VANCOUVER — The University of Manitoba Bisons opened the 2026-27 Canada West men's hockey season with a statement victory Friday night, defeating UBC 3-2 on the road at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. UBC entered the season as the second most highly favoured team in the coaches' poll after posting the most regular season points in 2025-26.
The Bisons, meanwhile, ranked sixth in the Canada West coaches' poll, and had not won a meeting with the Thunderbirds since 2019-20.
UBC opened the scoring midway through the first period in Friday's contest when Brayden Schuurman found the back of the net at 7:20 to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
The Bisons drew even at 11:43 of the second as Joel Purdom scored Manitoba's first goal of the season off a setup from Tanner Willick and Zach Turner.
The tie lasted less than three minutes. Quinn Disher restored the UBC lead at 14:16 of the middle frame, converting a feed from Jace Weir to send the Thunderbirds into the second intermission ahead 2-1.
Manitoba's response came early in the third.
With UBC's Keaton Dowhaniuk serving a tripping minor, Skyler Bruce scored on the power play, finishing a passing play from Dawson Pasternak and Lucas Brennan to tie the game 2-2.
The Bisons then grabbed their first lead of the night less than five minutes later. Caden Zaplitny scored at 8:11 of the third period, converting passes from Pasternak and Brandon Funk to give Manitoba a 3-2 advantage.
From there, the Bisons' defensive structure and goaltending held firm. UBC outshot Manitoba 36-26 overall and fired 13 shots on goal in the final period, but Braden Holt turned aside every chance he faced over the final 20 minutes.
Holt finished with 34 saves to earn the victory in his season debut.
The win represented an encouraging start for a Manitoba team that entered the year focused on competing for a full 60 minutes under head coach Gord Burnett. Facing one of the conference favourites on the road, the Bisons managed to do just that and will look to keep the momentum going in Saturday's rematch. Stream the game on Canada West TV here.
