MONTREAL - Few expected either the University of Montreal Carabins or the Manitoba Bisons to make it to the Uteck Bowl. Roger Maris Cardinals Jersey .But those are the teams that will meet Saturday at the Carabins 5,100-seat CEPSUM stadium in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football semifinal, with each coming off an emotional win over a top-ranked opponent. The Carabins knocked off the top-ranked Laval Rouge et Or 12-9 in overtime in the Quebec conference final last weekend while Manitoba upset the No. 4-ranked Calgary Dinos 27-15 to claim the Canada West title.Carabins (9-1), playing at home in what will likely be a sold-out stadium, will be the favourites, but the Bisons (6-4) already have two big post-season road wins under their belts. They rallied to beat the Saskatchewan Huskies 47-39 in the Canada West semifinals.I dont think it was a surprise, Manitoba coach Brian Dobie said Friday. It was the goal.We went into this season confident we could win Canada West. We knew there was a monster at the University of Calgary that we had to displace. That was part of our mission and we accomplished it.Montreal head coach Danny Maciocia, the former Edmonton Eskimos head coach/GM now in his fourth year with the Carabins, felt much the same. His team defeated Laval in the final game of the regular season at home, then beat the Rouge et Or again in Quebec City in the playoffs.There probably werent a lot of people who thought wed best them twice in a span of three weeks, said Maciocia. We werent shocked or surprised.We had a group that believes in one another. And they have a mental toughness they bring every day.The winner advances to the Vanier Cup game, which will be played next weekend Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal.Manitoba, the last Canada West team to win Vanier Cup in 2007, ended Calgarys six-year reign as conference champions. Montreal stopped two-time defending Vanier Cup champion Lavals run of conference titles at 11 and ended its 70-game home win streak.But while the Carabins have been knocking on the door to a conference title in recent years, the Bisons took many by surprise. They went 4-4 in the regular season and now hope to be a rare team that goes 4-0, all on the road, in the post-season.Most of all, we want to use the confidence we gained last week to our advantage, said Bisons quarterback Jordan Yantz. We proved last week what were capable of doing.But its not only confidence, its excitement. The opportunity we have here in the Uteck Bowl is something not many people get. Its something well embrace.The Dinos had the better statistics against Manitoba, but the Bisons forced 10 turnovers, including six interceptions.Thats the number that stood out for Carabins quarterback Gabriel Cousineau.Obviously, were going to have to protect the ball, he said. We dont give up a lot of turnovers, but when you face a team thats this good, you have to protect the ball.A fumble with 1:20 left in regulation time nearly cost Montreal the game at Laval. The Rouge et Or tied it on a late field goal, but the Carabins dominated the extra time.We have to come down from our cloud, Cousineau said of the win. We were floating out there.We were really happy after our win but it was back to business Monday. We know the jobs not finished.The Bisons are proud of their road record. Dobie said western teams are more battle-hardened on the road because their trips are longer and tougher than in central Canada or the east.Playing in Montreal may be a special challenge, however.This is the first time Ive seen our guys wowed a bit, with a bit of the deer in the headlights coming into Montreal, he said. They say Wow, everythings in French.Almost none of our guys have been east before. Theyre almost all western kids. Montreal has an amazing reputation as a city.It will be up the coaches to prevent distractions, but Dobie said his players are an easy buy-in now.And if they beat the Carabins, the Bisons will stay in town for another week to play the Vanier Cup game.On the field, the Bisons are expected to bring a big, physical team with an offence led by running back Kienan LaFrance, who rushed for 155 yards against Calgary.The Carabins counter with a smothering defence highlighted by versatile linebacker Byron Archambault. They have a nice mix of running and passing on offence as well.The weather forecast Saturday is calling for a high of 2C. Theres a 67 per cent chance of rain with 24 kilometre-an-hour winds expected.I would love to embrace Manitoba as the underdog but Im not claiming it, said Dobie. Thats being dishonest and disrespectful to my own team.We went into the season with high expectations that if we worked hard, we felt we could accomplish some things. Just like Montreal, were in this to win it. Gussie Busch Jersey . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Gussie Busch Cardinals Jersey . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive.PHILADELPHIA -- Trade talk mostly fizzled at the NHL draft. "It just seemed to me there were a lot of phone calls, a lot of talking, people interested, but nothing really happened," Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray said. Aside from Ryan Kesler getting dealt before proceedings got underway and then James Neal a few hours later, the weekend passed without much major action. One small trade -- the Calgary Flames getting Brandon Bollig from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick -- looked like a preview of many more to come as cap-strapped teams try to get under the US$69 million ceiling set for next season. "Its a puzzle to put together and try to make all the numbers work," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said Saturday. "Thats clearly the biggest factor youre faced with when you have salary cap being what it is. Youre going to have some tough decisions. Were not the only team thats in that position. There will be other teams that face the same things." Without naming names, Bowman was describing the plight of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, along with his Blackhawks, who almost certainly have to make sacrifices just to be cap-compliant. In the Bruins case, it might mean saying goodbye to Jarome Iginla, a 61-point player and a major piece of their Presidents Trophy-winning season. "If we cant sign Jarome, were going to find a good player at that position," Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said Friday night. "We feel all our young guys and our current players are going to get better." Its unclear what else the Bruins might have to do with forwards Reilly Smith, Jordan Caron and Justin Florek and defenceman Torrey Krug and Matt Bartkowski needing new deals as restricted free agents. According to CapGeek, Boston has just over $1.6 million to spend. The Flyers, technically over the cap by a couple hundred thousand dollars, have some room with defenceman Chris Pronger bound for long-term injured reserve. But theyre still reportedly shopping Vincent Lecavalier to rid themselves of at least part of his $4.5 million cap hit for the next four seasons. Chicago managed to part with Bolligs $1.25-million cap hit but might have to clear more salary to fiill out the roster. Ted Simmons Cardinals Jersey. Enter the likes of the Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres, teams with salary-cap space to take on salary. Oilers GM Craig MacTavish knows players wont be given away, but talent should be available. "Were in a pretty enviable position to be able to take on some of those contracts," MacTavish said Friday night. "Those are really the style of deals that weve looked to make over the last little while where we give up a few assets, take the contract and the cap space, so well be trying to do some of that." That was part of what went into the Flames trading for Bollig, who just signed a contract extension in March. When the cap was set at $69 million, it was at least $1 million, if not more, less than GMs were hoping for. "Weve been looking at situations with the cap where people that may have difficulty or be in a situation where they had to move money," Flames GM Brad Treliving said. Sabres GM Tim Murray implied that hed be willing to accept expensive contracts, but only if he gets an asset like a draft pick in return. "I tried to make a big trade today, a unique trade," Murray said Saturday. "I said, We got to do like the NBA. So I went to a team and said, You trade me your first pick from yesterday. He didnt want to be the first guy to do that. So Im not sure I did, either. But I thought it was a good idea." There could be a market for those NBA-style deals if GMs determine the cap space gained is worth it. More likely, teams up against the $69 million limit will be getting partial value on current players to clear room to manoeuvre when unrestricted free agency opens Tuesday. Plenty of money will get handed out then, and the teams that dont have the space to do it will be forced to rely on younger players to fill the void. Bowman, who has gone through this during two Stanley Cup runs, called it just the continuation of the development cycle. "Its a constant process of finding guys who will be able to fill those roles," he said. "Its a never-ending game. Thats the state of the game today. But you have to find players, whether theyre free agents or like today draft picks and work with making it to the point where they can be NHL contributors." ' ' '