Bisons blister Northstars on billet night

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

Blake Wells injected instant offence when he made his long-awaited return to the Foothills CFR Chemicals Bisons lineup.
Wells netted the winner as the Bisons smacked the Calgary Northstars 6-1 during billet appreciation night at the Strathmore Family Centre on Jan. 22.
“Today we won for more than just ourselves, we won for our billet families as a way to say thank you for everything they have done for us this year,” said Wells.
The Bisons (21-4-3) avenged their 5-4 loss to the Northstars (12-13-2) on Dec. 21 in Calgary. Following the dusting, the players presented roses to their family members in attendance and to their billet family members.
For Wells, it was his first game in nearly a month. He has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since the second game of the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament. Before he got hurt, he was tied for the team lead in goals and points.
“He’s a big impact guy for us. He’s fast and strong, and our lineup changes with him in it,” said Bisons head coach Sandy Henry. “We are glad to have him back.”
Tyson Teretta did a great job sliding over to the boards to keep the puck in the offensive zone. He wired a pass over to d-man Tyler Strath, who found captain Brett Trentham in the slot. Three Northstars and the goalie suctioned out to Trentham, who looked like he was going to shoot, but he made the extra pass, spotting Wells at the side of the net for the tap-in with 8:10 remaining in the first.
“It feels great to be back with the boys. I’ve been thinking about my first game back for the past month,” said Wells.
The Bisons also saw the return of centre Boaz Bassen, but also learned earlier in the week that leading scorer and Victoria Cougars prospect Tarun Fizer will be out for the considerable future with an upper-body injury.
“Any time you take the leading scorer out of a lineup, it changes it. But I am confident that we still have enough goals in this lineup to get the job done,” said Henry.
Winger Zach Huber netted a pair of goals during the first and second period. Having a great nose for the net, he scored his first on the power play on a nifty no-look pass from Jackson Salt and the second came from a great forecheck by Brandon Machado. Huber now leads the Alberta Midget Hockey League with seven power play tallies.
“I just keep reminding myself that if you go to the net, you’re going to get rewarded for it,” said Huber. “Tonight, I had a couple bounces go my way and I was able to take advantage of that.”
Machado was filling in for Peyton Krebs on the Herd’s top line, while Krebs was away playing three games with the Kootenay Ice. Krebs scored his first WHL goal, recorded three assists and was named the number one star during a 6-3 win over the Prince Albert Raiders.
Machado added his 12th goal and Tyson Scott wired home his sixth later in the second. Kaden Hanas found the back of the onion bag from the top of the slot on the power play in the third.
The Bisons took 28 penalty minutes and finished the game without allowing a power play goal, thanks to the stellar play of the league’s leader in save percentage, Hunter Young (.940). He also stopped Logan Heimann on a penalty shot with 3:15 remaining in the third.
“Hunter was real good again tonight. He had the frame of mind that they were going to have to make one hell of a shot to get it past him,” said Henry.
“Our goaltenders have been brick walls this year. It doesn’t matter if it is Ben [Laidlaw] or Hunter in net, they make big saves when we need them to and keep the momentum going,” said Huber.
The Bisons hit the road this weekend and travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes (7-17-3) at the Nicholas Sheran Ice Centre. The Bisons will also battle the Calgary Buffaloes (20-3-4) for first place in the Chrysler division Feb. 1 at Cardel Rec South Arena.