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Bisons battle back to assert divisional lead

“Three game in three days is tough so I really appreciated the boys’ stamina, emotion and passion they brought to the game.”
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Okotoks Bisons forward Daniel Tainton battles in the Med Hat Cubs' crease at Murray Arena on Nov. 28. Despite a fiercely matched game, the Bisons edged the Cubs 5-4 with an overtime goal with 1:34 remaining.

After seeing an extended streak snapped the Bisons hope to have started another one.

The Okotoks Jr. B Bisons (19-2-1) saw their 19-game point streak snapped with their first road defeat in regulation time this season to the Coaldale Copperheads followed up by a 5-4 overtime triumph over the Medicine Hat Cubs as part of gruelling three-game weekend for the Heritage Junior Hockey League squad.

“Our group had a pretty good win streak there and I think a loss isn’t a terrible thing sometimes,” said Bisons forward Adam Kirkpatrick. “To realize that teams are going to beat us and we’re not going to win every game all year.

“And (versus the Cubs) was a great answer for that, all of the boys battled all game.”

Okotoks and Medicine Hat went toe-to-toe all afternoon in the Nov. 28 battle between the top two teams in the Southern Division at the Murray Arena.

Kirkpatrick notched the game-winner in overtime on a breakaway beauty on the backhand with 94 seconds left in the extra-session.

“Once we got that tying goal I think we knew we were going to do it,” Kirkpatrick said. “Momentum was definitely going our way into overtime.”

Jake Snashall notched his first goal with the team in the third period to force overtime after Jaevon Buschlen, AJ Belanger and Austin O’Bray earlier found the back of the net for Okotoks.

In goal, Dylan Fries made 35 saves on 39 shots to salt away his sixth win of the season.

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Okotoks Bisons defenceman Brayden Kapty and Med Hat Cubs centre Callen Prosofsky go airborne at Murray Arena on Nov. 28. Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY

The netminder played a big role in Okotoks killing off nearly nine minutes in a row shorthanded in the middle frame.

“That was a lot,” said Bisons defenceman Owen George. “But just knowing that we’re that top placed team in the league and these guys are right behind us that we’ve got to battle through those, doesn’t matter if they’re bad calls or whatever.

“We’ve just got to keep battling.”

The Copperheads, a longtime foe of the Bisons as top contenders in the south, skated to a 5-2 result in the Snake Pit on Nov. 27.

Buschlen and Evan Woods scored for the visiting Bisons, who out-shot Coaldale by a 33-21 count.

The defeat was Okotoks’ first in regulation since the second week of the season in September and snapped a 10-game winning streak.

“You’ve just got to know that you’re not superman, there’s teams out there that want to beat you,” said Bisons head coach Brad Cobb. “And there are teams out there starting to play a little bit more playoff style hockey and how it’s going to be and set that tone.

“I saw that we bounced back and ending up outshooting that team after the first nine minutes.”

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Okotoks Bisons goaltender Dylan Fries stops a shot by Med Hat Cubs forward Colby Friedrich at Murray Arena on Nov. 28. Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY

Okotoks opened the weekend in a 12-2 romp over the Flyers on Nov. 26 in High River paced by a seven-goal middle stanza.

Blueliner Lucas Watkins, an Okotokian who joined the team last week, tallied his first two goals with the Bisons with O’Bray and High River native Alaister Standen each lighting the lamp twice.

Woods, Belanger, Daniel Tainton, Simon Smith-Burness, Kegan Law and Boogie Blackwater also found the back of the net. Fries made 27 saves on 29 shots.

Okotoks sits first overall in the HJHL with a healthy 11-point advantage over Medicine Hat in second place in the division.

“Three games in three days is tough so I really appreciated the boys’ stamina, emotion and passion they brought to the game,” Cobb said. “A lot of positive things at the end of the day, even with the loss, you learn from it.”

This week, the Bisons get another shot at the Copperheads, this time on home-ice when the divisional rivals battle on Dec. 3 at the Murray Arena. Okotoks is in Vulcan the following night to clash with the Lomond Lakers.

For more information go to okotoksbisons.com.

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Okotoks Bisons Dan Lindeman and AJ Belanger go hard to the net digging for a rebound on Med Hat Cubs goaltender Dawsen Savage on Nov. 28. Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY

 


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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