Bisons dominant on road swing

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

Coming off a 2-0 home stand to break in the regular season, the CFR Chemical Bisons hit the road and returned home with four more points.
The Bisons (4-0) opened the Alberta Midget Hockey League road trip by trimming the CAC Gregg Distributors 5-2 on Oct. 8 at Bill Hunter Arena.
“We got out to a great 4-0 lead and then we kind of let our foot off the gas like we did the weekend before,” said Bisons assistant coach Paden Grant.
Peyton Krebs opened the scoring at 8:24 in the first on an unassisted effort. Krebs sits second in AMHL scoring after four games with two goals and seven points.
Joel Krahenbil and Cole Clayton added their first goals of the season before the period expired. Jackson Salt sniped his third from Krebs and Zach Huber four minutes into the second. Huber added a goal less than three minutes later from Tyson Scott.
“We really let off in the third period,” said Bisons head coach Sandy Henry. “We got into some penalty trouble, they scored a pair of goals and made things interesting late. We got a little complacent, and that is something we will have to tighten up.”
Ben Laidlaw started between the pipes and turned away 20 shots. The Bisons outshot the Distributors 42-20.
The Bisons returned home with four points after brushing back the Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings 5-1 at Leduc Recreation Centre Sobeys Arena on Oct. 9.
“Game two was a more complete game from us,” said Grant. “We prepared well for this road trip and I think the results showed.”
Once again, the Bisons jumped out front on first period goals from Tyler Petrie and Krebs. Brett Trentham smacked one in with six seconds remaining in the second from Blake Wells and Cayde Augustine. Third period goals came from Petrie and Huber, with assists to Salt, Krebs, Augustine and Scott.
Another late third-period goal, this one by Carson Lux with four minutes remaining continues to be a tiny thorn pricking at the coaching staff’s patience.
“It’s something we have talked about,” said Henry. “When you get up 5-0, we need to try and make lower risk plays, take our time, get the puck to where it needs to be and, in turn, it will make things easier on us.”
The Bisons have operated with a two-goalie system early, as Hunter Young turned away 24 out of 25 Kings shots. Working both netminders is a trend that the coaching staff plans to run with for the beginning of the season.
“We have full confidence in both goalies. They have both looked great to start the season and we will continue to use them both,” said Grant.
While the coaching staff sweats the three third period goals, they were able to enjoy the short time on the road with the team.
“It’s always nice to get out on the road with a new team and bond with the players,” said Henry. “We held meetings on the bus and enjoyed our dinner at the hotel and a small pasta spot we always try to stop at. It gives us and the players a chance to loosen up and have some laughs following the work we put in this weekend.”
The Bisons will have more time for movies on the bus when they hit the road Saturday, Oct. 15, to take on the Lloydminster Bandit Energy Bobcats (1-3) at Centennial Civic Centre Arena. From there, they will travel to Edmonton to take on the SSAC Boston Pizza Athletics (2-2) the following day.
The Bisons dropped both series with the Bobcats and Athletics 0-2 last season.