The pioneer days of the Canada West Conference have ended.
Two years after the CIS split its Western Canadian teams into two divisions -- Pioneer and Explorer - the 17-team league (men's and women's is now one single conference.
For the UNBC Timberwolves men's and women's teams, which start the 2016 season on the road in Winnipeg with doubleheaders Nov. 4 and 5 against the Wesmen, that means a return to playing the best in the west, the traditional powers of Canada West.
One of those schools, Alberta, will send its Pandas and Golden Bears to Prince George to play the T-wolves in their home-opener at the Northern Sport Centre on Friday, Nov. 11. UNBC closes out its regular season at home with a doubleheader against Saskatchewan, Feb. 10-11.
Under the new format, each Canada West team will now play four historical or geographical rivals in each 20-game season, with games against six of the 12 remaining schools every other season. The four rivals UNBC will face annually will be UBC, Fraser Valley, Thompson Rivers and Trinity Western. During a four-year rotation, each team play every other conference opponent at least twice and will play at least once in the home of their opponents.
The top 12 teams in the conference will make the playoffs over three consecutive weeks, with the top four teams each receiving a first-round bye. Matchups in the first two playoff rounds will be best-of-three series, which will determine the final four tournament, to be hosted by the highest-seeded team.
The UNBC women are coming off a fifth-place (3-17) Explorer Division finish. They welcome the return of guard Maria Mongomo, a CIS All-Rookie Team member, who was forced to return to her native Spain, 12 games into the season due to visa complications. Highly-touted high school graduates Madison Landry and Alina Skakirova (both of Duchess Park and Kassidy Dick (Nechako Valley will be part of the team at UNBC
The UNBC men (4-16) finished sixth in 2015 and will be shooting for a return to the playoffs, having made the Canada West postseason cut for the first time in 2014. Nolan Hanson, Sam Zhang and Sage Gosal are among the UNBC returning players, with PGSS recruit Tyrell Laing and Laurier transfer James Agyeman joining the T-wolves pack this season.
