It looks like the Okotoks Bisons have found the antidote to the first-place bite of the Coaldale Copperheads.
For the second time in two weeks the Bisons got the better of the Copperheads by earning a convincing 5-2 win in a heated affair Nov. 2 at Murray Arena in Okotoks.
“I thought we played a complete game, other than a few discipline issues in the third,” said Bisons head coach Mike Hannigan. “But, that’s to be expected. There’s not a lot of love between these two teams.”
Coaldale (11-2-2) has held first place in the Southern Division all season, but, with the loss and a tie with the Blackfalds Wranglers, holds just a one-point lead on the Bisons (11-2-1).
Hannigan said the competition atop the south division only rekindles a long-standing rivalry between the clubs.
“We’ve played them in the playoffs the last two years and they don’t like us and we don’t like them,” he said.
However, Hannigan was quick to quell any talk of the Bisons establishing themselves as the team to beat in the south.
“We got the jump on them tonight,” he said. “They got the jump on us last time here.”
Okotoks captain Chase Fallis gave the Bisons the early advantage with a powerplay marker four minutes in.
Ty Fehr and Dillon Loomer would add even strength markers from the dirty area in front of the Copperhead goal in the first six minutes of the middle stanza.
With the Bisons on the penalty kill, Phil Dillon and Brodie Eisbrenner combined for a beautiful give-and-go the former would bury to make it 4-0 for the home club.
The Copperheads answered back on the same powerplay when Clayton Tilleman buried a rebound past the outstretched Tyler Hughes.
The Bisons would again take advantage of a shorthanded situation in the final frame as Kevan Mikkelsen was sprung for a clean cut breakaway and the skilled blueliner made no mistake restoring the four-goal advantage on Coaldale four minutes into the period.
Alex Barthel added a late goal on the powerplay for the Copperheads, but the game was already decided.
The third period then saw emotions boil over from the hated foes as Bisons Jeremy Smith and rookie Christopher Price exchanged pleasantries with Coaldale’s Ty Mackenzie and Danton Shigemi.
For Copperheads head coach Cody Muskal his club got off on the wrong foot before the puck was dropped.
“Right off the start we didn’t come out prepared,” Muskal said. “There was no effort. It was just heart basically that was the difference. They wanted it more than us.”
Loomer said it was crucial for the Bisons to send a message to Coaldale.
“We were moving the puck well and we were physical, which against Coaldale you ought to be laying out the bodies,” Loomer said. “They’re more an aggressive team so if you outplay them in that department you can pretty much get the win.”
And the 20-year-old forward knows more than most the cure to the Copperheads as a business student at the nearby University of Lethbridge.
“That would have been the closest place to play, about 15 minutes from my place,” said Loomer about Coaldale. “I know a couple of the guys there and they’re good guys, but you make a team here and it’s kind of like a family so you can’t ditch them.”
The Bisons closed out the weekend in fine form by dispatching the Three Hills Thrashers 3-1, Nov. 4 at Murray Arena, and extending their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
Smith opened the scoring for the Bisons, while Loomer added the game winner and the insurance marker in the third period.
Okotoks faces yet another momentous challenge this weekend when the Blackfalds Wranglers, the Bisons’ opponents in the Heritage Junior Hockey League finals the last two years, come to town on Friday at 8 p.m. The Bisons are in Cochrane on Saturday and are right back at the Murray Arena on Sunday for a 1:15 p.m. face-off against the Stettler Lightning.
For more information go to www.okotoksbisons.com
