Men's Hockey drops 4-1 decision to Manitoba

Today, Brock University men’s hockey returned to the Seymour Hannah Centre as the Brock Badgers participated in a pre-season game against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Bisons are expected to be a strong contender in the Canada West Division of the CIS, and showed considerable skill in the 4-1 defeat of the Badgers.

Manitoba set the tone from the opening face-off as they threw their weight around and ensured a physical competition. Brock did not back down as some of the first year players stepped up to the challenge, among them were 6’2”– 205 pound forward Kyle Neufeld (St. Catharines, ON), 6’2”- 195 pound forward Josh Schram (Paris, ON), and 6’2”-215 pound forward Kyle McNeil (Cambridge, ON) who all made their presence known by the end of the first period.

The Bisons earned a two-goal lead in the first period as Jared Walker (Winnipeg, MB) and Rick Wood (River, MB). Walker’s goal came is Manitoba managed to capitalize on their second power play opportunity of the night.

Badger Rookie goaltender Mark Yetman (Mt. Pearl, NL) put forth a solid performance despite 4 goals against. Yetman faced a total of 31 shots on the night, 14 of which came while on the penalty kill, yet Yetman managed to make several big saves and keep the Badgers within striking distance.

Greg Beller (Rainy River, ON) and Mike Hellyer (Brandon, MB) added tallies for the Bisons, providing the visiting team with a 4-0 lead. Brock managed to gain momentum in the third drawing some penalties and creating scoring opportunities through quick puck movement on the power play. Finally, Ryan Allen (Fort McMurray, AB) answered the call snapping a quick shot to the back of the net, and getting the Bagers on the board.

Brock and Manitoba will meet tomorrow, Saturday September 26, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the Seymour Hannah Centre in order to close out the weekend series.

Scoring Summary

First Period
10:32 Manitoba – Jared Walker (Mike Hellyer) PP
15:32 Manitoba – Rick Wood (Greg Beller)

Second Period
17:23 Manitoba – Greg Beller (Travis Mealy) PP

Third Period
00:39 Manitoba – Mike Hellyer (Rick Wood)
8:58 Brock – Ryan Allen (Josh Schram)