It wasn ' t pretty, but the Okotoks Bisons kicked off their 2012 schedule by maintaining their defining attribute of the season; finding ways to win games.
The Bisons fought off a 3-2 deficit in the third period to score three unanswered goals en route to a 5-3 victory over the Mountainview Colts in Heritage Junior Hockey League action, Jan. 8 at Murray Arena.
Okotoks coach Rory Hennigan said the Bisons were fortunate to get the result.
“ In the third period we got a couple bounces that gave us the comeback,” said Hennigan. “ I don ' t think we fully earned that win with the lack of effort in the first couple periods, but you take it when you can get it.”
The Bisons coach
attributed the lack of sharpness to the 23-day layoff in between games.
“ It definitely was a long break,” said Hennigan. “ It ' s not that they weren ' t trying, it ' s just that mentally they were a bit behind, their brains might have still been on holiday.
The Colts held a 2-1 advantage after the first period before the teams exchanged goals in the middle frame. Phil Dillon tied the game on a mad scramble in front of Mountainview netminder Breandan McCambly before Cody Issler restored the Colts ' advantage on a wrist shot on a two on one rush.
Okotoks ratcheted up its intensity in the final stanza and were rewarded for their efforts when a loose puck in the Colts ' blue paint was inadvertently kicked in to his own net by McCambly. The goal was awarded to Lucas Mikkelsen who nearly took himself out of the play prior to being in a position to score.
“ Right before that I was trying to fight a guy so it was actually a good thing I didn ' t go because I got a goal,” said Mikkelsen. “ It was a weird bounce. I didn ' t even know it was in and the guys were raising my arms.”
The Didsbury-based Mountainview club was penalized for arguing the legitimacy of the goal and the Bisons didn ' t waste any time on the subsequent powerplay.
Bisons ' leading scorer Dillon Loomer smoothly skated through the slot and wristed home the game winner.
The penalty-filled third period saw the Bisons defend their lead with an efficient penalty kill before Mikkelsen scored the insurance marker on a shorthanded breakaway with just over six minutes to go.
“ I just came fresh off the bench and I saw (Jesse) Lyall was tired and he gave me a nice backhand feed and I noticed the defenceman diving in so I grabbed it deked around him and then I just skated as hard as I could and went backhand top cheddar,” he said.
Brock Boswell also tickled the twine for Okotoks, while Tyler Hughes made 53 saves to register his league-leading 12th win of the season.
The Bisons (23-5-1) are back at it, Jan. 13 when they host the Cochrane Generals at 8 p.m.. Okotoks will be looking for a measure of revenge on its chief rivals for the South Division crown, as Cochrane beat Okotoks 8-2 Dec. 21 and trails the Bisons by just five points for top spot in the division. The Bisons then travel to Coaldale to face off with the Copperheads on Jan. 14 before returning to Okotoks for a Jan. 15 date with the Strathmore Wheatland King, 1:15 p.m. at Murray Arena.
