St. Croix, Spriggs lead Bisons into post-season

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This article was published 05/02/2018 (2772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two homegrown hockey players are helping drive the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team towards a strong playoff push.

The herd was in third place in the Canada West conference with a 14-8-2 record as of Jan. 29, just two weeks prior to the start of playoffs. The Bisons swept the University of Regina Cougars in a two game series at home on Jan. 26 and 27, 8-6 and 7-1.

The team is now bound for Calgary where they will play the Dinos on Feb. 9 and 10 before heading into the first round of Canada West playoffs on Feb. 16.

Leading the Bisons in scoring is third-year forward and St. Paul’s High School alum Michael St. Croix. The 5-11 forward currently has nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points and 28 penalty minutes.

This is the first year St. Croix has played for the Bisons after being redshirted during the 2016-2017 season. St. Croix, the son of former NHL goalie Rick St. Croix, was a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Between 2013 and 2016, the 24-year-old played with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the East Coast Hockey League and played 13 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League in his first year as a pro.

Bisons head coach Mike Sirant said St. Croix has been a tremendous addition to the Bisons’ hockey program this season and brings valuable experience and leadership to the bench.

“He has a lot to offer to our team to help us all be better,” Sirant said.

“He makes plays, and can see plays, and can execute plays that not all players can,” he added. “He’s always a threat when he has the puck either to set up a player for a scoring opportunity, or to score himself.”

Even though St. Croix is ranked fourth in Canada West scoring, he says he’d still like to notch a few more goals, but is happy with the numbers the Bisons have been putting up overall.

“I’d have liked to have scored a little bit more, but when it’s all said and done it’s a team sport,” he said. “I think my line with Zach Franko and Kamerin Nault, (has) been pretty consistent all year and we’re getting better in the defensive zone.

“We have a couple of real good offensive lines and a couple lines that go out there and do their job successfully, that may not get as much recognition for it, but they’re just as valuable,” he added.

In the Bisons’ goal, netminder Byron Spriggs has also been instrumental in the team’s success so far this year, Sirant said.

Spriggs, a Vincent Massey Collegiate grad and fourth year management student at the U of M, is currently leading Canada West goalies in minutes played at 1,274:52, and has a respectable 3.01 goals against average, good for eighth in the conference.

“Byron has consistently been one of our best players this season. He always gives us more than a chance to win,” Sirant said.

“We feel very confident in Byron and he’s played most of the minutes for our team this year and he’s earned those opportunities to play.”

Spriggs said he is expecting some tough competition ahead of the Canada West championship and the Bisons will have to put their best effort forward if they hope to move through playoffs.

“For the next few weekends it’s going to be playoff mentality,” Spriggs said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing — you never underestimate your opponent in this league.

“We’re taking it a game at a time,” he said.