Bison hockey begins a new era
New season, new coach, and a new sense of hope
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
Cougar Chris Stubel (17) during the
Bisons season opener at the Max Bell
centre, Friday Sept.29.
PHOTO: DAVID LIPNOWSK
A new era is on the horizon for the Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team as they head into the 2006- 07 season. Leading the charge for the team is new head coach Don MacGillivray. Coach MacGillivray replaces Mike Sirant, who has moved on to become the sports director and head coach of the Danish national ice hockey team.
MacGillivray brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. For the past eight seasons, he has coached the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). During that time, MacGillivray compiled an impressive record of 293 wins, 166 losses, and 48 ties, and led the Terriers to a MJHL Championship in 2005.
Now that he is at the helm of the Bisons, he hopes to bring that same success to the team that was a Canada West conference semi-fi nalist last year. “We want to win Canada West. Th at’s our primary goal,” said MacGillivray.
To reach that goal, the Bisons will need to rely on a couple of their veteran players to carry much of the load. Up front, the off ence will be led by alternate captains Aaron Starr and Chris Faloon, who had 15 and 13 points last season respectively. Hoping to help them light up the lamp will be David McDonald, Dustin Hughes, and Jon Cara. Th ose fi ve will need to have a big scoring season, if the Bisons hope to compete with the best in Canada West. Th ey will also be needed to help employ MacGillivray’s style of play.
Coach MacGillivray would like to see his goal-scorers push the pace. “We’d like to be an up-tempo team that can generate off ence because of our speed in transition,” said MacGillivray.
Th e Bisons will also have a wealth of experience on the blue line. Anchoring the defence will be team captain Rob Smith. Smith, and fellow blue-liners Jared Lang and Jamie Dowhayko, are expected to step up big, as all three brusing defensemen are now entering their third year with the Bisons. Smith, especially, will be looking to better his 19 points from last year.
Between the pipes, the Bisons will be returning their starter from last year, Krister Toews. With a year of Canada West experience under his belt, Toews would like to jump into the class of elite goaltenders in the conference. While his raw numbers were impressive (16-16-3-2, 3.12 GAA, .901 save percentage), they will need to be better this season for the Herd to contend.
With so much optimism for the team, it is imperative that the Bisons get the fan support they deserve. Th e players, coaches, and parents are asking hockey fans to “Max the Max,” and come out to see an exciting and underrated brand of hockey. Th eir next two games are in Calgary, from Oct. 6-7, but they return home for two games against the University of Saskatchewan from Oct. 20-21.
