Bisons douse Flames in four

Times Editor

 

The UFA Bisons are off to the third round of the AMHL playoffs, after defeating the Calgary NW Flames in four games.

The Bisons opened the series with a 3-2 road win in Game 1 on Feb. 24, before hammering the Flames 5-1 at the Strathmore Family Centre on Feb. 26. The Flames defeated the Bisons 3-1 the following day in Calgary, before the herd closed out the series with a 7-1 hammering March 1 in Strathmore.

“Right now, they’re playing very good hockey,” said head coach Parry Shockey of his team. “They’re playing exciting hockey – they’re a fun team to watch. Not only do they play well offensively, they’ve really, really improved defensively. 

“We made a lot of investment time – some of our investments were loses during the season, but were getting dividends from them now.

“This is a pretty mature hockey team right now. It’s been a process, there is no question, but you know – they boys are proud of themselves and as a coaching staff and organization, we’re proud of them.”

As one of the highest scoring teams during the regular season, the Bisons maintained their offensive barrage versus the Flames – scoring 16 goals.

The biggest difference between the regular season and now is their defensive game, which has allowed only seven goals in four contests.

What is the most impressive about those numbers is Bisons have done it while cycling four lines.

“We don’t match lines, we never matched lines (this year), we just roll four lines” said Shockey. “We’ve played a little cat and mouse and see how bad they want to chase us where we move guys around.

“Our checking line will play against their goal scoring line. Our goal scoring line will go head-to-head goal scoring line. It doesn’t matter – any team we play against.

“Our four lines can play in any situation.”

The Bisons will use that same philosophy in the third round, which is set to begin early next week against either the Red Deer Optimist Rebels or the Calgary Royals.

“It doesn’t matter who we play, we’re going to be playing a good hockey club,” said Shockey. “We have to push, we have to raise the bar – I believe we’ve done that (so far).

“I’ll be honest with you, this might be the most balanced hockey club I’ve ever coached. I’ve seen teams that have a bit of separation (between players), but we don’t have very much separation here. Guys have accepted their roles and performed their roles very good.”

For an up-to-date schedule of the next round, visit www.amhl.ab.ca or www.bisonshockey.com. 

Follow the Bisons on our Twitter (StrathmoreTimes) for live game updates!