Bisons eye bigger, stronger team

Times Reporter  

 

The UFA Bisons hockey club was a smaller but skilled team last year and has upgraded this year by bringing in size and speed. 

Coach Dan MacDonald wanted to have a combination of both to be more physical with the opposition this season.

“We were a small team physically last year and that is one thing we looked for is guys who can still skate fast but have a larger body. So that’s one area that we think that we’re bigger at, especially our defense,” said MacDonald. “The players that have tried out are bigger than the players we had last year so we’re going to be a little bigger team.”

MacDonald wanted more size because the skill was there but it was difficult to have more net presence. The bigger bodies on this year’s team will give them a more of an advantage in the crease area.

MacDonald and his assistants have been impressed so far by what they have seen and are looking forward to how the team will match up in exhibition play this coming weekend.

“We’re down to 30 players, we started with 100. We’ll take these guys into the five exhibition games this weekend,” said MacDonald. “Then after that we’ll get it down again to about 22 or maybe 24. It’ll depend how even the players are.”

Since training camp started last week, the players have not made the decisions for MacDonald and his staff easy ones.

“It’s been tough since the beginning because the players are trying very hard. Hopefully we’re taking enough time to pick the right guys who want to be good throughout the year not just for a short time,” said MacDonald.

The Bisons goal this year is to get past that second round where they were eliminated in the recent post-season. 

“We certainly want to get by the second round. If you’re a competitive person the first thing you say is ‘okay we’re going to beat that,’ ” said MacDonald.

The players that have been in camp have responded really well to what the coaches have asked of them as a lot of them have displayed a strong work ethic.

“They’re a keen bunch of guys and showing that on the ice and they’re showing it off the ice,” said MacDonald.

“The guys we have contact with, we know that they’re going to be solid players because they have a good strong work ethic.”

In the Black and White game on Sept. 7, the contest was an exciting affair and Team Black was able to come out with a 3-1 win. 

The Bisons are in exhibition action this weekend starting Sept. 11 vs. Red Deer, Sept. 12 vs. the Calgary Northstars and Sept. 13 vs. the Calgary Buffaloes with all games being played at the Strathmore Family Centre. The first home regular season game is on Sept. 26 vs. the Calgary Northstars at 8 p.m.