Looking for the breaks
Mario Prusina
Times Editor
According to UFA Bisons head coach Parry Shockey, he’s seen his fair share of bad breaks go against his hockey club.
Case in point; this past weekend, the local triple-A midget team fired over 50 shots versus the Fort Saskatchewn Boston Pizza Rangers, but only managed a 5-5 draw on Jan. 29.
It was the only blemish on an otherwise solid weekend for the Bisons, who defeated the Leduc Oil Kings 5-3 the following day, earning three out of a possible four points.
“We really haven’t had a ton of luck with our year,” said the coach. “I believe that’s because we’re banking it for when we need it. We’re committed to playing a certain way and I think when the guys play that way, when we get in tight games, then we’re going to get the bounces we need, the breaks we need.
“The game is fair – for every time we missed a break, you get to bank that one.”
The line of Torrin White, Sam Johnson and Luke Philp combined for 12 points in the tie versus the Rangers. White and Johnson each recorded two goals and two assists, while Philp recorded a goal and three helpers. Carson McCormick and Samuel McKechnie each registered an assist.
“I thought we outplayed them and I thought we deserved a better fate than that,” said Shockey. “Their goaltender was hot … I like our hockey team. We’re exciting to watch and we get some excellent scoring opportunities.”
On Sunday night, Connor Chartier scored once and added an assist for the Herd, who got solo tallies from Sam Johnson, Sean Davies, Tyson Valette and Samuel McKechnie. Luke Philp and Kirby Ruzesky each added a pair of helpers in the win.
“Our d-men were moving the puck really well and our forwards were generating a lot of speed through the neutral zone – and it created a lot of opportunities for us to put the puck in the net,” said Johnson. “You can’t take any team for granted. We just have to play our game and stick to the plan.”
According to Shockey, the Bisons were good for most of the game.
“I thought we were good – we played a solid game for probably 55 minutes,” said Shockey. “All of the sudden, we sat back and tried to protect (the lead) and that’s not our game. We keep pressing and pushing and pushing.
“I don’t think you’ve ever seen us trap – guys that want to protect leads basically trap and we never trap.
“We got a little bit lazy on our forecheck and allowed them to create some opportunities, but as a whole, I thought it was a good game.
“We got really good efforts out of our secondary scoring.”
The Bisons improved to 17-8-5 on the season, including a 4-1-1 mark in January, which was enough to clinch a playoff berth.
The team is just four points out of second place and a first-round playoff bye.
“Ultimately, would it be nice to get the bye? Well, it would be because we have those guys (Luke Philp and Torrin White) that won’t be here (because of the Canada Winter Games),” said Shockey. “At the end of the day, I would much rather not have a bye … if you already have a series under your belt, that gives you an advantage.”
The Bisons will now close out the regular season with four consecutive road games. After playing the Calgary Buffaloes Feb. 3 (result not available as of press time), the team is slated to play in Grande Prairie and Leduc Feb. 5-6.