CIS nods may inspire Bison netminder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/03/2010 (5987 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EVEN though Steve Christie has been cut by more teams than he’s made, the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team’s goaltender never considered leaving the game.

Good thing, because the 25-year-old Winnipeg native is at the top of his game this week.

Christie is about to backstop the Bisons in the 2010 Cavendish University Cup, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey championship tournament, which begins today in Thunder Bay, Ont. at Lakehead University.

One of just six teams out of the 34 CIS men’s hockey teams from across the country to qualify for the tournament, No. 5-seeded Manitoba will begin competition today at 1 p.m. against the second-seeded McGill Redmen. It is the first time the Bisons have earned a nationals berth since 2004-05, which predates every member of this year’s team.

At Wednesday night’s awards dinner in Thunder Bay, Christie was named the first-ever recipient of the CIS Men’s Hockey Goaltender of the Year award and selected as a first-team all-Canadian.

"I was kind of a late bloomer, between (age) 15 to 17, I probably got cut from about 13 different teams," said Christie, in his fourth Bisons season, noting he was cut from high school hockey, AAA midget and junior B. He eventually played AA midget with the River East Marauders.

"It was a long road. But I just loved to play and I was playing with lots of guys who were my friends so I thought that was enough reason to stay in the game. I just needed a fair chance or some luck."

Christie said the luck he was hoping for came at an open identification camp for junior-age players held in Brandon about eight years ago. The Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL, then owned by Andy Murray, watched him play at that camp.

"It was the turning point of my career. They invited me out to B.C. and I made it from there," said Christie, who was later recruited from the BCHL by Bisons head coach Mike Sirant who is this year’s Canada West Coach of the Year.

Christie, who started 27 of 28 regular-season games for the Bisons this year, led the Canada West conference with 15 wins and was second in goals-against average at 2.51.

He led the country in minutes played at 1,603 and was third in the CIS in save percentage at .917.

"It’s finally starting to sink in that we’re playing in the national championship. When we were in (the conference) finals, you didn’t want to think about it too much," said Christie, who lives in Penticton, B.C. where he works at the Okanagan Hockey Schools and trains in the off-season.

The job included some perks that ultimately helped him get ready for this CIS season. NHL players like Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Dany Heatley and Mike Commodore were training at the facility as well as making guest appearances at the hockey school and were more than happy to rapid-fire shots at Christie whenever possible.

"That was a cool experience and I know it helped me a lot," he said, noting the accuracy and velocity of the shots were an education in themselves. "I took a couple (of shots) off the collarbone (courtesy Commodore), that didn’t feel too good. But I got right back in there."

Christie said the Bisons need to get the jump today on the Redmen (22-6-0), who led the CIS in regular-season scoring, averaging 5.6 goals per game. With Christie in net, the Bisons allowed the fifth-fewest goals against in the CIS, at 77.

"Our start is key, with such a short tournament and only playing two games, there’s no real room for error," Christie said. "We’ve got to be ready to go right from the drop of the puck."

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca