Bison briefs

Romer Bautista, Staff

Walker named conference hockey player of the week
Jarred Walker of the Bison men’s hockey team has been named the Canada West male hockey player of the week for the week ending Feb. 24.
Walker had six points as the Bisons swept the UBC Thunderbirds in the best-of-three Canada West quarterfinals. He had four assists and a goal in the 6-0 game one victory and added another assist in the 4-2 game two victory.

Women’s hockey: Miles named rookie of the year, four others named all-stars
On Feb. 23, Addie Miles was named the Canada West women’s hockey rookie of the year for the 2007-08 season. Miles made an instant impact in her first year with the Bisons, leading the team with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists), good for eighth in the conference. She also led the team with a +14 plus/minus rating. In addition to being named rookie of the year, Miles was also named to the conference all-rookie team.
Four other members of the Bison women’s hockey team received end of season honours. Goaltender Stacey Corfield and defenceman Breanna Leary were named first-team conference all-stars, while forwards Leanne Kisil and Chantal Larocque were named second-team conference all-stars.

Men’s hockey: Coach MacGillivray named conference’s top coach by peers
The Bison men’s hockey coach, Don MacGillivray, was named the Canada West men’s hockey coach of the year for the 2007-08 season on Feb. 20. MacGillivray received five of a possible seven first place votes in a vote conducted by the seven Canada West men’s hockey coaches.
In his second season as Bisons head coach, MacGillivray led his team to a fourth place finish in the conference with 13-13-2 regular season record, and a home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
MacGillivray’s selection as conference coach of the year is the third time that a Bison men’s hockey coach has been given the honour. Mike Sirant won the award during the 1995-96 and 2004-05 season.

Men’s Hockey: Two Bisons named conference all-stars
Forward Chris Falloon and defenceman Rob Smith were named to the Canada West men’s hockey all-star second team on Feb. 20.
Falloon tied for a team high with 28 points. His team high 14 goals were the second most in the conference.
Smith led all Bison defencemen with 19 points (three goals, 16 assists), which was third among defencemen in the conference.
This is the first time that each player has been named a conference all-star.

Women’s volleyball: Bentely named Canada West coach of the year for second consecutive year
Bison women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley was named the Canada West women’s volleyball coach of the year for the 2007-08 campaign on Feb. 19, his second consecutive coach of the year selection, and third overall.
Bentley’s selection was well deserved, as he led the Bison women’s volleyball team to a 41-2 regular season record, which included a 23-0 record in out of conference play. The Bisons were ranked No.1 throughout the entire season. In the five tournaments that the team played in this season, they walked away with five first-place titles.
Bentley is in his 21st season with the Bisons. He was named conference coach of the year in 1991-92 and in 2006-07.

Women’s volleyball: Loewen named Canada West rookie of the year, three others named to all-star teams
First-year Bisons starting setter, Samantha Loewen was named the Canada West rookie of the year. Loewen played in all but two sets during the season, finishing third in the conference in assists (9.47 per game). She was named MVP of the Innisbrook Resort Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., and named an all-star at the University of Ottawa Invitational tournament.
Loewen is the second consecutive Bison to win the award. Ashley Voth won the award in 2006-07.
Voth and Amy Matthews were named to the Canada West first all-star team. Sarah Morrissette was named a second-team Canada West all-star.
Men’s volleyball: Venables named Canada West second-team all-star.
Drew Venables, the Bison’s starting setter, was named to the Canada West second all-star team on Feb. 20.
He finished ninth in the conference in assists (8.90 per game) and was named conference male athlete of the week in January. He led the team in assists with 534 and was tied for first in service aces with nine.
It is the first all-star honour for Venables.
After being diagnosed with Stage II ‘A’ Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early February, Venables has gone back to his hometown of Kamloops, B.C., to begin aggressive treatment. Doctors have reduced his treatment from an initial diagnosis of four months to two months.

Men’s volleyball: Top recruit chooses Bisons
Chris Voth, the Manitoba high school volleyball player of the year in 2007, has announced his commitment to the Bison program for the upcoming season.
Voth, 17, last played for the St. Paul’s Crusaders, who he led to provincial championships the last two years, while being named MVP for both championships. The Manitoba Volleyball Association has named him player of the year three times.
Bison men’s volleyball head coach Garth Pischke, who will be returning from a leave of absence to coach the team next year, considers Voth to be the number one recruit in the entire country.
“I played for [coach] Pischke for a few years, and I played junior last year, which is under-21, so I know the game, I know a lot of the players, and I’ve been to a lot of the games, so I know what to expect,” said Voth.
Voth’s older sister, Ashley Voth, is a star player on the Bison women’s volleyball team, and his father, Lloyd Voth is a former Bison player himself; Lloyd Voth holds the team record for defensive digs in a game with 31.

Track and field: Berube named Canada West men’s team coach of the year
Bison track and field team head coach Claude Berube was named the Canada West men’s track and field team coach of the year for the 2008 season. Berube earned the honour by leading the men’s track and field team to gold at the Canada West championships.