Dogs, Bisons battle again in Division final

By Darren Zary
of The StarPhoenix



Same old, same old.
It’s growing a bit tiresome, admits University of Manitoba Bisons coach Mike Sirant, always playing the same old teams in the Canada West men’s hockey playoffs.
First, they meet the University of Regina Cougars in the opening round and, if they win that, then it’s on to battle the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Great Plains Division final.
That’s the way it’s been for pretty much the past decade.
So, once again, it’s the same old, same old when the Bisons travel to Saskatoon this week to play the U of S Hockey Dogs in the best-of-three Great Plains Division final.
The winner moves on to the Canada West final, possibly with a 2006 Telus University Cup national championship berth already in hand.
Meanwhile, the 2006 Telus University Cup host Alberta Golden Bears will play the Calgary Dinos in the Mountain Division final.
“I think we’ve got to change our league to one conference made up of seven teams,” Sirant said Monday. “It’s the same thing. We’ve now played Regina for what, five or six times in a row? UBC has played Calgary five or six times in a row (in the Mountain Division semi-final).
“That’s what I think, anyway. I don’t know if they’ll change it.”
For now, it’s the Bisons against the Dogs, who are up to their same old tricks. Saskatchewan finished the regular season at 17-7-4. Manitoba was 12-13-3.
Saskatchewan dominated the regular season series against Manitoba with a 5-0-1 edge, yet the Bisons are playing their best hockey right now while the Dogs have been in a slump.
“What can you say about Saskatchewan?” Sirant said. “They’re an outstanding hockey team. Look at the strength of their forwards. Obviously guys like (Dean) Beuker and (Brent) Twordik can really score, but they’ve got some real strong role players in (Curtis) Austring, (Keegan) McAvoy and (Trent) Adamus. They have a lot of depth and balance.
“On defence, they’ve got real good size, plus mobility and skill back there, plus they’re getting excellent goaltending from (Thomas) Vicars and (Jeff) Harvey. Surprise, surprise, no wonder they’re ranked high. They’ve just got a real solid roster.”
The Bisons didn’t practise Monday.
“We started our mental, tactical preparation for Saskatchewan as we start talking about what we’ve got to do to beat Saskatchewan,” Sirant explained. “I thought Saturday against Regina was our best game of the season and that’s encouraging, that we’re playing the best hockey of the season in the playoffs.
“Now, we’re going to have to go to the next level against Saskatchewan. As well as we played Saturday, and as encouraging as it is, I don’t think we’ve peaked yet. I think we’re capable of moving up to another level, which we’ll have to if we are going to compete against Saskatchewan.
“The key for us is we’ve got to play to our identity: physical, aggressive and really strong defensively. Another key for us is we’ve got to get exceptional goaltending from Krister Toews and our special teams have to make a difference.
“Our special teams have been very good, especially in the second half. Our power play has been very good.”
Manitoba edged Regina 2-1 in their best-of-three series, surviving a bit of a scare after losing the opener in overtime.
“It’s good to live to play another day,” Sirant said. “We talked all week in our preparation: we said that we’ve got to be prepared for three tough games.”
dzary@sp.canwest.com
Canada West men’s hockey best-of-three Great Plains Division final Friday, Saturday, and, if necessary, Sunday Rutherford Rink