Herd preps for Panda-monium

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This article was published 25/02/2019 (2475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a hectic weekend for Manitoba Bison athletics.

The women’s hockey team, the defending conference and national champions, swept the UBC Thunderbirds in their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

The Herd won Game 1 at the Max Bell Centre on Friday night in dramatic fashion, with second-year defenceman Lauren Warkentin scoring the game winner with 40 seconds left to give them the 4-3 win. On Saturday night, the Bisons finished the series off with a 2-1 win, led by a two-goal performance by fifth-year forward Karissa Kirkup.

With the win, the Bison have clinched a spot at the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship on March 14-17 at the University of Prince Edward Island.

But before they get there, the team has a date with the Alberta Pandas in the Canada West final. Their best-of-three series will be held in Edmonton at the University of Alberta’s Clare Drake Arena from March 1-3.

The Herd are 0-4 against the Pandas this season and were outscored 7-2 in the four meetings.

The Bison track-and-field team also had a strong performance this weekend, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Saskatchewan Huskies.

The Canada West Track & Field Championships wrapped up in Edmonton on Saturday, with Saskatchewan capturing both the men’s and women’s conference championships.

The men’s team won with 145 points, while the Huskies’ women won their banner with 160 points. The Bison men finished in second place with 121.5 points and the women finished sixth with 58 points.

The Calgary Dinos finished second in the women’s meet with 145 points.

Ten Bisons will be bringing home individual medals from the two-day event. Manitoba won five medals in relay events.

The top two competitors in each event are Canada West First and Second Team All-Stars, plus they earn a spot at the 2019 U Sports Track & Field Championships, which are hosted at the University of Manitoba from March 7-9.

It wasn’t as fun a weekend for the Bison women’s volleyball team, as their season ended at the hands of the No. 1-ranked team in the conference, the Calgary Dinos.

The Dinos swept the Bison in their best-of-three quarter-finals series, winning Game 1 on Thursday in five-sets (20-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-12, 15-8), before cruising to a straight-set victory in Game 2 on Friday (26-24, 25-13, 25-17). The Dinos will now play UBC in the semifinals.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31