Bisons max out at Mac’s

Times Reporter   

 

Having tied their first two games, and lost their third game of the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary, the UFA Bisons did not have a chance to qualify for the playoffs when they stepped onto the ice for their final game of the tournament on Dec. 30 against the Vancouver NE Chiefs at the Max Bell Centre.

“We knew we were out so it doesn’t have the same emotional pull. It just becomes an exhibition game that you do your best in,” Bisons coach Dan MacDonald said.

The Bisons took a 3-0 lead half way through the second period, with goals from Chad Harrison, Connor Boyd, and Clay Murray. Then, within three minutes later, the Chiefs made it 3-2, with one of their goals coming on the powerplay.

“We’re just trying to get as many players out there,” MacDonald said. “Of course we don’t want to give up a lead. But when you’re out, you’re out, you know? It’s hard to explain that feeling. It just wasn’t the same thing.”

Matthew Forchuk scored near the end of the second to make it 4-2; Vancouver striked halfway through the third to come within one, but could not manage to tie, putting the final at 4-3. The Bisons managed 42 shots on net, while Bisons goalie Garrett Mason stopped 22 of 25 shots. 

“The tournament’s very difficult to play in when you don’t practice beforehand,” MacDonald said. “We played two teams that are in our division. We would like to play teams that we don’t know; I think it loses its flair when you’re playing against your own league. The tournament is international, we want to play international teams from different areas and see how we compare.”

Throughout the tournament, the Bisons had 15 goals for and against, and also had the most penalty minutes in their pool with 87.

“We come fast, and when we come fast, it seems like they call us quickly on everything we do. The referees are assuming because of the speed that we play at, and because we come hard on the puck, but really we’re not doing all the things they say we’re doing, in my opinion,” MacDonald said. “We do have to be careful with the amount of penalties we take, and we do seem to take quite a few.”

The Bisons finished a disappointing 1-1-2 in the Mac’s Tournament, having reached the final two of the last five years.

On Jan. 1, Finland’s U-17 squad defeated Switzerland U-17 by a score of 7-1. On the girls side, the Westman Wildcats edged out the Fraser Valley Phantom 2-1.