McCarty leads, Thompson out

Posted on: Staff Writer

Aryssah Stankevitsch     
Times Reporter   
 
After losing two more defensemen in a 6-1 away loss against the Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings on Nov. 2, the UFA Bisons were led by Mason McCarty to victory over the South Side Athletic Club (SSAC) in Edmonton, 4-2 the following day.
The Bisons had a 2-0 lead against the SSAC Boston Pizza Athletics, until they came within one in the third. McCarty scored for the Bisons to make it 3-1, before the Athletics scored again. McCarty scored the empty netter to put the nail in the coffin; he now has 16 points in 13 games, including five powerplay goals.
“I thought we did well,” Bisons’ Coach Dan MacDonald said. “We were down two players to start, and then we had more defensemen go down, so to be able to win that game on Sunday was a big thing because our players really had to work hard together to get the win.”
Philip Anderson has been out for the past few weeks after suffering a concussion, but fellow defensemen Austin Cameron and Sebastian Kilcommons had minor injuries in the Leduc loss. All three are expected back this week.
Tristan Thompson, the highest scoring defensemen in the league with 14 points, hurt his shoulder in the Bisons’ win against SSAC and likely won’t be back very soon.
“He’s in a sling right now, it’s not separated, but it’s swelling up,” MacDonald said. “They’re good players, all of them. When they go down like that, you miss them for sure.”
Shane Fraser, a typical forward, has been assisting on the blue line for the past three weeks with the roster holes. He can soon move back to his natural position.
“We should be alright, we’re getting three of those four guys back,” MacDonald said.
Another area of concern for the Bisons this past weekend was their goaltending. Garrett Mason made 11 saves on 14 shots before being pulled in the first period against Leduc, replaced by Carter Seminuk. Mason fought back in the next day victory, with 22 saves. The Bisons are second in the Chrysler Division with an 8-5 record, and have the most goals in their side of the league with 43; however, they also have one of the worst goals against records with 41. 
The UFA Bisons travel on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 to play in Lloydminster and St. Albert.