Bisons progress with each game
Mario Prusina
Times Editor
After earning four out of a possible six points to start the season, UFA Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen likes the way his team has progressed since Game 1.
After posting a 2-2 draw to open the season versus Lethbridge, the Bisons hit the road this past weekend, defeating the Lloydminster Bobcats 4-3 on Oct. 8, before earning another 2-2 draw versus the J Ennis Kings the following day.
Despite not winning all the games, Friesen likes what he sees from his triple-A midget squad.
“Absolutely” there has been a progression in their game said Friesen. “Our attention to detail is a lot better. We’re staying within the system – guys are starting to figure out pretty quick that when they do that, we’re successful and it works.
“Now it’s just an execution piece – our timing is just a little bit off when our passes are half a second behind or a half second early. That has resulted in scoring opportunities going by the wayside.
“It’s a work in progress, but so far, I think we’ve taken steps in the right direction each time out.”
On Saturday night, the Bisons used four powerplay goals en route to the win. Tyler Haiste scored once and added a pair of assists to lead the way for the Bisons, while Tyler Wong, Austin Masse and Alex Bechtold also tallied for the Herd.
Owen Ferguson had two assists and goaltender Grayson Sharpe earned his first AMHL victory.
“We were effective when we got pucks deep and punished their d-men,” said Friesen of the win. “In the second period we had a bit of a collapse – they started hitting us pretty high and pretty late and they kind of got us off of our game there a little bit.
“In the third period, we stuck with it and really started attacking them again. We’ve got a lot more skill and a lot more speed up front.”
Despite missing a handful of opportunities, the Bisons still took a point the following day against the Kings.
“We were shorthanded for 12 to 14 minutes alone in the first period,” described Friesen. “We came out of that (only) down 1-0. I thought we did a great job on the penalty kill. In the second period, we stayed five-on-five and we really started taking over the game. We really exposed them down low – they couldn’t handle our forecheck or our speed.
“We were very good throughout the game, we just had one let down at the end.”
The Bisons will now travel to Lethbridge on Oct. 15, before returning home to face the Grand Praire Storm on Oct. 16 (2 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.