Playoff season has finally arrived for the Bisons, as men's and women's basketball will be the first to take on the challenge in a pair of road games. With single elimination excitement — and a continuing cross-town rivalry — it sets the table for what should be a thrilling weekend.
At home, Bison women's volleyball continue a fiery second half against the Regina Cougars, while men's hockey says farewell to a strong group of graduating players in a matchup with rival Saskatchewan.
That, and what else to look forward to, in our weekend preview.
PLAYOFFS: Men's Basketball at Winnipeg – February 7 (7 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonMBB
Bison men's basketball (10-10, No. 9 seed) will begin their playoff push against a very familiar opponent, as they play their third straight game against the Winnipeg Wesmen (13-7, No. 8 seed) tonight at the Duckworth Centre.
These two teams ended their regular season with a series split, as Winnipeg won on Jan. 31 downtown (97-75) and Manitoba won on Feb. 2 at IGAC (81-78).
The duel of Toronto-born guards lived up to its billing in those games. Fourth-year guard
Rashawn Browne had 39 points combined, including an eventual game-winning shot in the Saturday matchup with just 34 seconds left. Opposite him was Narcisse Ambanza, who struggled shooting both nights, but still racked up a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double in Thursday's win.
Wesmen fifth-year guard Sean Tarver is also one to watch this weekend. Tarver's 30 points, including six threes, was a huge catalyst in Winnipeg's win.
Manitoba will look to stymie Tarver and Ambanza with a defence that's come on strong in the second half of the season. The Bisons ended the regular season fourth in the conference in opponents' field goal percentage (39.4%) and opponents' three-point percentage (30.0%).
The winner of this single elimination play-in game will advance to the best-of-three Canada West Quarterfinals, taking place Feb. 14-17.
For more on the men's basketball matchup with Winnipeg, read our full primer from Mike Still.
PLAYOFFS: Women's Basketball at Lethbridge – February 8 (7 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonWBB
The Bison women (8-12, No. 11 seed) will also be on the road for their playoff matchup, as they take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns (12-8, No. 6 seed).
The Bisons and Pronghorns have not played each other this season, but both teams will be similar in makeup from when they met in 2017-18. The Bisons swept that series at home in dominant fashion, winning 87-73 on Jan. 5 and 82-59 on Jan. 6. Then third-year guard
Nicole Konieczny had 41 points in the Jan. 6 win, a career-high and the most scoring from a Bison women's basketball player since the program joined Canada West.
Rebounding margin will be key in this matchup. The Pronghorns rank fourth in the conference in that measure (+7.3), led by 9.3 rebounds per game from forward Katie Keith. Manitoba is 14
th in rebounding margin (-7.5), but have been excellent with fifth-year
Claire Harvey on the floor — her 8.2 rebounds per game lead the team.
The winner of this single elimination play-in game will advance to the best-of-three Canada West Quarterfinals, taking place Feb. 14-17.
For more on the women's basketball matchup with Lethbridge, read tomorrow's full primer from Mike Still.
Women's Volleyball vs. Regina – February 8 (6 PM), February 9 (5 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.tv
UPDATES: follow @BisonWVB on Twitter
Winners of six of their last eight matches, Bison women's volleyball (11-9) have home court to themselves this weekend as they take on the Regina Cougars (14-8).
The Bisons still have a chance to climb into fourth in the standings and host a quarterfinals series, but will need to sweep the Cougars — who currently hold that spot. Regina is led by the combination of fifth-year Ashlee Sandiford and second-year Jessica Lerminiaux, who average 3.25 and 2.90 kills per set respectively.
Manitoba has continued a force-by-committee approach, led by outstanding middle
Jocelyn Koswin, who has averaged 2.43 kills per set. At libero, fifth-year
Cassie Bujan recently reached another milestone, cracking the top five in Canada West history for most digs in a season (369). With four games to go, she is 57 back of the record.
Bujan and outside hitter
Tori Studler will be celebrated at Saturday's match, their last home game of the regular season, as graduating seniors of the program.
Volleyball tickets are $10 for adults, free for U of M students and fans 17-and-under.
Men's Hockey vs. #3 Saskatchewan – February 8 (7 PM), February 9 (2 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.tv
LISTEN: UMFM.com
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsMHKY on Twitter
While Bison men's hockey have been eliminated from post-season contention, there's still plenty to celebrate during their last weekend of the regular season. Eight graduating players will be honoured before the game on Saturday for their careers:
Brett Brooks,
Liam Bilton,
Zach Franko,
Dasan Sydora,
Sean Christensen,
Byron Spriggs,
Nick Zajac, and
Brett Stovin.
On ice, the Huskies (23-3-0) come in to face Manitoba (6-18-2) as the top team in the conference, trying to hold off Alberta for home ice advantage through the playoffs. They're one point up on the Golden Bears heading in.
Saskatchewan forward Carson Stadnyk leads the Huskies in scoring with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists), while the Bisons are led by defenceman
Adam Henry, who has 16 points (six goals, ten assists).
Bison hockey tickets are $10 for adults, free for U of M students and fans 17-and-under.
#2 Women's Hockey at Saskatchewan – February 8 (7 PM), February 9 (5 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.tv
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsWHKY on Twitter
After getting three points off of UBC and securing a first-round bye, the No. 2 ranked Bison women finish their regular season on the road in Saskatoon.
The Huskies (10-9-5-2) and Bisons (15-4-4-3) met last in November at Wayne Fleming Arena, a series that was split after Saskatchewan won 3-2 in double overtime in the Saturday matchup. The Bisons are no strangers to extra periods at this point, as six games this season have gone past regulation, including three straight heading into this weekend.
For the Huskies, goalie Jessica Vance continues an outstanding career. In 20 starts this season, she's recorded a conference-high six shutouts and a 0.948 save percentage. Vance has also made 23 or more saves in six of her last eight games.
Vance will be dealing with the league's best offence in Manitoba, though, as the Herd have recorded a conference-high 78 goals with a 20.2% power play.
Track & Field – South Dakota State University Invitational – February 8-9
After hosting the 10
th annual Bison Classic, the Bison track and field teams are heading on the road again as they visit Brookings, South Dakota for the South Dakota State University Invitational.
The Bisons currently have two auto-qualified athletes for U SPORTS nationals (
Emily Blackner – pole vault,
Alhaji Mansaray – high jump) but have a few more getting closer as the season progresses.
For more updates on the rankings of Bison track and field athletes, check out our Bison Classic recap from earlier this week.
Notes from the Range
