Bisons ousted by Chiefs

Times Reporter 

 

Heading into their best-of-five series with the Red Deer Chiefs, UFA Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen said his team would have to play perfect to win the series. 

Turns out they only managed to play perfect for one contest, as the Bisons were handily defeated three games to one.

“There is no question (they are the best team in the league),” said Friesen after the series. “Their depth, the way they move the puck, the way they transition, their goaltending … they’re strong in every single position. 

“We know exactly what they do – they’re consistent, they’re deep and they wait for you to break down, make mistakes and then they make you pay.

“We tried to beat them at their own game and we got them once. That’s something we can be proud of … if you look back at the last two to three years, I don’t think Red Deer lost in this round in the playoffs, so I think we gave them everything they could handle. 

“I think they’re going to be a team to watch to come out of this province again.”

After winning their first game of the series on home ice, the Bisons were hoping to extend the series with a win in Game 4 on March 6 at the Strathmore Family Centre.

However, Red Deer took a 3-0 lead on the strength of two power play goals before the Bisons got on the board late in the second period. The teams alternated goals in the third period, as the Chiefs closed out the series with a 5-3 win.

Despite the loss, Friesen spoke highly of his team.

“They’re a competitive group, I’m really proud of the guys,” said the coach. “We didn’t quit and we responded every time they capitalized on the power play. We didn’t give up until the very end.

“It’s natural to see some frustration (at the end of the game), but that’s because they’re passionate and they care.”

According to Friesen, the turning point in Game 4 was evident.

“They had three power play goals against us and we had one there in the second period,” he said. “Every time it seemed like we would get some momentum and start creating pressure in their end and get some scoring chances … we would go back into the penalty box. Discipline was huge throughout this series – I think they scored eight or nine power play goals against us. That was the key, their power play was better than ours.”

In a season full of adversity, the Bisons finished the regular season with a 16-16-2 record, before sweeping the Calgary NW Flames in the first round, two games to none. 

Despite losing in the second round to the defending national champions and the best team in the league, the Bisons had a lot of bright spots this year.

“If you look at both of our winning streaks, with the six-game streak early and the four-game streak later on, we beat some really good teams and we took a lot of pride in that,” said Friesen. Some of the other highlights for the Bisons was the first ever Showcase Weekend in November, the annual Christmas Shopping with the Bisons, and of course, participating in the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament.

However, none of that would have been possible without the volunteers who make the Bisons one of the best-run midget hockey teams in the country.

“The volunteers are huge,” said Friesen. “I’ve never played in or been involved in an association that is ran this professionally. Hats off to the board all the way down … without Wayne (Hansen, General Manager) and the work he does behind the scenes and the volunteers and the countless hours they put in, (the program wouldn’t succeed). They make sure that we can just show up and play hockey and really grow and develop these players.”