Bisons measure their competition

Times Editor

 

After a 7-2-5 record to start the season, the UFA Bisons were looking at the NW Calgary Flames as a measuring stick.

The local triple-A midget team used the second-place Flames as a gauge to see how they stack up in the AMHL standings.

Unfortunately, after their first clash of the season, there are more questions than answers.

Decimated by some ‘poor’ officiating, the UFA Bisons were hurt by two powerplay goals in the first period en route to a 5-2 loss to the Flames on Nov. 24 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.

According to Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen, the men in stripes played a pivotal part in the contest. 

“This (game) is a little more disappointing because I thought the guys were ready – I’ve never seen our guys more prepared than they were today – they knew what was at stake. The first 30-40 seconds we came out hard,” said the coach. “I’m not going to make excuses, but I thought the officiating in the first period was very, very poor and way sub-par for what we expect in this league.

“This is the second time we’ve seen this guy and it’s the exact same thing.

That is something that has to get addressed and fixed, that’s for sure. 

“(However) we’re not going to use that as an excuse – we came back in the second and third – we did have a push back, (but) at the end of the day, it just wasn’t enough.

“I thought the officiating in the first period took away a lot of momentum and we just couldn’t build anything or sustain anything.”

The Bisons were nailed for 14 infractions, while the Flames were nabbed only eight times in the game. The Bisons allowed a goal 1:49 and 4:37 into the first period and – because of all the penalties – were outshot 23-4 after 20 minutes.

After falling 2-0, Rylan Muenchrath and Parker Evan-Campbell fed Arron Macklin for a powerplay goal to cut the deficit. Macklin scored his second goal of the game in the third, as the Bisons poured on the pressure, but had only one goal to show for it.

“I think that we’ve played well throughout the year, but games like this opens your eyes to the competition and how good you have to be every shift, every night,” said forward Markson Bechtold. “We’re a team with four good lines, we can all play, but we only had two lines going (tonight). It’s tough to be successful against good teams like the Flames (without everyone pulling their weight).

“It’s really frustrating because we know we have the team to win every night, we can be first place. If not all of the guys show up for a big game like this, it’s tough.”

The Bisons rebounded from the loss when they travelled to Medicine Hat on Nov. 27. After allowing a pair of goals late in the third period to fall 4-3, the Bisons evened the scored with 2:39 left in the game, before scoring the game winner with 1:43 left to secure the 5-4 win.

Captain Mitch McAllister recorded a goal and an assist, while Muenchrath, Kevin O’Rourke, Conner Bleackley and Owen Ferguson each scored once for the Bisons. With the win, the Bisons improved to 8-3-5 on the season.

The Bisons were back in action in Calgary Nov. 30 (result not available as of press time) when they tangled with the Calgary Buffaloes. The team returns to the confines of the Strathmore Family Centre Dec. 2 (8 p.m.) to host the Calgary Royals.