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Bisons have rough ride at Provincials

It was tough sledding for the Okotoks Bisons at the Alberta Junior B Provincial championships last weekend in Leduc. The Bisons dropped two of three games and failed to advance to the tournament playoff round.
Bisons forward Eddie Tracy controls the puck during Okotoks’ HJHL championship victory last Sunday against Blackfalds. The Bisons dropped two of three games at the
Bisons forward Eddie Tracy controls the puck during Okotoks’ HJHL championship victory last Sunday against Blackfalds. The Bisons dropped two of three games at the Alberta Provincial championships in Leduc over the weekend.

It was tough sledding for the Okotoks Bisons at the Alberta Junior B Provincial championships last weekend in Leduc.

The Bisons dropped two of three games and failed to advance to the tournament playoff round.

“We definitely wanted to get an opportunity to play for a medal,” Bisons general manager Jay McFarlane said.

Fellow Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) participants, the Blackfalds Wranglers, eventually took home the Provincial title with a 2-1 victory over the Beaumont Chiefs in the championship game April 3.

It was a difficult pill for the Bisons to swallow as they beat the Wranglers in the HJHL final the week before provincials.

Fresh off their victory in HJHL championship Okotoks faced the North Peace Navigators in their provincial tournament opener March 31.

The Navigators scored early and often in an 8-5 win.

The loss left the Bisons in a must-win situation on Friday morning against the Beaumont Chiefs if they wanted to entertain any hopes of playing in the playoff round.

The Chiefs defeated Okotoks 6-3 at the Sobeys Arena in Leduc to deliver a deathblow to the Bisons’ hopes of advancing to the semifinals.

The nature of the one-game elimination format was definitely an adjustment for the Bisons.

After playing in some lengthy playoff series, the immediacy of the tournament jumped up quickly on the Bisons players.

“Everyone knows how quickly your season ends when you don’t have a series to make sure the right team gets through. You have one game,” McFarlane said.

Okotoks wrapped up their Provincial championship experience on Saturday afternoon with a game against the Calgary Blazers — a battle of Pool A’s only winless teams.

The Bisons finished the tournament on a high note with a 4-2 victory as Okotoks finished third in their pool.

Unfortunately, only the top two finishers in each pool advanced to the semifinals scheduled for Saturday night.

Ty Fehr led the Bisons in scoring at the tournament with five points (three goals, two assists).

Rookie netminder Tyler Hughes played all three games in goal for the Bisons.

Hughes backstopped the Bisons to the HJHL title winning the decisive Game 3 in Okotoks after an injury put starting goaltender Christian Chivilo on the shelf.

With Chivilo unable to go in Leduc, the Bisons were forced to bring in emergency goaltender Devon Dell as a replacement.

Due to stringent rules, Dell was unable to play in any games unless Hughes suffered an injury.

After allowing three quick goals in the first game, McFarlane said it was frustrating he couldn’t give his young goalie a breather or some time to reflect from the bench.

“It’s something where there was no safety net for Tyler, unfortunately,” McFarlane said. “(He) played outstanding when he was composed.”

Despite the Bisons’ showing, the Provincial title still managed to go to an HJHL team.

The Blackfalds Wranglers rebounded from their loss in the league finals to take the Provincial title on Sunday afternoon.

The Wranglers finished first in their pool and defeated North Peace 6-2 in the semifinal.

The Bisons’ showing at Provincials did nothing to dampen what was an excellent season for the organization.

However, they undoubtedly would have liked to make a little more of an impact against Alberta’s finest at provincials.

Regardless, the trip to Leduc will no doubt serve as a learning experience for the young Bisons going forward.

Okotoks will make a return to the Provincials next season as the host team.

MacFarlane said this year’s experience will leave the Bisons better prepared for when they host the Junior B provincials next April.

“It’s basically a preview as hosts for next year,” he said. “A lot of the players (who) are going to come back have now witnessed what it takes to win the league and what’s required to compete at the Provincial level.”

The Bisons general manager promised the organization is focused on building a competitive team in hopes of winning a Provincial title on their home turf in April 2012.

“We’re going to be recruiting hard to make sure that we compete,” he said.

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