Bisons one and done
mario prusina – Times Editor
With their dash to the finals of the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament, it seemed like the UFA Bisons were primed to take a run at the 2010 Telus Cup.
The local triple-A midget team entered the Christmastime tournament sputtering with a record below .500, before their impressive showing at the tourney.
However, upon returning from the weeklong hockey marathon, the Bisons were eyeing the second seed in the South Division and first-round playoff bye.
Unfortunately, despite a solid 5-3-3 record to end the season, the Bisons finished the season in sixth place and in the final playoff spot in the division. As opposed to taking charge and earning a higher berth like they talked about, the team ‘backed into’ the final playoff spot.
Once they clinched, the Lethbridge Y’s Men Hurricanes denied any chance of a Cinderella team going all the way.
The Y’s Men defeated the Bisons 5-2 in Game 1 Feb. 17 before finished the series with a 2-1 win at the Strathmore Family Centre Feb. 20.
“I think it probably came down to a little more hunger on the Lethbridge side,” said Bisons head coach Brett Goulet. “They were pretty hungry to get at us – they played some good hockey and they definitely wanted it (more).
“I think the biggest disappointment is – you put a lot of work into a (season), we’ve been at this since Labour Day weekend basically … and you don’t get the end result.”
The Bisons were also shorthanded to start the playoffs as they were without their captain and leading scorer Jason Swyripa, who was unable to play in the first round. However, according to Goulet, a team can’t pin the loss on one player.
“I’d say the biggest thing for us was; one, we peaked a little too early with the Mac’s Tournament and two; we have a lot of individual skill and it’s hard to bring a lot of individual skill together to play as a team,” said the coach. “I think that’s something that these guys will take as a lesson – ‘how do we do that better going forward and moving on with their next team?’”
Despite being eliminated in the first round, assistant captain and Strathmore native Brandon Rommens will have fond memories of this season.
“It was a good year and everyone had a lot of fun, especially going to the finals at the Mac’s,” said Rommens. “That was the best experience I’ve had this year.
“Our team has a lot of skill – if we came together like we did at the Mac’s, we probably could have went all the way to the Telus Cup.”
Goaltender George Merik, of Rockyford, agreed that the Mac’s was definitely the Bisons highlight of this season.
“The Mac’s was a great experience for everybody, playing in the Saddledome,” said Merik. “Achieving that was a lot to handle, but it was good.”