By Remy Greer
Staff Reporter
After coming so close to gold medal glory a year ago a revamped UFA Bisons team is looking to reach their goal this year at the premier Midget tournament in the country.
The Bisons advanced to the Mac’s Midget tournament final last year before being dispatched 5-0 by the powerful Russian team Severstal/Locomotiv in the gold medal game.
It’s largely a new team this season, as the Midget AAA Bisons return just three players in Austin Masse, High River’s Brody Valette and Markson Bechtold from last year’s roster.
Head coach Jeremy Friesen said this year’s edition of the Bisons boasts more speed and team depth than its predecessors.
“We have four lines that can contribute offensively, four lines that can pressure teams,” Friesen said. “We’re a little smaller, but we have a lot more speed up-front. On the back-end we have a lot more size and are more mobile with a lot more guys who like to play on the offensive side.”
Friesen said the Bisons’ blueline corps has already contributed more goals than last year’s unit posted all season.
“We look for a lot of our guys to jump in and be that roaming fourth forward,” Friesen said. “So overall I think our team is a lot more balanced, we can move a lot of different pieces around and try to create a spark when we need to.”
Okotokian Matt Forchuk has been one such catalyst for the Midget AAA team.
The centre leads the Bisons with 22 points and sits third in the league with 18 helpers, a statistic he attributes to his linemates.
“I’m just working hard on and off the ice and my linemates, Mackenzie Bauer and Ryan Zenuik, are helping me out with the assists,” Forchuk said. “When I feed them they bury it.”
Friesen said the Forchuk line has been the Bisons’ most consistent in the last several weeks and expects to see the trio to continue its dominance at the Mac’s.
“We’re looking for them to keep building off their chemistry, using each other on the ice and really just being a pain to play against,” Friesen said. “Hopefully we have some other lines that can match those guys and get us to the level where we need to be.”
The all-Okotoks line of Mark McLeod, Connor Tudor and Kurt Fraser, who has thrived as a power forward since the position switch from defence, have also been instrumental this season, explained Friesen.
“In key situations, in five-on-five and in anything we need done, they go out and get it done for us,” Friesen said.
The Bisons have employed a scoring-by-committee philosophy that has the team tied for second in the South Division with 88 goals; despite the fact Forchuk and Bauer are the lone Bisons in the top-30 in league scoring.
Forchuk, the Tri City Americans’ 11th round pick in the 2010 Western Hockey League Bantam draft, said the Bisons are entering the Mac’s on a high having just four losses in their past 13 games (7-4-2).
“We just came off a six-game winning streak and we’re really bonding as a team,” Forchuk said. “We’re a family already. All the guys are comfortable and hopefully we’re hitting our peak as we got into the Mac’s because it’s one of the biggest tournaments of the year.”
However, the Bisons will need to find a bit extra for the Mac’s, according to Forchuk.
“We’re going to have to dig deep, sacrifice, and play within our structure,” he said. “And have every line going because when we have all four lines going no one can really stop us. We’re on the puck one after another and they just can’t handle all four lines.”
For a defence corps featuring Blackie’s Brady Reagan and Okotokian Mark Nerland a premium is put on two-way contributions.
“We have a really young group, but we’re all really talented,” Nerland said. “We can move the puck and we’re all really quick so I think that’s our best attributes.”
Nerland’s older brother Dale helped the UFA Bisons to the silver medal at last year’s Mac’s tournament, earning a scholarship award for his academic efforts along the way. The elder Nerland told his younger sibling to get primed for an exhilarating experience.
“Midget AAA was always the goal and the Mac’s coming with that is the biggest thing,” Nerland said. “Because we have such a deep team I think we can do really well over the long tournament where we have to play so many games. We don’t roll with just one or two lines we use the whole team. I think we can excel with that.”
The Mac’s Midget Tournament runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 at the Father David Bauer Arena, Max Bell Arena and the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
The official schedule, including the divisional opponents for the Bisons, was not released at the Wheel’s deadline.
For more information on the tournament go to www.macstournament.ab.ca.
