Looking for net gains

Times Editor  

 

Despite allowing 22 goals against in four games, UFA Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen is confident his goaltenders can turn things around and become proficient puck-shoppers.

In a weekend where the Bisons gained their first win of the season and split a pair of road games, goaltending was under the spotlight for the brass of the local triple-A midget team.

Even in their win over the Grande Prairie Storm on Oct. 6, the Bisons allowed four goals.

“At the end of the day, our goaltending needs to be a lot stronger,” said Friesen. “We let in a couple of goals that were the difference (in Sunday’s game). We just have to have those saves. 

“They need to be more aggressive – both of them are playing way too deep in their net, which is resulting in, one, they are getting beat by pucks they should be stopping and the second thing is, they are putting rebounds into pretty key areas where it is that are almost impossible for them to get back to and recover.

“They are both quality goaltenders – all the guys on the team know what these two (goalies) are capable of and they all believe in them.”

The Bisons recorded their first in of the season when they made the long trek to Grande Prairie. They used a four-goal third period to propel them to a 7-4 win.

The Bisons took a short-lived third period lead in the game against the Gregg Distributors, before falling 6-4.

“We did such a great job creating momentum for ourselves and put ourselves in a position to succeed,” said Friesen. “I’m really happy with the guy’s effort – we took a step in the right direction with how we want to play. It’s a game we deserved a lot better fate in.”

The Bisons will look to end their six-game road trip on a positive note when they tangle with the Calgary Buffaloes Oct. 10 (result not available as of press time) and the Medicine Hat Southeast Tigers on Oct. 14. 

The home opener is slated for Oct. 20 (5:30 p.m.) when they host the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.