Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek
Manitoba Junior Hockey League announces change in head office
Kevin Saurette to take over position in June
JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF
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unior hockey in Manitoba will see a major change at season’s end.
At a press conference Jan. 29, Kim Davis announced he will be stepping down as commissioner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) after 18 years as the league’s top dog. Director of operations Kevin Saurette will take over the position in June.
“It’s an exciting time for me personally,” Davis said.
“If I think back on the many years that I’ve been in this role […] obviously lots of memories come back to me.”
Taking over from a staple of the Manitoba hockey community is a tall task, but Saurette is excited for what the future holds.
Saurette’s hiring was the first step in this succession plan, and he has spent more than three years learning from Davis to prepare for taking over as commissioner.
“I made a proposal to the board of the league which — in a nutshell — suggested to them that they should start […] a process, if you will, to ensure that someone followed me after I retired,” Davis said.
“At the time I didn’t know when that would occur, obviously now all of us know it’s the end of June,
PHOTO BY ALLY GONZALO
having this event today, and a lot of it was on the negative side,” he said.
“I want to just state in the strongest terms possible that the MJHL is in great shape right now, on all kinds of measures.”
With Davis retiring, the league will undergo some minor restructuring at the management level. Along with hiring a replacement for Saurette as he moves into his role as commissioner, the MJHL will also be adding a marketing position to improve sponsorship revenue.
“I want to just state in the strongest terms possible that the MJHL is in great shape right now, on all kinds of measures”
— Kim Davis, MJHL commissioner
“I’m really thankful for the opportunity the board of governors of the MJHL, the member clubs and Kim Davis have given me,” Saurette said.
“And I’m very aware of the responsibilities that come with being the commissioner of the MJHL.”
Davis and the MJHL began his transition out of the role more than four years ago at Davis’s own recommendation.
but at that time it was really just an idea which [the board] embraced fairly quickly.”
Now focusing on retirement, Davis said he is happy where the league is in terms of talent and league parity, as well as financially. He made care to quash the fears of fans following a tweet sent Monday by the league about a major announcement slated for Jan. 29.
“We were fully aware of the […] speculation when we announced on Monday that we were going to be
Bison Briefs
JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF
Despite win, women’s hockey to miss playoffs
The U of M Bisons women’s hockey team closed out the road portion of its schedule with a split against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
Friday was a less-thanstellar outing as the U of M was outshot 28-22 in a 3-0 loss to the Huskies. Emma Nutter opened the scoring midway through the first, Kennedy Brown made it 2-0 in the third and Jordyn Holmes added the empty-netter.
Erin Fargey made 25 saves on the 27 shots faced in the loss.
Saturday was the Bisons of old, as the herd rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the third to win 4-3. Mekaela Fisher got the U of M on the board, followed by goals from Sheridan Oswald and Jordyn Zacharias.
Kate Gregoire got the game-winner with just over a minute to play.
With just two games left and a maximum of six points available, the U of M has been eliminated from the playoff hunt.
The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds currently hold the final playoff spot with 34 points and at 26 the Bisons cannot catch up.
Men’s basketball hits speed bump against Vikes
The Bisons men’s basketball team had its first real test of the season over the weekend in a split with the University of Victoria Vikes.
The weekend started with an 82-74 loss for the herd, and a second quarter it will want to forget.
Up 22-13 after the first quarter, the U of M mustered just four points in the second and trailed 27-26 at halftime.
The Bisons rallied but the Vikes pulled off the win.
“We’re looking very much toward continuing to grow the league, and that’s kind of at the heart of some of the staffing decisions that we’re going to be making,” Davis said.
“We do expect to be very aggressive in terms of improving and enhancing the sponsorship revenues that we generate for the league. It’s a real challenge for the teams in junior hockey across the country — financially.”
Davis stated the MJHL is healthy and some teams in the league are among the best in the country, both on the bottom line and on the ice.
Saturday started poorly for the U of M as well, as the Vikes dropped 28 points in a big opening quarter and held a 47-34 lead heading into the half.
The Bisons rallied again and rode a 31-point fourth quarter to a huge 91-83 win to split the weekend.
With one week left on the schedule the U of M is now in sole possession of third place in the conference at 15-3. Next up is the 5-13 University of Brandon Bobcats to close out the regular season.
Women’s basketball swept by University of Victoria
It was close but not close enough for the herd over the weekend as the University of Victoria Vikes pulled off a weekend sweep.
The Bisons had the game Friday, but a second-half rally by the Vikes spoiled the fun in a 77-72 U of V win. The Bisons held a 37-30 lead at halftime, only for the Vikes to drop 25 points in the third quarter to start the comeback.
The Vikes outscored the Bisons 22-16 in the fourth quarter to claim the win.
The home side carried this momentum into Saturday, sending the Bisons home empty-handed after a 78-63 loss.
The Vikes trounced the Bisons in the first half, putting the U of M in a 41-27 hole at halftime. All it had to do was keep pace from there, as the Vikes outscored the Bisons 37-36 the rest of the way for the win.
With the losses the U of M sits tied for 11th in the conference at 7-11.
With a Bisons win — or a loss by both the Mount Royal University Cougars and Trinity Western University Spartans — the herd can clinch a playoff berth.
