Bisons ready for the Mac’s
Mario Prusina
Times Editor
After earning a berth in the final of the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament last year, the UFA Bisons can hardly wait for the puck to drop this Boxing Day.
The local triple-A midget team is one of the five host teams and will welcome the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, the Lethbridge Pronghorns, the Okanagan Rockets and the Saskatoon Contacts in Pool Five.
“I think we’re looking forward to it, it’s a great tournament and a great opportunity to play against the top teams in Western Canada and see how you measure up,” said Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen. “Our end result goal is to compete for a National Championship and a lot of the teams we’re going to see here are in the way of achieving that. It’s a perfect opportunity mid-way through the season to see where we’re at and what we need to work on.”
According to Friesen, he sees a lot of parallels between last year’s squad, which made it to the finals, and this season’s squad.
Both teams were in the middle of the pack in the Alberta Midget Hockey League standings heading into the highly-anticipated tournament.
“I think we need to prepare the exact same way,” said Friesen. “Get the proper nutrition, rest, hydration and all those things – it’s critical for the guys.
“It’s a tournament that momentum and confidence can carry all the way through, like it did for us last year. If you get off to a quick start and you’re happy with the way you’re playing, you can build off of that each and every day you come to the rink and you’re probably going to set yourself up for a special opportunity.”
The Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament held their annual press conference Dec. 18 at the Westin Hotel in Calgary where the schedule was released.
The Bisons will open the tournament on Boxing Day when they take on the Saskatoon Contacts (3:30 p.m.) at the Father David Bauer Arena.
The team will then host their feature game on Dec. 27 (2:30 p.m.) at the Max Bell Centre when they host the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.
From there, the Bisons will tangle with the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Dec. 29 (5:15 p.m.) at the Max Bell Centre, before closing the round-robin with a game against the Okanagan Rockets on Dec. 30 (11:45 a.m.) at the Father David Bauer.
“We just have to play our game, play a full 60 minutes and play consistently,” said Bisons assistant captain Markson Bechtold. “We’ve shown flashes that when we play our game, we can beat any team in this league.
“If you lose the first game or two, you (could) be done for the rest of the tournament. (The goal is to) get that first game or two under your belt, get a few wins, get your feet under you and carry that momentum the rest of the tournament.”