First Look

Experience at university-level hockey earns a team at least a win or two every season. There are games where having been in a situation before gives one an advantage, and the Manitoba Bisons have had that advantage over other teams over the last few seasons. This season, however, sees a significant shift in the program as youth is the name of the game with ten new players joining the squad to fill in for graduates and departed players. With the vast amount of rookies, just two fifth-year players, and roster spots up for grabs all over the lineup, the rebuild the for the Bisons starts with this season.

Clearly, experience will have to be gained this season, so let's start this article by stating the obvious: winning the U SPORTS National Championship likely isn't in the cards this season. Canada West is arguably the hardest conference in U SPORTS women's hockey to advance to the National Championship from, and it doesn't get any easier this season with the other seven teams reloading their teams with new weapons. Earning a top-two finish in the conference as the Bisons have done the last couple of seasons in helping them get to the national tournament likely isn't happening either.

With the team taking the ice tonight in their first exhibition game of the 2019-20 season against Team Manitoba, it is important to temper any expectations as I've done above. The team that came out tonight was mostly rookies with a couple of key veterans who will need play important roles this season, so here's your first look at the 2019-20 University of Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team from my perspective.

As pictured above, defender Jenai Buchanan was the best player on the ice for the Bisons tonight on both sides of the puck. Jenai has always been a steadying presence on the blue line for the Bisons, but she skated with authority tonight as she pushed the puck up the ice. Her powerful stride reminded me of last season's captain Erica Rieder, and we know how well she pushed the puck up the ice with her skating ability.

Jenai scored Manitoba's first goal tonight on the power-play with a nifty move around a defender to create space before wiring a wrist shot high blocker-side on future teammate Meagan Relf that the netminder had little chance of stopping. Buchanan, in my opinion, looks ready for the season.

Megan Neduzak, Brielle Dacquay-Neveux, and Chloe Snaith were the other non-rookies on defence tonight, and all were steady in their own zone while being responsible with the puck coming out of their zone. If there was one thing that head coach Jon Rempel and his staff may need to fix, it's finding shooting lanes. Snaith found a number of her shots blocked by the primary defender on her, and this could be attributed to her lack of playing time last season. Snaith, otherwise, was very good as the second-year player used her speed and smarts on a number of occasions to make plays.

The final two defenders were rookies as Camille Enns and Camryn Gillis filled in the spots made available by the graduations of Rieder and Alexandra Anderson. The two showed excellent defensive play in their own zone in this first game, not getting caught out of position nor overplaying against attacking players. If Enns and Gillis are going to be on a rotation this season with Lauren Warkentin sitting out tonight, the Bisons have two players who can easily step in and replace any of the veterans without problem. Both Enns and Gillis looked sharp tonight.

Goaltending tonight was handled by Amanda Schubert, and the veteran seemed a little off in the early moments of the game as Team Manitoba swept a puck by her, but she returned to her old form that Bisons fans will remember. She made a couple of Schubert-esque saves in the second period to keep Team Manitoba from taking lead, and she seemed to have good communication with her defenders all night long.

If there is one thing I'd want to see different, it's Amanda's positioning in the crease as I found she was back on the goal line too often. This seems to be a trait of goaltending coach it Gavin McHale as we saw it with Lauren Taraschuk last season, and I wasn't a fan of her positioning for most of the season. I'm never going to question someone far more skilled than I am when it comes to do anything, but I fear that this deep positioning in the net may result in additional goals against with a goaltender of short stature like Schubert as there is more net to shoot at with her standing on the goal line. I guess time will tell on this one.

Before we get to the forwards, let me asterisk this with a few comments because there's one thing that seemingly all great lines have, and that's chemistry. With seven new players in the twelve forwards tonight, the chemistry was nil among these players. That being said, it's the first game in the preseason schedule, and chemistry is built through repetitive learning and actions. In other words, chemistry should be built as we progress through the preseason.

Among the veterans who played included Sheridan Oswald, Mikaela Fisher, Madison Cole, Emilie Massé, and Katie Chatyrbok. Fisher showed her usual tenacity and determination that we've come to know, and the Bisons will need that this season. Chatyrbok looks far more confident than she did last season, and she was using her speed in the neutral zone to create separation while skating the puck into the opposing zone. Oswald showed her nose for the net with a handful of shots, Massé showed some spark by driving the front of the net with the puck, and Cole showed solid play at both ends of the night. For the younger veteran Bisons, tonight was a good showing of what they need every night from these players.Sarah

Of all the new forwards tonight, Kate Gregoire stood out for her relentless pursuit of the puck in all three zones along with her speed in creating separation from defenders. She seems to have that explosiveness to break away from the pack as seen in her prep school days, and her speed is built for the university game. Gregoire should be a lock up front for the Bisons this season.

Sarah Dennehy made her mark in getting a couple of great looks at the net on the night, including denting iron on a breakaway. Polina Goncharova, the Moscovian winger, was in on a number of plays and showed some great work ethic on the night in winning puck battles along the boards. Samantha Sichkaruk, the former Regina Rebel, looked solid in the center position while being defensively-aware, and Molly Kunnas played a decent game as a power forward.

If there was any player who may need the year to just get into university hockey, it might be Kunnas. You can see she has all the ability needed to play university hockey, but her skating stride needs to improve in order for her to really build speed down the wing. It's not that she isn't a good skater, but she uses a choppy stride that doesn't allow her to accelerate quickly. I suspect that having Venla Hovi as part of the coaching staff will see her work with Molly on her skating, but she plays like Kostenko with her size and ability early on. If she gets that skating stride a little smoother, the sky's the limit for Molly.

Overall, the Bisons played well yesterday for their first game. After Team Manitoba went up 1-0 off a McKiya Mazur goal just 2:31 into the game, the Bisons responded on the power-play when Jenai Buchanan went shelf over Relf as stated above. The second period saw Kate Gregoire chip in her first goal in Bisons colours when she found a loose puck in the crease and shoveled it under Natalie Williamson to make it 2-1 midway through the period. Manitoba's defence locked down their zone, not allowing Team Manitoba many opportunities once they gained the lead. Mikaela Fisher would ice the game with an empty-net goal with 8.4 seconds to play.

I'm sure Jon Rempel and his staff will address a few things with the ladies today, but there wasn't a lot that was egregiously noticeable at first glance. Turnovers at the blue line and in the neutral zone will need to be tightened up when one considers the damage teams can do in Canada West off those turnovers, but the Bisons played a solid game for their first showing of the season.

Champions aren't built overnight, but this new crop of Bisons looks like a solid foundation to build on for the next five years as they look to return to the top of the U SPORTS podium!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!