Rebels take opener from Bisons

Mario Prusina

Times Editor

 

According to their coach, mental mistakes cost the UFA Bisons Game 1 of their South Division Championship series versus the Red Deer Rebels March 8.

After storming through the first two rounds of the playoffs with only one loss, the Bisons were upended 4-1 in Red Deer to open the third round.

“We made some mental mistakes – the ones where guys were thinking too much,” said Bisons bench boss Parry Shockey. “When you think too much, you hurt the team. If you think about the mistakes you can make, that’s what you’re going to do. 

“It’s like hitting a golf ball – if you’re thinking about the water, get your fishing pole out.”

The Rebels took a 1-0 lead after a lacklustre first period of play, which saw both teams combine for a total of 10 shots on goal.

Despite taking the play to the Rebels in the second period, the Bisons found themselves down 3-1 after two periods of action. Kirby Ruzesky was the only Bison to find the net after he converted a feed from Darian Henry and Luke Philp on the powerplay. The Herd managed to clank three shots off the post in the period, before the Rebels rounded out the scoring with a third period goal.

“We need more out of people – we need guys to step up and play better,” said Shockey. “We need to bury chances. We had five or six quality chances and we didn’t score. They had five or six quality chances and they scored four.

“It wasn’t (so much that) they earned them as much as we gave it to them.”

For those who receive the Strathmore Times early, Game 2 is slated for tonight (March 10) 6:45 p.m. at the Strathmore Family Centre. Game 3 is March 11 (8 p.m.) in Red Deer and, if necessary, Game 4 is March 13 (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.

Follow the Bisons and other events live on our Twitter account (StrathmoreTimes).