It was a case of good news, bad news for the Okotoks Junior B Bisons.
The Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) club squandered its chance to claim first place in the South Division with a Saturday night loss to the division-leading Copperheads in Coaldale ending Okotoks’ eight-game winning streak.
However, they did rebound on Sunday for an 8-5 home victory over the Ponoka Stampeders.
Bisons assistant captain Jesse Lyall said he was disappointed with his team’s play over the weekend, especially coming off the heels of their best stretch of the season.
“I think we were getting too big-headed,” he said.
The Bisons (20-10-0) still remain one point behind Coaldale (19-7-2-1) for the South crown.
Saturday’s showdown in Coaldale saw a different Copperheads team than the one who last challenged the Bisons.
After a 9-1 victory in their last clash, the Bisons were unprepared for the Copperheads’ onslaught at the Coaldale Arena.
After scoring first, the Bisons watched as Coaldale scored three unanswered goals to go up 3-1 just minutes into the third period.
Jeremy Smith would make it interesting for Okotoks by closing the deficit to one with his 12th goal of the year. However, Coaldale’s Jordan Vincent would score 10 seconds later to restore the two-goal edge.
The Copperheads would go on to win 6-3 and reaffirm their status as the South Division’s top team.
“We had lots of turnovers,” Lyall said. “It looked like they had more emotion than we did.”
Tyler Hughes got the start in net for Okotoks and made 32 saves on 38 shots. Braiden Bloor got the win for Coaldale by stopping 22 Okotoks chances.
Despite the loss, the Bisons know they have a blueprint to beat the Copperheads. The key is just to stick to the game plan.
“We have to start being physical right off the start, that’s how we beat them the first time,” Lyall explained.
Okotoks got back on the horse on Sunday afternoon at the Murray Arena against the visiting Ponoka Stampeders.
The Bisons wasted no time in jumping on the Stamps by scoring the game’s first four goals.
Down 5-2, the visitors mounted a comeback and eventually reduced the deficit to one goal in the third period.
However, Ponoka’s optimism was short-lived as Anthony Guzzi scored seconds later for the Bisons to make it 6-4.
The Bisons’ Aaron Elashchuk would end any hope of a comeback with a goal of his own to make it 7-5 with less than two minutes remaining. An empty netter from Keaton Lackten made the final score 8-5 for the hometown Bisons.
Stampeders coach Randy Rook said he was pleased with his team’s effort but lamented its slow start.
“You go down 4-0 to Okotoks, it’s tough battling back but I think the boys showed a little bit of compete,” he said.
Elashchuk’s goal, in particular, was frustrating for Rook. The goalmouth scramble eventually wound up with the puck in the back of the Ponoka net, a familiar theme for the struggling Stampeders.
“It’s just those little bounces,” he said. “The good teams get those bounces and the teams that are struggling, we just don’t get them.”
Lyall said he was relieved to get the win but not pleased with how his team played.
“We had way too many mistakes today and they capitalized on all of them,” he said. “We were lucky to get a win.”
Okotoks will be back in action on Friday night against the Medicine Hat Cubs at the Murray Arena at 8 p.m.
