Getting Set For A Season

I spent most of my weekend inside Wayne Fleming Arena on the University of Manitoba campus doing radio for the Bisons women's hockey team, and I have to say that getting back into this routine is harder than I thought. Don't get me wrong when I say I'm excited for hockey - I am over the moon to have it back! - but there's a routine that I followed when hockey was a regular weekend thing in 2019-20 with Canada West hockey being played, and it feels not-so-normal trying to get back into that routine. Once we hit the air, though, it felt like we had never left despite nearly 600 days elapsing between broadcasts!

The photo above was taken by Miss Cheryl Dunning, and it featured the Bisons and St. Mary's Academy Flames in action on Sunday. As we know, scores don't matter in the preseason, so I'm not here to discuss scores or break down highlights. That will come starting on October 17 when The Rundown articles return, so keep an eye peeled for those. For Trinity Western and MacEwan fans who haven't seen one of those articles yet, you'll get a full serving of weekend hockey news and notes from me.

Despite the effort to get back into the swing of things, broadcasting alongside Jason Pchajek on Saturday and Kyleigh Palmer on Sunday is easy. They're two of the best in Canada West at calling play-by-play action, and they know the game and players well so that good conversations happen between us as we're broadcasting. Bisons hockey fans, whether it be men's or women's hockey, should feel pretty lucky that they have two great people who are invested and committed to their teams like Jason and Kyleigh are. Working with them again this weekend felt like we hadn't missed a beat in nearly 600 days.

One of the complaints we hear regularly as broadcasters is "I don't know any of the players". I can empathize with this as people really have no connection to the team unless a family member is playing for the team. Whether it be a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew, sister, or brother, unless one has a connection, I get the complaint for people trying to break into the university hockey world. This season, we want to help, so let's check out a few ideas we have to help you get more into the game!

We debuted some graphics on social media this weekend that may make their way into Bisons women's hockey broadcasts like the one to the right. This screen, seen on Midway's Open Ice 2-On-2 Challenge arcade video game, will be used every gameday to highlight players we believe will have an impact on the game played that day. It's an easy way for us to get players' names and faces out into the discussion, and my hope is that this exposure will give everyone a better idea of the players who may appear on the highlight reels and who make up the Canada West rosters.

Secondly, if you're following me on Twitter, you're likely aware we're introducing you to the Bisons with respect to their jersey numbers and the number of days until they play for real on October 15. The mocked-up hockey cards I've made for the Bisons will be used this season for a variety of purposes, but every single player who is on a roster this season has a hockey card! On top of that, any player who may have played for a team previously in their careers may also have a card! Again, if you want to know who these players are, associating a number they wear on the ice with the person brings them to life a little more than just having some broadcaster talk about them. If we isolate on a player this season or someone does something remarkable or if a record is set or broken, expect to see a player card used to identify that player like Anna Purschke above!

For parents reading this, if you reach out to me via email or social media, I can send you the mocked-up card of your daughter if you want it. I am more than happy to share the image because, as hockey parents, you've played a pretty big part in getting your daughters to this level. Feel free to reach out, and we'll make sure you get the one card that matters most to you! And yes, the plan is to make new ones each season for those players still in the league. Tell your team staff to take lots of pictures this season!

If you're watching on Canada West TV this season or listening on UMFM's Second Stream, you might hear voices from days gone by as the second periods have been deemed "Alumni Periods" all season long. Bisons women's hockey alumni from any and all eras of the program are encouraged to come and visit the broadcast booth this season during the second period of play so that we can get caught up with all of the amazing athletes who put Bisons women's hockey on the map. And, if they're up to it, I'll relinquish my headset to the alumna and let them do some colour commentary alongside Kyleigh as well! How much fun will that be?

If I'm being totally honest, this has been long overdue in terms of honouring the women who cleared a path for the women who followed them, and we feel the best way to honour them is to feature them prominently on the broadcasts. Whether an alumna played one game or every game across all five seasons, all alumni are encouraged to stop by the broadcast booth so we can introduce Bisons fans to the women who elevated this program to new heights during their time in the brown-and-gold! So c'mon by the booth and say hi!

Make sure you also stick around for first intermissions this year as we feature each of the nine schools who make up Canada West hockey during the breaks! There will be a special look at the program, a person, or people where unique and interesting stories are found, and we'll run a feature every home game to identify those schools and stories that make this league awesome. In terms of having ten home games, we also have a special feature planned exclusively for the October 15 game, so make sure you're tuning into that game if nothing else!

Beyond that, there will be stuff added over the coming weeks as the game broadcast schedule is finalized. I'm trying to convince Bisons Sports to allow us to have a ticket giveaway for future games, but they're mulling over that still. We'll see what happens. What I do know is that the only pregame show on Canada West broadcasts will continue thirty minutes prior to every game played, there will be a postgame show with Honour Roll mentions, and there will be lots of hockey action to call over ten home games this season.

While I found it hard to get myself back into a routine for these two exhibition games this weekend, there's no need for added encouragement for October 15 and 16 when the Calgary Dinos come to town as I'm already beyond excited for those games. If you do want to go to those games, don't forget that all tickets are virtual this season and can be purchased through the Bisons website. Bring your mask and your proof of vaccination, and let's get ready for a crazy, fun, and exciting season of Canada West hockey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!