Bisons focus on defense

Times Reporter   

 

With 53 goals scored for this season, and 51 scored against, UFA Bisons’ coach Dan MacDonald wanted his team to focus more on team play in their own end. The team obeyed, and had a low scoring weekend: a 1-0 home win over the Calgary Royals on Nov. 16, and a 2-2 tie with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Nov. 17.

“We’re trying to work on defense,” MacDonald said. “We’ve been giving up too many goals. Our emphasis on defense has been taking away from the offense.”

Bisons’ goalies Carter Seminuk and Garrett Mason split the games on the weekend, with Seminuk earning the shutout at home. 

“Maybe I’m cheating a little bit on how well we play defensively, our goaltending was very good on the weekend,” MacDonald said. “They’re both playing well so they each get their game.”

Mason faced 26 shots, while the Bisons put 42 on the Hurricanes’ net. With three minutes remaining in the 1-1 game, the Bisons took the lead, only to have it tied up again 10 seconds later by Lethbridge.

“We should’ve had more goals anyway, we just didn’t finish,” MacDonald said. “It wasn’t great. I think we thought we had it won – and that’s just another learning experience for us. We let up right after we scored, and you can’t do that. We paid the price. I think we should have won that game.”

Offensive defenseman Tristan Thompson returned from injury this weekend, but earned no points; Mason McCarty scored both goals in the tie, and is second in league scoring with 22 points. MacDonald is pleased with McCarty’s play, but wants everyone to play as a unit.

“We want to be better as a group, with more team play,” he said. “So that’s what we’re working on now, and it’s starting with our defensive zone; we have to forecheck differently, we have to kill penalties, and work on the powerplay.”

The Bisons are top of their division with a 10-6-1 record.

“We always thought we had a good team. We think now, we should get better,” MacDonald said. “We lost some games where we probably could have won those games I think, if we were where we’re going to be in say a month from now. We’ll see how it works out. We’re quite happy we are where we are. We wanted to be fighting for first or second place.”