Bisons advance to second round

Times Editor

 

After defeating Calgary’s northeast triple-A midget team, the UFA Bisons have their sights set on the city’s northwest squad.

The Bisons, who are now gearing up for a best-of-five second round series with the Calgary Flames, swept the Calgary Northstars 2-0 in the opening round of the playoffs.

Despite starting the series on the road after the ice machine malfunction at the Strathmore Family Centre, the Bisons snuck out a 2-1 overtime win at the Max Bell Centre on Feb. 21, before closing out the series with a 6-3 ‘home’ win in Cochrane the following day.

“The guys pushed themselves,” said Bisons head coach Parry Shockey after clinching the series. “We had some adversity to fight through with all the distractions going on, but that’s what hockey teams are built of. I think it’s a huge growth for us maturity wise – we found a way to win.”

Both teams scored twice in the first period, before the Bisons had a three-goal outburst in the second period, taking a 5-3 lead after two periods of play.

UFA clinched the game with an empty net goal, advancing to the second round.

“We have to give them a lot of credit – they never quit until the last whistle,” said Shockey. “We bent, but we didn’t break and we got great performances from our secondary scoring.”

The first game of the series was much different, as both teams battled back and forth in a defensive battle.

Kirby Ruzesky scored midway through the second period to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead. Calgary tied the game early in the third period, setting the stage for a nerve-wracking overtime.

The Northstars managed to put the puck behind Bisons goaltender Devon Fordyce, who made 36 saves on the night, but the goal was called off after an apparent high-stick. Minutes later, Connor Chartier capitalized on a rebound to take Game 1.

“It’s a little bit of a blur,” confessed Chartier after scoring the game winner. “I pretty much just shot it – I don’t even recall how it went in. It doesn’t matter as long as it goes in.”

Now the focus for the Bisons is the second round series versus the Calgary Flames, which is slated to begin Feb. 24 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.

“We’re looking forward to playing the Flames,” said Shockey. “They are a good hockey club and we’ve had some good games against them.

“We need to slow them down and take our game to them. We’re probably a little more physical than they are, so we have to play that game. It puts a little more wear-n-tear on your people, but our depth is the key right now.”

The schedule for the series has not been published as of press time. Check out www.amhl.ab.ca for the full details.

WAA update

In the final weekend of the season, the Wheatland Braves AA peewee team tied the Cranbrook Ice and the Taber Golden Suns to clinch a berth in the SCAHL post season.

The Braves earned a 6-6 draw versus the Ice on Feb. 20, before tying the Suns 5-5 on Feb. 21, giving them the same points as the Foothills Bisons. 

However, because of their mastery of the Bisons, going 3-0-1 during their head-to-head battle, the Braves claimed the tiebreaker and the final playoff spot.

The sixth-ranked Braves will travel to Red Deer to take on the Parkland on Feb. 25, before hosting Game 2 in Hussar (12 p.m.) the following day. Game 3, if necessary, will be held in Red Deer on Feb. 27 (11:30 a.m.)

Meanwhile, the Wheatland Warriors bantam team will host the Red Deer Steel Kings in their first-round playoff series this weekend.

After earning the third-seed with a 17-9-6 record, the Warriors will host the Kings in Game 1 on Feb. 25 (7:30 p.m.) in Hussar, before Game 2 takes place in Red Deer the following day at 12:30 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, is back in Hussar on Feb. 27 starting at 12:30 p.m.

The Wheatland Chiefs will look to clinch first-place in the SCAHL South Division when they close out their regular season this weekend. The Chiefs will take on Bow Valley Feb. 24 (7:30 p.m.) in Cochrane, before hosting them the following day in Standard at 8:30 p.m. Wheatland will close out the regular season when they travel to Airdrie on Feb. 26 (8:15 p.m.).