manitoba's
Kevin Negus and MacEwan's Max Vriend are second (3.88) and third (3.70) in Canada West respectively in kills per set.
One advantage for the Bisons, though, is their blocking, which ranks first in solo (31) and blocks per set (2.64) as a team, even with the injured middle
Brendan Warren out of action.
The
Bisons women (2-8) are also looking to get back on track against a hot Griffins team (6-4), who have won four straight matches. Key to MacEwan's run has been the even play of Lauren Holmes and Hailey Cornelis, who are averaging 2.29 and 2.21 kills per set this season.
For Manitoba, cleaning up play will be key this weekend, with many other parts of their game looking smooth. The Bisons are first in the conference in reception errors (112) and fifth in ball handling errors (7), but young players are getting their footing quickly. First-years
Light Uchechukwu and
Jaidyn Spencer have been great at middle, averaging 1.71 and 1.46 kills per set, respectively.
Men's Hockey at Lethbridge – November 29 (8 PM), November 30 (2 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsMHKY on Twitter
Fresh off an impressive 5-3 win over the Alberta Golden Bears, the Bisons (6-7-1) head to Lethbridge looking to win a pair and firm up their playoff position against the Pronghorns (4-9-1).
It's still the first half, but post-season positioning is always a thought when you've got two teams close to each other in the standings. The Pronghorns are on the outside looking in in seventh, four points behind fifth-place Manitoba. The critical matchup will be highlighted by how Manitoba's blue liners play against the combination of Landon Gross (4 goals, 7 assists) and Brooks Maxwell (3 goals, 5 assists) for Lethbridge.
For the Bisons, defenceman
Adam Henry continues an All-Star worthy campaign, scoring points in four of five and marking 14 total (6 goals, 8 assists) — often a catalyst for his young teammates scoring, as he did here with
Tony Apetagon.
Notes from the Range
