Bison briefs
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
Men’s basketball: Bisons begin regular season at 1-1 Despite showing some early-season jitters, the Bisons were able to walk away with a split against their crosstown rivals, the Winnipeg Wesmen. On Thursday, Nov. 2, the Bisons walked into the Duckworth Centre, and took home a hard-fought 56-54 win. Both teams struggled to get their shots to fall, shooting less then 35 per cent for the game. Manitoba was led by the duo of Darcy Cross (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Brian Crowe (14 points, 14 rebounds).
The Wesmen bounced back a much better performance on Saturday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. Led by Erfran Nasajpour’s 32 points, the Wesmen pounded the Bisons to the tune of 83-65. The Bisons’ leading scorer was Darcy Cross, who chipped in 18 points, with four field goals coming from behind the arc.
Women’s basketball: Bisons bounce back for weekend split against Wesmen
The Bisons’ season got off to a shaky start Thursday night, as they were handily defeated by the Winnipeg Wesmen 85-65. The Wesmen showed complete domination from the getgo, ending the first quarter with a 16- point lead. Sarah Holder was the high point-getter for the Bisons, leading the team with 12.
On Saturday night, however, the Bisons were able to even-up the score, holding on to a 72-70 nail-biter. This contest was a physical one, as the two teams combined for 39 personal fouls. The Wesmen’s Uzo Asagwara was an offensive force for Winnipeg, pouring in 37 points — more then half her team’s total. The Bisons led a much more balanced attack, with four players scoring in double digits, including Rachel Hart’s team-high 20.
Men’s hockey: Christie impressive, as Bisons split weekend with UBC
The Bisons were in Vancouver over the weekend, and earned a hard-fought split with the UBC Thunderbirds. Friday night saw the Bisons put rookie Steve Christie between the pipes, in place of the struggling Krister Toews. Christie stopped 27 of 29 shots, but his counterpart, Gerry Festa, was equally impressive, shutting the Bisons out for over two periods, before Chris Faloon finally got the Bisons on the board in the third period. Manitoba could not find the equalizer, however, and final score was 2-1 for UBC.
The next night, Christie was in net once again for the Bisons. UBC peppered him all night with shots from all directions, 47 in total, but nothing was getting past Christie. First-period goals by Jon Cara and Dustin Hughes were more than enough offence for the Bisons as Christie held on for the shutout, giving the Bisons a 4-0 victory.
Women's hockey: Bison beats Alberta Pandas for the first time
In the 10 years of history in the Canada West conference, one thing that Bisons were never was able to do was defeat the Alberta Pandas. At least, it was something they couldn’t do until this weekend. On Friday night, the Bisons made history, defeating Alberta 4-2 in front of the hometown crowd at the Max Bell Centre. The first period saw Alberta put constant pressure on the Bisons defence, but Bisons goalie Stacey Corfield kept the Pandas off the scoreboard. The Bisons offence rewarded her for her efforts with a three-goal outburst in the second period. The Bisons were then able to hold off a late-game burst by the Pandas, before the final horn rang, giving the Bisons a 4-2 victory.
The Bisons went looking for the sweep on Saturday night, but the Pandas were determined to leave Winnipeg with at least one victory. They succeeded, earning a hardfought 4-1 win.
Volleyball: women victorious, but men fall, in regular-season openers
The Bison women’s volleyball team held true to form Friday night, showing the Winnipeg Wesmen why they are ranked number-1 in the nation. The Bisons easily disposed of their opposition three sets to none (25-20, 25-13, 32-30). The Bisons’ well-balanced attack was led by Erin Nieuwenburg and Ashley Voth, who had 15 and 10 kills each.
The number-3 ranked men's volleyball team was not as successful however, as they fell to the Wesmen three sets on one (25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23). John Klassen led the Bisons with 15 kills, but it was not enough to overcome the 15 service errors that the Bisons committed. This was the second loss to the Wesmen this year for the Bisons men’s team, who also lost to Winnipeg in the pre-season.
Prior to the start of their first games, both squads announced their captains for the upcoming season. Wearing the “C” for the women’s team will be third-year player Sabrina Barnes. Barnes was second on the team last year with 200 kills and 17 service aces. For the men’s team, fifth-year player Jeff Zylstra will once again represent the team as captain. This is the third consecutive season that Zylstra will be donning the “C” for the Bisons.
Soccer: Bison named to Canada West second allstar team
The Bisons’ Desiree Scott was named a Canada West second team all-star in the striker position on Nov. 2. This is the second consecutive year that Scott has been given this distinction. Scott had a terrific year for the Bisons, finishing sixth in the conference with 11 points (six goals, five assists), and fourth in the conference with 47 shots. For the Bisons, Scott played in all 14 games, including all but 18 of the possible 1,260 minutes.
