After extending their winning streak to eight by defeating the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s (HJHL) top two teams, the Okotoks Bisons have served notice to the rest of the league they are back.
The Bisons won three games in three nights over the weekend, including wins over Red Deer and Cochrane on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The victories drew Okotoks to within one point of the Coaldale Copperheads for first place in the HJHL’s South Division.
“We’re a new team,” Bisons captain Derek Schlamp said, following Sunday’s 7-4 over the Cochrane Generals.
Okotoks started the weekend on the road with a Friday night date in High River.
The Flyers scored twice in the opening period, including the first goal of the game.
The Bisons were ready for their Foothills rivals, responding with four goals of their own. Joel Culver, Phil Dillon (2) and Peter Soroka tallied for Okotoks giving them a 4-2 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period featured more of the same for the Bisons. Chase Fallis and Jeremy Smith scored for the visitors while Curtis Matkin responded for High River.
Okotoks further extended their 6-3 lead in the final period with three more markers. Dillon recorded a hat trick with his 15th goal of the season. He later added one more to finish with four on the night.
Eddie Tracy also scored for the Bisons, putting the finishing touches on a 9-4 final score.
Christian Chivilo picked up the win in goal for Okotoks, stopping 28 of 32 Flyers’ shots.
Myles Dunne was unable to stop the Bisons’ onslaught in the High River goal. The shell-shocked goalie was eventually pulled after allowing eight goals on 34 shots.
The Bisons scored three times on 10 powerplay opportunities while holding their opponents scoreless on six chances.
The next night the Bisons travelled to Red Deer for a clash with the Vipers. Red Deer (22-7-1-0) went into the night with the second-most points (45) in the HJHL, trailing only the Cochrane Generals (47).
The Vipers jumped on the Bisons right away, outshooting them 16-8 in the opening period.
Red Deer led 1-0 in the period until a late powerplay goal by Okotoks’ Ty Fehr evened things up heading into the intermission.
Despite dominating the shot clock 20-9 in the second period Okotoks was unable to put a dent on the scoresheet. Red Deer’s Bowen Fraser scored the only goal to put the hometown team up 2-1 after two.
The third period was all Okotoks. Tracy and Jeff Derwent scored goals four minutes apart in the final 10 minutes to give the Bisons a 3-2 road victory.
Tyler Hughes collected the win in goal for the Bisons as the first-year netminder made 28 saves on 30 Red Deer chances. Okotoks fired 42 shots at Vipers goaltender Jason Pohl.
With two road wins in two nights, Okotoks attempted to achieve the improbable on Sunday with a third win in three days.
Awaiting the Bisons was the league’s top team, the aforementioned Cochrane Generals – the class of the North Division.
Boosted by playing in the friendly confines of the Murray Arena, Okotoks took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
After Cochrane evened things up in the second, the Bisons began to take control.
Taking advantage of a five-minute major penalty, Okotoks scored twice to take a 4-2 lead.
The go-ahead goal, scored by Fehr, was tapped in after a beautiful cross-ice pass from defenceman Dylan Griep.
Tracy continued a hot weekend with a third straight game with a goal just minutes later to put the Bisons up by two.
Okotoks would add one more as time expired on the major penalty to take a three-goal lead.
Aaron Elaschuk brought the crowd to its feet in the third period with a highlight reel goal. The forward brought the puck between his legs before roofing it over the Generals goaltender to make it 7-3.
The Generals would score once more but would come no closer. The Bisons would take the game 7-4 to extend their winning streak to eight.
In the case of the league’s top two teams, both appeared unprepared for the Bisons’ tenacity, said Schlamp.
“I don’t think (Cochrane) were expecting it, to tell you the truth. Neither was Red Deer last night,” he said.
Generals coach Dana Boothby said he knows his team cannot succeed by taking so many penalties.
“We were in the box all night. We’ve got to be more disciplined,” Boothby said.
The Cochrane coach was not overly pleased with the officiating but hesitated to use it as an excuse for the loss.
“Okotoks has got a great forecheck, they just beat us to the puck,” Boothby explained. “They just flat out beat us.”
Schlamp credited a new team attitude for the Bisons’ ability to win so many games in such a short period – especially against such tough opponents.
The Bisons’ new team philosophy was tested throughout the game as the contest turned into an unusually chippy affair.
During every scuffle, Okotoks players were seen sticking up for each other.
“We all believe in each other now,” he said.
Okotoks will put their winning streak on the line next Saturday with a critical game in Coaldale. The Bisons will then return home on Jan. 30 for a game against the Ponoka Stampeders. Puck drop will be at 1:15 p.m. at the Murray Arena.
