Bisons split pair of road games

Times Contributor

 

The UFA Bisons inched two points closer to clinching a playoff spot with their 4-0 win over the NW Calgary Flames on January 19. The Bisons played a great game against the Calgary Royals on January 21, but fell to a 5-3 loss.

Bisons Coach Parry Shockey was happy with his team’s performance in both games, stating they “played very well against the Flames,” adding, “I thought we were really disciplined there, and moved the puck well. I thought we moved the puck well (Friday) night too, just sometimes you just don’t get the bounces.” 

Joshua Betinol scored twice for the Bisons against the Flames, the lone goal in both the first and second periods. Mason Burr and Matthew Flette each scored a powerplay goal to lock the win. The Bisons played a disciplined game and were penalized six times, while the Flames gave them 32 minutes of powerplay time. The Bisons capitalized on 4 of the 13 penalties.

On Friday, the Bisons came out with the same effort against the Calgary Royals, but a few posts were the difference in this eventful game. The fans were in for a treat, with a fast-paced game that saw both teams carry a lead during the game. 

“I thought it was a really good game,” said coach Shockey, “I think it was an exciting game for fans to watch. I think it came down to just a matter of a few mistakes, if we capitalized on a few more chances.

“I think we hit five posts, a couple of those go in it changes the outcome of the game.”  

Torrin White and Joshua Betinol scored in the first period to give the Bisons a 2-1 lead heading into the second period. The Royals battled back to take a 3-2 lead, and Luke Philp helped the Bisons tie it up for the third period. The Royals scored the winning goal with 3:29 left in the third and scored an empty netter to give them the 5-3 win. 

Coach Shockey was happy with the performance of his team.

 “I think we had some chances to bury pucks and somehow they managed to keep them out. Hopefully we can bang those ones for the playoffs,” said the coach. The Bisons are in a playoff position and a mere five points away from second place in their division.

Shockey knows the game plan for the upcoming matches will be the “same as always – keep working on things to try to make our team better. 

“I thought we played for 60 minutes. I didn’t think we took a period off, so those are all positives we see in our hockey club.”

The Bisons are gearing up for a pair of home games this weekend, Jan. 29 (5:30 p.m) against the Boston Pizza Rangers and Jan. 30 (2 p.m.) versus the Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings.