Johnson sparks Bisons

Strathmore Editor

 

Sam Johnson has no problems putting the puck in the net.

The UFA Bisons power forward vaulted himself into the mix for the league’s goal scoring title after an explosive five-goal weekend.

Johnson scored four goals in the Bisons 5-2 win over the Gregg Distributors on Dec. 11, before notching another one in the team’s 5-1 win over the K of C Pats the following day.

“If you want a poster child for a power forward that goes to the net (he’s your guy),” said Bisons head coach Parry Shockey. “That’s where he scores his goals – he’s going to the net, he’s crashing the net. He’s not scoring the pretty one-timers on the back doors and stuff like that.

“He’s scoring in the dirty area – you love those guys that love to play in the dirty areas and he’s one of those guys, and he got rewarded.

“Hopefully the other guys see that and they’re willing to get their noses dirty too.”

Much like his coach, Johnson doesn’t care how the puck goes in.

“I mean, they all look the same on the score sheet, right?” smiled Johnson after the pair of home games. “I just crash the net and the pucks (seem to) go in – the bounces are going my way.

“My line-mates (Luke Philp and Torrin White) are great hockey players – both of them are so fast and smart out there. They have a great skill set … it’s so fun out there.”

It was a busy weekend for the Bisons, who hosted a practice in Rockyford for the village’s minor hockey teams on Friday night. After the win on Saturday, the team stayed at a hotel in Strathmore in order to take part in the 10th Annual ‘Christmas Shopping with the Bisons’ early Sunday morning.

The team then played a solid game en route to the win over the Pats.

“We have to give K of C a lot of credit – they’ve really improved from the start of the year,” said Shockey. “They stifled us there for a while … but we stayed with the game plan, we moved the puck well and got a good contribution from a lot of players.

“We dominated a lot of areas and their goaltender was making the saves, but this is one of those games that you have to go out and win.

“They’re not going to give it to you.”

In Saturday’s game, the Bisons fell behind 2-0 before storming back for five unanswered goals.

“I thought we played really well too,” said the coach in regards to Saturday’s game. “Guys moved the puck, guys crashed the net.

“We have a game plan, and when we play it, we’re pretty impressive to watch. We give (our) guys the green light to be creative. We don’t try and take that away from them.”

 

The Russian are coming!

In preparation for the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament, the UFA Bisons will be hosting a pair of exhibition games versus Russia HC Severstal. The teams will tangle in High River Dec. 21 (6:30 p.m.) before playing at the Strathmore Family Centre on Dec. 23 (also at 6:30 p.m.). Fans are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item or toy in support of the food bank. 

The Bisons, in conjunction with the Strathmore Times, will offer everyone in attendance a chance to have their picture taken with Santa for just $10 during the first intermission. All proceeds from the photographs will go towards the Ron Ebbesson Scholarship Fund.