Bisons remain a threat

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

As a result of an 8-0 start, the CFR Chemicals Bisons have developed a bit of a target on their back.
“Teams are giving us their best effort now,” said Bisons head coach Sandy Henry. “They see the standings and they are trying to dethrone us. They are coming at us with great efforts each night and we need to work on matching that.”
The Bisons travelled to Sherwood Park for the Alberta Minor Hockey League showcase extravaganza. Teams from around the league played at Sherwood Park Arena as it provided a chance for scouts from Junior A, the Western Hockey League and United States colleges to take a look at the talent.
For their efforts, the Bisons returned home with three points. They edged the Knights of Columbus Pats 4-3 Nov. 5, and skated to a 2-2 tie after the time change Nov. 6 with the Fort Saskatchewan Boston Pizza Rangers.
It was the Bisons (10-0-2) first glance at the two Dodge division teams.
“We didn’t really have any video to go off of,” said Henry. “For the most part, we just try and stick to our game plan when we play new teams and try to force them to adjust to what we are doing.”
The extra hour of sleep didn’t seem to boost the Bisons. They jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first on goals from Lethbridge Hurricanes ninth-round pick Jackson Salt and captain Brett Trentham.
The Rangers (2-8-2) seized momentum in the second period when the Bisons handcuffed themselves with six penalties.
“They definitely took advantage with all the time on the power play. We weren’t terrible, but I just feel like we let an opportunity slip away,” said Henry.
Goaltender Hunter Young sustained a concussion earlier last week and was a scratch. Henry stated he is still going through the concussion protocol and there is no timetable for his return. While he still travelled with the team, the Bisons called up Ty Tarvyd from the Wheatland midget AA Chiefs to back up Ben Laidlaw. Laidlaw recorded 54 saves on 60 shots over the course of the two games.
Henry and his coaching staff weren’t surprised by the strong effort put forth by the Pats (4-7-1).
“We talked before the game and we knew they were a big skilled team on paper with a few identifiable names,” said Henry. “They have probably under-achieved this season, but they played with a great structure and made things difficult for us.”
Most notably, Kirby Dach was selected second overall by the Saskatoon Blades during the 2016 WHL bantam draft.
Tarun Fizer netted his sixth and the winner from Brandon Machado and Trentham with 9:22 remaining in the third.
“We didn’t have the greatest start, we had a poor warm up and they came out hard on us,” said Henry. “I thought we controlled the third and we had a couple great scoring chances to really put them away late but we couldn’t capitalize.”
Other Bisons goals came from Landon Melzer, Payton Krebs and Machado with assists to Liam Belcourt, Zach Huber, Fizer (2) and Salt.
The Bisons drop the puck at the Strathmore Family Centre at 8 p.m. on Remembrance Day when the Grande Peace Ernie’s Sports Storm (4-6-2) come to town. The following night (Nov. 12), the Bisons host the Lloydminster Bandit Energy Bobcats (3-8-1) for an AMHL league championship rematch. Game time is set for 5:15 p.m.
The Bisons dusted the Bobcats 6-2 earlier this season in Lloydminster.
With the end presumably closer than the beginning, Schiffner has been asked about how long he plans to keep competing.
“I don’t think about it too much. I realize that I’m on borrowed time. But for me, it comes down to three things: if I’m having fun competing and not embarrassing myself, if I’m still healthy enough to compete and if I can still make money in it, then I’ll keep competing,” said Schiffner. “Who knows, I might come back from Edmonton and think it’s time to quit, or I might come back from an event in two years and think it’s time then.”
“But for now, I’m just gonna keep putting my hand in the rope and see what happens.”