| 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 the third-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and with a population of 17,806, the largest community in the Eastman region. The city, located about 58 km (36 mi) southeast of the provincial capital of Winnipeg, 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 Ukraine 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.
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).
Ringette is a non-contact winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities. Although ringette looks ice hockey-like and is played on ice hockey rinks, the sport has its own lines and markings, and its offensive and defensive play bear a closer resemblance to lacrosse or basketball.
Sports in Saskatchewan consist of a wide variety of team and individual games, and include summer, winter, indoor, and outdoor games. Saskatchewan's cold winter climate has ensured the popularity of sports including its official sport, curling, as well as ice hockey, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. The province also has warm summers and popular summer sports include baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and field, rodeo, horse-racing, and golf.
The National Ringette League (NRL) (French: Ligue Nationale de Ringuette, LNR) is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's league or sport like professional women's ice hockey or bandy; one of ringette's distinctive features is that all of its players are girls and women. As such, the NRL is the continent's first and only winter team sports league whose entire athlete roster is made up of women and non-binary athletes.
The 2010 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This tournament was the 102nd year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2010 tournament was hosted by the City of Fort St. John, British Columbia and the Fort St. John Flyers.
The T.G. Smith Arena is an ice hockey arena in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada It is adjacent to the site of the Southeast Events Centre, which is currently under construction. The Steinbach Curling Club is also adjacent to the arena.
The Montréal Mission is a ringette team in the National Ringette League (NRL), competing in the White Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 2004. The team gathers its players from the region of Montréal, Québec, and plays its home games at Centre Étienne Desmarteau.
The Cambridge Turbos is a ringette team in the National Ringette League (NRL) competing in the Eastern Conference's Red Division. Founded in 2003, the is team based in Cambridge, Ontario. The Turbos home arena is the Hespeler Memorial Arena, a facility which is a twin sheet arena with two Olympic-sized sheets of ice.
The South East Prairie Thunder were a Canadian Senior 'AAA' ice hockey team based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba and two-time Allan Cup champions. They played an independent schedule under the jurisdiction of Hockey Manitoba. The team is inactive as of 2021.
Canada's women's national bandy team is the women's bandy team representing Canada. Historically the squad has been based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The women's national team has competed in the Women's Bandy World Championship and North American Bandy Championship. It made its world debut at the 2004 Women's Bandy World Championship. Team Canada has not competed internationally since the 2016 Women's Bandy World Championship.
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, 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.
The Atlantic Attack is a ringette team in the Canadian National Ringette League (NRL) that mostly consists of players from Atlantic Canada and is based in Dieppe, New Brunswick. The team competes in the Eastern Conference in the White division and was founded in 2011. Its home arena is in Cocagne, New Brunswick. In their 7th season, the Atlantic Attack won their first National Ringette League Playoff title. In the past the Attack also competed against Bourassa Royal before that NRL team was discontinued.
Ringette in Canada began in 1963 when it was first conceptualized by Sam Jacks of North Bay, Ontario, in West Ferris. The sport of ringette is played in all 10 Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territories and involves an average of over 31,000 registered players every year. Canada is the location of ringette's origin where it is also recognized as a national heritage sport. The sport is governed nationally by Ringette Canada. Canadian provinces and territories have their own individual governing bodies in their respective jurisdictions.
Ringette Canada is the national governing body for the sport of ringette in Canada. It was established in 1974 with June Tiessen as its first President and has its current headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. It is responsible for the organization and promotion of ringette on a nationwide basis and organizes Canada's semi-professional ringette league, the National Ringette League (NRL) which was established in 2004, with the league functioning as a committee under Ringette Canada.
The Calgary RATH is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Calgary, Alberta.
The BC Thunder is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Richmond, British Columbia.
The Edmonton WAM! is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is one of two NRL teams based in Edmonton, Alberta, with the other being the Edmonton Black Gold Rush. Their other provincial rival is the Calgary RATH.