There are myriad ways for students to blow off steam during final exams.
For Okotoks Bisons captain Tyler Witzke, lacing up the skates once again after missing three straight games in exam season as an engineering student at the University of Calgary is pretty tough to beat.
“It’s so nice, you get to just forget about everything, just hanging out with the guys,” said Witzke. “As soon as you’re in that room your mind just shuts off from all school things.”
The 1999-born forward marked his return to the lineup with a two-goal effort as Okotoks scored early and often to dispatch the Coaldale Copperheads 8-3 on Dec. 13 at the Murray Arena, sparking a two-win weekend for the herd.
“He’s our leader in there, he’s our captain for a reason,” said Bisons head coach Chris Beston. “He drives the bus, just his energy alone sparks the team, he’s always flying.
“You can put him on at any time and change the momentum. He’s that type of player, one of the most valuable players in the league, for sure.”
Okotoks used the first period to jump out to a 4-0 advantage with Witzke scoring twice, HJHL leading scorer Tyson Scott scoring a rebound tally and Dylan Wenzel unloading a howitzer from a tight angle on the rush.
“Always fired up to play Coaldale,” Witzke said. “They’re our rival, they’ve kind of pushed the team around a little bit the last few years.
“Any time they come into our barn we want to get a hot start and get going right away. We’re all just really fired up to play Coaldale.”
The Snakes bit back to start the middle stanza as Brandyn Howg and Isaac Benoit cut the deficit in half only to have Scott and Wenzel tally their second goals on the night to restore the four-goal advantage after 40 minutes.
“We still need to work on our resilience a little bit, but today was a good sign,” Witzke said. “We’ve just ran over a lot of teams this year so it’s something we’ve still got to grow as a team.
“It’s not a good way to start the second, but it’s good to see how we reacted.”
The third period was highlighted by affiliate Hayden Schmidt from DeWinton scoring in his debut with the herd.
The rangy winger took a stretch pass from Scott, turned on the jets and finished off the breakaway with a perfectly placed shot while shorthanded.
“I pulled it backhand-forehand, top shelf and it went post and in,” Schmidt said. “It was just a good feeling because I had a bunch of my friends come and watch. I just wanted to do that and make my friends proud.”
Schmidt, one of the top scorers on the Okotoks Midget AA Oilers with 15 points in 14 games, took the experience in stride.
“I was actually really excited,” he said. “This was a big step up with the older players and just getting this opportunity.
“It was really good, I made a bunch of new friends. They were really open to help me and protect me, if need be.”
Austin O’Bray added the eighth tally for Okotoks after Witzke went coast-to-coast and threw the puck on net.
Devin Reagan was excellent and quite important to the win despite the lopsided scoreline, including three highlight reel breakaway saves on the night.
“Thirty-three shots, that’s a lot and he’s got to be on his game the whole time,” Beston said. “Any given point that can turn.
“I thought we showed a little bit of compete, we kind of let down a bit there in the second. Our d-zone was a little bit sloppy, but it just goes to show you we can put the puck in the net. Offensively we’ve never really worried, I think we’re worrying a little bit about our defensive side right now.”
The Friday the 13th game then got ugly in the late stages and boiled over in the final minute when Howg jumped Scott with 32 seconds left in the contest.
Beston said there could have been more team toughness showcased in the late going, but credited rookie forward Wenzel for coming to the aid of Scott.
“We have to be a little more team tough,” he said. “We have to protect ourselves. It’s not fun losing 8-2 or 8-3 or 11-0 so we have to expect this stuff and we need to be prepared for it.”
The Bisons closed the weekend by stemming the surging Medicine Hat Cubs by a 3-2 count Dec. 15 on home-ice.
Joel Deeprose notched the game-winner with Nic Jordan and Riker Franczak also finding the back of the net.
Reagan made 23 saves to improve to 23-0 on the season.
Okotoks (26-1-0) closes its pre-holiday slate on Dec. 20 with a road contest in Cochrane.
The Bisons’ next home tilt is Jan. 12 versus the Cubs.
For more information go to okotoksbisons.com
