Bisons dethrone Royals, off to Chrysler Division final

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The UFA Bisons thought they would have had a much stiffer test from the Calgary Royals, but instead they played a fundamentally sound series en route to sweeping it 3-0.
In the 5-4 Game 1 win on Feb. 26, assistant coach Sandy Henry thought it was a good indication of how well the boys really played.
“I think the key for us is that we’ve played closer to 60 minutes than maybe we did in the first series against the Flames,” said Henry. “When we started out at the Stu on Thursday, we got out to a real good start, we were physical. We put a lot of pressure on their guys and turned some pucks over and finished when we needed to.”
Kyle Gordon, Jordan McConnell, Barrett Sheen, Will Conley and Quaid McBean scored in the victory
The Royals came out flat in Game 2 on Feb. 28 and the Herd was able to take advantage of it as they dominated from start to finish in a 5-0 victory.
“(In Game 2) we got out to a great start, we got pucks pushed deep (and) put some pressure on their defense,” said Henry. “We started being physical with them and got that goal and just started to role.
“We were able to play four lines and they were exceptional. They did the things we asked, we had a defensive presence getting back.”
Conley, Zach Vinnell, Austin Cameron, Cole Noble and Gary Haden scored in the win.
Game 3 saw the Bisons thump the Royals 9-2 in the series clinching game and head coach Dan MacDonald gave credit to his goalie for weathering the storm early on.
“Well it sure went our way, everything we shot went in,” said MacDonald. “Kurtis (Chapman) was very good in the first period, I thought they were all over us – you wouldn’t know it by the 4-0 score – and their shots were quality shots.
“We were really getting to be resilient – they got a couple of goals early in the second period and maybe they could have got some momentum, but we just refused to allow it.”
He did admit that it was a slow start for the team and the players got ahead of themselves.
“We came out flat in the second and I think we thought we had it won and they got momentum and it was 4-2 after two and we got that fifth goal and that really set them back,” said MacDonald.
Haden led the way with a hat trick, while captain Shane Fraser had two. McConnell, Noble, Sheen and Markus Lavallee all added singles in the win.
The Bisons will face either the Calgary Buffaloes or Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Chrysler Division Final.
MacDonald fully expects to play the Buffaloes and knows it will be an uphill battle with the best team in the league.
“They’re small and fast, they’ve got good scoring with that Phillips kid,” said MacDonald. “We’re going to have to be very good in our defensive zone and I still don’t think we’re as good as we want to be.”
Game 1 of the divisional final will start Sunday, March. 8.
Stayed tuned to www.amhl.ab.ca for details.