Bisons up and down season

Times Editor  

 

After a horrible start to the season, going 3-7 in October, the UFA Bisons had an outstanding November, compiling a 6-1 record.

It seemed like the team turned a corner and were climbing the standings in the AMHL South Division.

Unfortunately, a possible trend has formed, as the local triple-A midget team went 2-5-2 in regular season play during the month of December.

“I think that means we’re on track to have a good January and a good March, that’s right where we want to be, right?” asked Bisons head coach Jeremy Friesen after the team’s last regular season game of 2012. “That’s an interesting (trend), but we’ve been through a lot, there is no question about that. In October, we went through some challenges with our goaltending and then Richard (Palmer) came in and solidified that for us in November. Then we ran into a similar issue with another goalie, so it’s (been) peaks and valleys.

“We just need to stay healthy, get everyone back in and buy into the program. We need to finalize our roster and have fun again.”

The Bisons entered the final weekend of action on a three game losing streak, before earning a 3-0 win on Dec. 19 in Calgary against the Northstars. 

Unfortunately, the Bisons closed out 2012 with a pair of home losses, falling 3-2 against Sherwood Park on Dec. 21, before suffering a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Buffaloes the following day. 

After playing most of their games on the road to start the season, the Bisons played six home games at the Strathmore Family Centre in the month of December. However, after winning the first one early in the month, the team has lost their last five home games.

“I think we’ll have to play on the small ice over there,” said Friesen, nodding to the direction of the blue arena. “It should be a place where we are hard to play against and we took our foot off of that. 

“If you get a lead at home, you’re going to be okay, but we always seem to get down and try and play catch up. It’s getting tiresome and it’s tough to do. We need to find a way to get those early leads. When we were successful, that’s what we (were doing) – scoring on the first shift or the first five minutes.

“When we get back after the Mac’s, we just need to get back to basics and focus on the little details … simple things like d-zone coverage, your breakout, transitions – things like that.”

After the Christmas break and an appearance at the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament, the Bisons will get back to league action Jan. 12-13 when they head on the road to face Lethbridge and the SSAC Athletics.

The Herd will return home Jan. 19 (5:15 p.m.) when they host Lethbridge and Jan. 20 (2 p.m.) against the Calgary Flames.