2026-27 MANITOBA BISONS/USPORTS HOCKEY

[Hollywood]

October 6, 2026: CALGARY'S ROSTER


In the Town of Bedrock, they have finally uploaded a full 2026-27 roster to complete the set in the CW. The recruitment report from July 14, 2026 is here. Additions to that list have been one goaltender and two defencemen, plus three U-Sports transfers.

The other roster pages are here:
Regina - July 20th
MacEwan - August 20th
Trinity Western - September 1st
Mount Royal - September 10th
UBC - September 10th
Manitoba - September 30th
Alberta - September 30th
Saskatchewan - September 30th

Goaltenders:
Returning:
35  Carl Tetachuk  G (9-4-0, 2.29 GAA, .913 S%)
37  Jari Kykkanen  G (0-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .909 S%)

Arrivals:
31  Kelton Pyne - G - Vancouver (WHL)

Departures:
37 Carl Stankowski G (10-4-1, 2.30 GAA, .910 S%)

The Dinos have been anchored by the Two Carls in net for the past four seasons.  Stankowski is gone now, but Tetachuk could easily be a good #1, and Pyne has good major junior credentials.

Defencemen:
Returning:
41  Remy Aquilon  D (2-5-14-19 with MRU)
22  Connor Horning  D (22-6-7-13)
21  Dylan Anderson  D (19-0-8-8)
7  Kurtis Smythe  D (26-0-7-7 in 2024-25 with MRU)
15  Logen Hammett  D (27-2-4-6)
17  Wyatt Wilson  D (26-0-5-5)
9  Pavel Bocharov  D (13-1-3-4)
2  Tre Fouquette  D (19-2-1-3)
26  Kaiden Bugera  D (9-2-1-3)

Arrivals:
5 Vincent Palmarin - D - Warman (SJHL)
12 Russ Demo - D - Kindersley (SJHL)

Departures:
4 Sean Strange D (28-4-19-23)
44 Brody Maguire D (11-0-0-0)
- Ranon Joseph D (0-0-0-0)

Does any team in the country have seven returning defencemen, plus two veterans transfering from another U-Sports team? They lost Strange, by far their highest scoring blueliner, but they have a lot of volume.

Forwards:
Returning:
23  Hayden Pakkala  F  (28-15-11-26)
29  Jake Poole  F (26-11-13-24)
25  Gavin Schmidt  F (28-8-13-21)
24  Stephen Kirkpatrick  F (28-7-13-20)
39  Brendan Lee  F (28-8-8-16)
11  Carter Massier  F (23-5-7-12)
44  Fischer O'Brien F (24-4-4-8 with RMC)
16  Logan Hauer  F (19-4-3-7)
20  Matt Corbet  F (25-1-6-7)
27  Davis Fry  F (24-3-3-6)
28  Riley Gannon  F (2-1-0-1)

Arrivals:
6  Ryan Arnold - F - Fort McMurray (AJHL)
14  Trae Johnson - F - Swift Current (WHL)
19  Sam Oremba - F - Spokane (WHL)
43  Anthony Wilson - F - Swift Current (WHL)

Departures:
38 Adam Kydd F (28-8-33-41)
42 Mack Stewart F (28-9-10-19)
18 Andrej Kovacevic F (8-2-2-4)
14 Jacksenn Hungle F (10-1-3-4)
- Kailus Green F (0-0-0-0)

Ten returnees plus a transfer are nice to have, but they did lose Kydd (their leading scorer) and Stewart (their 4th leading scorer). Three newcomers have WHL experience, but none have gaudy numbers like Kydd or Stewart.

Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Calgary Team Page
➤ Calgary: Team Roster Page
➤ CW Hockey Tech: Calgary Team Statistics
➤ LeagueStat Media Access: 2025-26 Regular Season (scroll down to Calgary)

[Hollywood]

October 7, 2026: BISONS FINALLY FINISH THEIR PRE-SEASON

 
MANITOBA BISONS 2
OMAHA MAVERICKS 9

Links:
➤ UNO: Omaha Hockey Welcomes Manitoba for Home Exhibition
➤ UNO: Digital Program
➤ UNO: Omaha Hockey Scores Nine in Exhibition Victory Over Manitoba
➤ UNO: Live Stats
➤ UofM: Schedule & Results

This was an odd game.

First, London Hoilett and Skyler Bruce were scratched. Third goaltender Justin Perreault was listed but did not play. Matthew Kieper played the first 30 in net, then Braden Holt played the last 30.

The game was scoreless after the 1st period, even though the shots were 18-4 in favour of the hosts.

Then the Mavericks went nuts in the 2nd. An early goal gave them a 1-0 lead, but then they took a penalty right away. Instead of the Bisons levelling the score, a shorthanded goal made it 2-0. Mid-period, the Mavericks took another penalty. Again, a shorthanded goal, and it was 3-0. The Bisons continued to press on the PP and at least broke even when Brandon Funk made it 3-1. The Herd's goaltending wasn't what it was in past games, as three more goals were pumped in a minute-or-two apart. Six goals on 11 shots in the period.

The 3rd period was largely academic. However, the shots were 10-10 and the Mavericks had three more goals. Caden Zaplitny score for the Bisons in the midst of those goals.

On the night, Kieper stopped a respectable 22 of 25 shots. Holt stopped 7 of 13 shots. I haven't seen any replays, but yikes! Even if they were all breakaways, that's not a flattering statistic. Unlike Sunday at UND, where he stopped 26 of 29 shots.

The Bisons thus end the pre-season at 4-4-0, having gone 3-1-0 against Regina and 1-3-0 against NCAA teams. Now they have one day off before playing a pair of games at UBC. There are NHL teams with a lesser schedule than this.


OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD


Regular Season Begins
Wed Oct 07 Saint Mary's 2 Acadia 5

Links:
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results

[Hollywood]

Preview: October 9-10, 2026: MANITOBA at U.B.C.


MANITOBA BISONS (2025-26: 12-13-3, 6th in CW, 4-4-0, OHT35 #16)
U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS (2025-26: 23-2-3, 1st in CW, 4-2-2, OHT35 #1)

Friday, October 9th at 7:00 PDT/9:00 CDT at Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver
Saturday, October 10th at 2:30 PDT/4:30 CDT at Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver

Live Links:
➤ Video: CanadaWest TV
➤ Hockey Tech Game Centre: Friday ∞  Saturday

Manitoba Links:
➤ GoBisons: Bisons Men's Hockey Focused on Competing for 60 Minutes in 2026-27
➤ CW: Stats ∞  Schedule/Results/Links

Other Links:
➤ UBC: 'Birds officially open new era Friday night vs Bisons
➤ YouTube: CBC YouTube Channel
➤ CW: Games of the Week on Telus and CBC ∞ CBC Sports Streaming Schedule
➤ USports: Men's Hockey Page ∞ Top 10
➤ USports: Schedule/Links ∞ Standings
➤ CW: Home Page ∞ Season Schedule
➤ CW Hockey Tech:   Daily Schedule
➤ CW: LeagueStat Media Access
➤ CW: Stats ∞  Schedule/Results/Links

Last series:
➤ Nov 7/25: UBC 8 UM 1: Game Centre
➤ Nov 8/25: UBC 7 UM 4: Game Centre

The regular season is finally ready to launch. Keep in mind that this is the 3rd and final season of the CW's failed experiment with two rotating divisions. The past two years, they had an East (always including the Man/Sask teams) and a West division (always including the BC teams). The Edmonton teams played one year in the East, then switched to West, and the Calgary teams did the reverse. This year, the four Alberta teams are in Division "A" and the Man/Sask teams join BC in Division "B".

Also, playoff berths were (and are) allocated on a divisional basis. The 2nd and 3rd place teams cross-over in the quarter-finals, with the winners also doing a cross-over with the 1st place teams in the semi-finals. So if you're confused as to how Alberta made the playoffs yet was 7th, and Manitoba missed and was 6th, this was how.

This year, the Bisons get a break. They need to finish in the top three of a division which includes UBC, Sask, Regina, and Trinity. I have a hunch that the Bisons will be hunkered down in 3rd place fairly early without much chance of moving up or down. 

Before the pre-season, I had UBC and Sask set to fight in out for top spot in this division.  The T-irds had a great regular season last year (23-2-3), before losing to Sask in the semi-finals. But they have stumbled in this pre-season, going 3-2-2 against CW teams. They are just one OTL short of last year's loss record. One unique thing is that they lost games where they outshot their opponent, then did the vice versa against MRU. They started with a shoot-out loss against Holy Trinity, then beat U-Vic in a BCIHL game to salvage the opening weekend. They did show progress each weekend, going from no wins to one win then to two wins.

One concern is with the shrinking Bison roster, now down to 23 players. Two previously announced recruits (goalie Austin Dubinsky and defenceman Cole Unger) never appeared on the exhibition roster. Returning forward Miguel Bouvier played in the home games against Regina, but then left the roster. Now, recruit London Hoilett has left the roster. He did not dress for the home series against Regina, but then played in Regina. They did add a 3rd goaltender, Justin Perreault. None of the departed players have surfaced elsewhere. In fact, Hoilett is still listed as a Bison at Elite Prospects.


ELSEWHERE IN THE CW


TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (2025-26: 4-21-3, 9th in CW, 6-0-0, OHT35 #33)
REGINA COUGARS (2025-26: 6-22-0, 8th in CW, 1-4-1, OHT35 #32)

Links:
➤ TWU: This Week in Sparta
➤ UofR: Team Website

These teams finished last in their respective divisions the past two seasons, so now at least one will be assured of escaping the cellar this year. Holy Trinity has been last overall in the CW every year since joining in the Covid-cancelled 2020-21 season. Their point totals have gone from 5 to 7 to 9 (twice) to a record 11 last year.

Meanwhile, the Banjo-Cats have made the playoffs twice in the last 12 seasons, in 2022 and 2023. In the race for 8th with Trinity, they split their last three series, against Sask, Manitoba, and Trinity, to avoid the basement.

The Spartans have two marquee players in Mikhailo Simchuk (28 GP, 16 G, 14 A, 30 Pts) and Christian Lowe (26 GP, 11 G, 19 A, 30 Pts). Regina does not have the equivalent. In fact, they lost their veteran scoring talent due to graduation. In person, they looked fairly organized and could present as a difficult opponent. In 6 games against Manitoba and Sask, they had just one loss beyond a one-goal difference.



CALGARY DINOSAURS (2025-26: 19-8-1, 4th in CW, 3-2-0, OHT35 #5)
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (2025-26: 19-7-2, 3rd in CW, won playoffs, 7-2-0, OHT35 #7)

Links:
➤ UofC: Team Website
➤ UofS: USask Huskies Celebrate 2025-26 Academic All-Canadians
➤ Huskie Fan: Huskies host Calgary for Thanksgiving weekend hockey

This could be the best match-up of the weekend. These teams were 3rd and 4th last year, and the Banjo-Mutts won the playoff championship. They met in the pre-season, with Sask winning 8-0 and Bedrock U rebounding to win 5-4. Calgary did lose their top scoring forward and defenceman, and one of their goaltending tandem, but they have returned 22 players. Sask returns 19 players, though they have taken a hit with their top three scorers graduated. These are among the most veteran-heavy rosters in the country.



MACEWAN GRIFFINS (2025-26: 12-11-5, 5th in CW, 6-0-0, OHT35 #21)
MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS (2025-26: 20-6-2, 2nd in CW, 2-3-1, OHT35 #4)

Links:
➤ MacU: Team Website
➤ MRU: How Swede it is: Building a home away from home

The Bluegars have lost a lot of scoring punch (4 of top 6 forwards), plus Clay Hanus with Bobby Orr-level scoring numbers from the blueline. Their uploaded story covers their Swedish recruits. They may not finish 2nd overall, but they will still be a strong team expected to challenge for first in their division. They were 1-2-0 against CW teams in pre-season.

The Family Guys showed they could dominate the OUA in pre-season (3-0-0) but they were 0-2-0 against Alberta in their only CW match-up. They finished ahead of those Evil Monkeys last year, and must do so again this year if they want a playoff berth from the new Saudi Alberta Division. Their goaltending and forwards look to be solid, but they took a hit on defence. They lost their top four offensive defencemen.



ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (2025-26: 11-13-4, 7th in CW, 7-1-0, OHT35 #25) 
N.A.I.T. OOKS (2025-26: 11-1-0-12, 3rd in ACAC, 2-2-0)

Links:
➤ UofA: Team Website
➤ NAIT: Team Website

The Evil Monkeys start with a bye week, and slotted in a non-conference match-up against NAIT, in a second consecutive Battle of Edmontown. Many observers thought that there was a severe banana shortage in Edmontown, after they finished 7th overall a year ago. They have replaced all three goaltenders. They have returned two of their top six defencemen. Only one of their top six scorers has returned. Their recruiting class includes a mixed bag of WHL, transfers from NCAA, U-Sports, and ACAC, and Junior A. After last years mass roster-raid, they have had to dip into alternative sources for players. They might be better on ice than on paper. They were 5-1-0 against CW teams in the pre-season.

NAIT have swept two games against Portage College, then were shut-out by Holy Trinity twice last weekend. I guess we'll see if Trinity is better than expected or if the gap between the CW and ACAC is growing.


COMPLETE SCHEDULE

Fri Oct 09 Calgary at Saskatchewan 7:00 CST/8:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Trinity Western at Regina 7:00 CST/8:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 MacEwan at Mount Royal 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Manitoba at U.B.C. 7:00 PDT/9:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 N.A.I.T. at Alberta 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Trinity Western at Regina 5:00 CST/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Calgary at Saskatchewan 5:00 CST/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Manitoba at U.B.C. 3:00 PDT/5:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Mount Royal at MacEwan 5:00 MDT/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Alberta at N.A.I.T. 6:00 MDT/8:00 CDT

OUT EAST


Fri Oct 09 Brock at Laurier 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Queen's at U.Q.T.R. 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Carleton at Ottawa 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Toronto at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Nipissing at Concordia 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 York at Waterloo 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Toronto Metropolitan at Guelph 7:30 EDT/6:30 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Lakehead at Windsor 7:30 EDT/6:30 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Nipissing at McGill 3:00 EDT/2:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Queen's at U.Q.T.R. 4:00 EDT/3:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Toronto Metropolitan at Brock 6:00 EDT/5:00  CDT
Sat Oct 10 Ontario Tech at Ottawa 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 York at Laurier 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Waterloo at Western Ontario 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Lakehead at Guelph 7:30 EDT/6:30 CDT
Sun Oct 11 Ontario Tech at Carleton 3:00 EDT/2:00 CDT
Sun Oct 11 McGill at Concordia 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT

Exhibition Game
Sun Oct 11 R.M.C. at Army West Point (NCAA) 2:00 EDT/1:00 CDT


Fri Oct 09 New Brunswick at St. F.X. 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Moncton at Dalhousie 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 U.P.E.I. at Acadia 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 U.P.E.I. at Saint Mary's 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 New Brunswick at Dalhousie 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Moncton at St. F.X. 7:00 ADT/5:00 CDT

Links:
➤ OUA: Daily Schedule
➤ AUS: Schedule & Results


OUT WEST


Exhibition Games
Thu Oct 08 UA-Augustana at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Concordia-Edmonton at Portage College 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Fri Oct 09 Briercrest College at Minot State (ACHA) 7:30 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Portage College at Concordia-Edmonton 1:30 MDT/2:30 CDT
Sat Oct 10 S.A.I.T. at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Briercrest College at Minot State (ACHA) 7:30 CDT
NOTE: NAIT plays an exhibition series against Alberta.


Fri Oct 09 Okanagan at Thompson Rivers 7:00 PDT/9:00 CDT
Sat Oct 10 Thompson Rivers at Okanagan 5:45 PDT/7:45 CDT

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: Schedule & Results
➤ BCIHL: YouTube Channel