Bison briefs

Basketball

The Bison men’s basketball team went into the holiday break with a 7-3 conference record, one of the best regular season starts the program has enjoyed in recent years. The men’s team resumes conference play this coming weekend as they play host to the UBC Thunderbirds, Jan. 7-8.

The women’s basketball team are looking to come into the new year a better team than their 3-7 conference record might suggest. Manitoba took several consecutive losses to start the season but were able to string together three wins in their last four games heading into December. The women’s team also resumes conference play against visiting UBC, Jan. 7-8.

Hockey

The men’s hockey team went into the holiday break sitting second in the Canada West standings, with a conference record of 7-3-4. The Bisons will enjoy a conference bye week as school resumes but will pick up on Jan. 14-15 when Manitoba plays visitor to host Saskatchewan.

The Bison women’s hockey team took a stellar season into the break, sitting first in Canada West with a record of 9-3-1. Earlier in the year the Bisons broke a team record when they recorded a 10-0 shutout victory over Regina, the largest margin shutout victory in Bison women’s hockey history. Manitoba will hope to keep the four game win streak they took into the break alive when they resume conference play Jan. 14-15 against the visiting University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Swimming

After a year off from competition, Bison Braeden Taylor returned to the Manitoba swim team and quickly made waves, setting a new provincial record at the 29th annual Prairie Winter Invitational, Dec. 2-5.

Taylor established a new provincial short course record in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke with a first-place finish in a time of 1:01.89. The fifth-year veteran also joined Bison swimmers Alex Johnson, Dillon Perron and Artur Kroitor to set a new provincial short course record in the 200-metre medley relay in a time of 1:43.23.

Volleyball

The Bison men’s volleyball team rode a five-game winning streak into the holiday break, sitting first in the Canada West conference with a record of 9-1. Manitoba will resume regular season conference play when they take on host Saskatchewan, Jan. 14-15.

Likewise, the women’s team also took a winning streak into the break, albeit a shorter, two-game streak. Top ranked Manitoba is looking to vindicate lofty expectations this fall and improve on their 6-4 conference record. The road back to the top seed for the Bisons starts on the road where they take on conference rival Saskatchewan, Jan. 14-15.