The Okotoks Bisons recovered from a less than ideal start to secure a podium finish at their first Keystone Cup.
Okotoks dispatched Manitoba’s Peguis Juniors 11-4 to win the bronze medal at the Keystone Cup, the Western Canadian Junior B Championships, Sunday morning in St. Malo, Manitoba.
Playing the final game of their Junior careers, graduating Bisons Chase Fallis, Jeremy Smith and Ty Fehr made the most of their last opportunities on the ice.
Smith secured a hat-trick and two assists, Fallis added a two goal, four point performance, Fehr and Phil Dillon potted one goal and two helpers, Dillon Loomer scored a pair along with tallies from rookies Christopher Price and Darren Bordt in the 11-4 rout. Tyler Hughes was steady in between the pipes, making 33 saves to pick up the victory for his hometown Bisons.
In picking up the bronze medal victory, the Bisons exacted a measure of revenge on the Manitoba champions. Peguis defeated Okotoks 5-3 just one day earlier, knocking the Bisons out of contention for the gold medal game.
Visions of a spot on the podium appeared bleak for the Bisons after going winless in two contests to start the tournament.
The Richmond Sockeyes handed Okotoks its first loss since January through a 5-3 triumph on April 18, the opening day of Keystone Cup competition.
Fallis potted two goals with linemate Smith picking up the other. Alex Bilton made 22 saves in a losing cause.
The following morning the Bisons and Saskatoon Royals skated to a 1-1 tie. Saskatoon’s Dustin Wlaz staked his club to an early 1-0 lead before Fallis scored with 1:50 left to secure a point for Okotoks.
Needing a win to maintain any hope of qualifying for the Keystone Cup title, the Bisons edged the host St. Malo Warriors 3-2 in the nightcap on April 19.
After Loomer and Smith exchanged goals with St. Malo’s Riley Hunter and Donovan Reimer, Fehr tallied the game-winner for Okotoks with just 4:18 on the clock.
The Bisons then suffered a disappointing 5-3 loss to Peguis on April 20, in which the Juniors erased a 3-1 deficit with four unanswered goals to steal the two points.
For the round-robin finale on April 20, the Bisons and Northern Hawks out of Thunder Bay squared off with a spot in the bronze medal game on the line.
A seesaw affair ensued in a tightly fought contest that came down to the final seconds of play. Hawk Corey Hamel and Bison Jordan Eddy exchanged first period goals, followed by a scoreless second period.
Rookie Zak Johns gave the Bisons a 2-1 lead midway through the final frame before Northern’s Dallas Allaire Jr. tied it up with 5:35 remaining.
Though the Bisons needed just the tie to book a trip to the bronze medal game, Eddy made sure Okotoks punched its ticket with a victory, scoring his second of the game with just three seconds remaining. Hughes stopped 25 of 27 pucks to pick up the victory.
Okotoks advanced to the bronze medal game as the fourth seed with a record of 2-2-1 in round-robin play.
The Richmond Sockeyes and Saskatoon Royals meet in the gold medal game on Sunday afternoon.
Check out the April 24 issue of the Western Wheel for the full story on the Okotoks Bisons at the Keystone Cup.
