It's the busy season on campus, with basketball teeing up for their season openers next weekend and all other sports in full swing. Get your primer below.
MEN'S HOCKEY VS MOUNT ROYAL (7 PM FRIDAY, 3 PM SATURDAY, CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS)
Searching for their first win of the 2023-24 campaign, Manitoba welcomes 4-2 MRU to town. The Herd are 15-23 all-time against the Cougars, with their last win coming in 2021 -- a 5-4 OT win.
Offensive-minded defenceman
Chase Hartje had an assist on the game-winning goal in OT in the 2021 contest, and he's leading the Herd in points this year, with eight in six games, good for fifth in CanWest. Hartje has a point in five of Manitoba's six contests, including three mullti-point showings.
Not far behind in points is captain
Jonny Hooker. He has six points in six games, including a two-goal showing against MacEwan last Saturday.
In net, Bisons goalie
Kolby Thornton -- a rookie who owns NCAA Aurora University's single-game saves record -- leads Canada West with 213 saves. He is on pace to break the single season program record of 767, set in 2005-06 by Kleefeld, MB native Krister Toews.
BASKETBALL VS WINNIPEG (FRIDAY 6 PM WOMEN, 8 PM MEN, CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS)
The cross-town rivarly will be renewed this Friday, as Manitoba welcomes Winnipeg to town for a pre-season game in the lead-up to next week's home and season openers against Brandon.
The women's game at 6 pm is also the Shoot for the Cure game. All proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society. Click
here to donate.
On the court, the women return most of their roster from last season, adding key pieces such as
Emily Mandamin,
Treyah Paquette and
Anna Miko to complement the likes of
Lauren Bartlett,
Emily Johnson,
Autumn Agar,
Emerson Martin,
Mar Tomas Arbos and many others.
The team has had injuries to their lineup in the pre-season, and haven't had the same lineup consistenly, but it's given a variety of players the chance to step up. Notably, five different players scored in double figures in the team's most recent pre-season match against MacEwan, including Mandamin, Paquette and Miko, who combined for 34 points.
On the men's side, the game against Winnipeg will be the first for both sides since the Wesmen upset the Herd 73-70 to advance to nationals last year in Manitoba's gym. Head coach
Kirby Schepp has made it clear that this "is not just another pre-season game," and with both team's rosters largely intact, it should be an absolute classic.
Of note for the men has been the play of
Simon Hildebrandt and
Mason Kraus, who are both coming off a summer where they played pro basketball with the CEBL's Winnipeg Sea Bears. Through four pre-season games -- where the Bisons are 3-1 -- they've recorded 58 and 52 points, respectively.
