| Manitoba Herd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City |  Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| League | National Ringette League |
| Conference | Western |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Colours | |
| Head coach | Andrea Ferguson |
| Website | nationalringetteleague.ca/MHerd |
| Previous franchise history | |
| Manitoba Intact (2016–2021) | |
| Championships | |
| Best finish | 6th (2021) |
The Manitoba Herd is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The team was previously called the Manitoba Intact.
The Herd were founded in 2016 as the Manitoba Intact. They took their name from a corporate sponsor that made a Manitoba team's return to the NRL possible after the province's previous entry folded in 2013 due to financial difficulties. [1] Winnipeg-based teams had a longer history with the NRL, but were hampered by the league's demanding travel. The Winnipeg Prairie Fire had been an on-ice success, finishing in second place in the Canadian Ringette Championships in what would be their final season in 2013. [2] [3] For several years the province also hosted a second NRL team, the Manitoba Jets. [4] Those teams made an effort to host games in other areas of the province, such as Steinbach, which hosted a series between the Prairie Fire and Edmonton WAM! in 2013. [5] The establishment of the Intact, then, filled a significant gap for the National Ringette League. In 2021, the team rebranded as the Manitoba Herd, a name that had been used informally in the past to reference Manitoba's ringette squads at the Canada Games. [6]
Manitoba hosted the 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships, which includes the NRL playoffs, in Winnipeg. [7] Manitoba won its opening series against the BC Thunder to advance to the Elite Eight, but did not manage to win another game and finished in 8th place. Manitoba again defeated the Thunder in a knockout series in 2019, and ultimately finished in 7th at the national championships. [8] The 2020 and 2021 championships were ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After play resumed in 2022, the team put added emphasis on growing the game locally and saw larger crowds supporting the team. [9] In 2022, Herd player Belle Paisley was named to the Canadian junior national team ahead of the World Ringette Championships, where Canada won silver. [10]
The Herd's current head coach is Andrea Ferguson, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 for her contributions to ringette. Ferguson is a former national junior champion and captain of the Prairie Fire who also won the player-of-the-year award in the Finnish Elite League in 2003. [11]
In 2016 the Manitoba Intact, the precursor to the Manitoba Herd, acquired a mascot, a Bison named "Mani". [12] [13]
 | This section needs to be updated.(July 2023) |
| Season [14] | League | Conference | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
| 2021–22 | NRL | Western | 19 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 104 | 102 |
| 2022–23 | NRL | Western | 24 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 130 | 149 |
| 2022–23 Manitoba Herd | ||
| # [15] | Player | Position |
| 4 | Kaylee Spearing | |
| 6 | Josée Roy | |
| 9 | Kelsey Gillan | |
| 15 | Mikayla Pacholek | |
| 16 | Nicole Girardin | |
| 19 | Belle Paisley | |
| 22 | Samantha Renooy | |
| 24 | Raeanne Wysocki | |
| 29 | Caroline Girardin | |
| 32 | Kiana Heska | Goalie |
| 52 | Brett Van Nieuw Amerongen | |
| 63 | Karlee Jansen | |
| 65 | Sam Heinemann | |
| 66 | Taylor Hildebrand | |
| 71 | Janelle Wotherspoon | |
| 81 | Alexsi Kavvadas | |
| 86 | Nicole Desrosiers | |
Steinbach is a city located about 58 km (36 mi) south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eastman region. The city is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Hanover to the north, west, and south, and the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie to the east. Steinbach was first settled by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from the Russian Empire in 1874, whose descendants continue to have a significant presence in the city today. Steinbach is found on the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, while Sandilands Provincial Forest is a short distance east of the city.
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The South East Prairie Thunder are a Canadian Senior 'AAA' ice hockey team based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba and two-time Allan Cup champions. They play an independent schedule under the jurisdiction of Hockey Manitoba. The team is inactive as of 2021.
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The 2016 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey and the 108th year the Allan Cup was awarded. The tournament was contended in Steinbach, Manitoba from April 11 to April 16, 2016, with all games played at the T.G. Smith Centre. The Bentley Generals defeated the host and defending champion South East Prairie Thunder in overtime to win the national title.
Canadian Ringette Championships, (French: Championnats Canadien d'Ringuette), sometimes abbreviated CRC, is Canada's annual premiere national ringette tournament for the best ringette players and teams in the country. It encompasses three age/class divisions: Under-16 (U16), Under-19 (U19) and the seasonal championship for Canada's National Ringette League (NRL). The competition is usually held in the month of April. The first CRC was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1979. The National Ringette League playoffs are the knockout match, round robin and tournament for determining the champion for National Ringette League.
2018 Canadian Ringette Championships was 40th edition of Canadian Ringette Championships. It was a national ringette tournament held from April 9 to April 14, 2018 at Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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