The Okotoks Bisons were perfect in the playoffs en route to claiming their second-straight Heritage Junior B Hockey League championship.
Eleven wins, zero losses and three series sweeps in 34 days of post-season perfection and the Okotoks Bisons reined in another league title — their ninth in team history.
The Bisons dispatched the Blackfalds Wranglers 7-2 in Game 3 of the best-out-five Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) series, March 23 at Murray Arena in Okotoks, to complete the series sweep and an undefeated run through the playoffs.
“It feels good going 11-0 in the playoffs and hopefully we can continue it through provincials and westerns,” said Bisons captain Chase Fallis. “Every line was working hard and were all sacrificing and the goalies played unreal as usual.”
Knowing the clinching victory in any given series is always the most difficult, the captain said the team was anxiously awaiting Game 3 and channeled the excitement into energy on the ice.
“Coming into the game we were all excited. We couldn’t think at work. We were all just thinking about the game and we just knew we had to come out hard up 2-0 in our barn,” Fallis said.
Okotoks did just that as Phil Dillon opened the scoring off a deflected shot from the point from smooth-skating Bison Eddie Tracy five minutes into the game. The lead was short-lived as Blackfalds’ Kristopher Dalton responded with a rising shot beating Bisons’ goalie Tyler Hughes blocker side high 7:58 into the period.
Okotoks blueliner Lane Wagner restored the lead just one minute into the second period followed by a tally by Jeremy Smith to make it 3-1 at the 6:58 mark.
The resilient Wranglers would again bounce back, potting their second of the night 32 seconds later on a Stephen Pietsch marker.
The Bisons carried a modest 3-2 advantage after two periods of play. The mood in the second intermission was one of controlled optimism, said Smith.
“We just said lay it out for 20 minutes and get a quick goal,” he said.
The Bisons heeded the advice at just 1:13 into the frame when Dillon Loomer found the back of the net, followed by Smith’s second of the night on a wrist shot from the slot just 35 seconds later. The 20-year-old Smith put the game out of reach at the 10:19 mark when he completed his hat-trick off a quick release. Fallis would add the Bisons’ seventh tally on a powerplay goal near the blue paint.
Smith, a Chestermere native, finished tops in the HJHL playoff-scoring race with 12 goals and 23 points in 11 games. Coming off an injury riddled regular season, Smith was chomping at the bit to contribute as an offensive leader in the playoffs.
“It was a tough season getting hurt for half the season so I just wanted to be big in the playoffs,” Smith said.
The 20-year-old power forward, one of 15 returning players from last year’s 2010-11 HJHL championship roster, said his second time hoisting the league trophy was a completely dissimilar experience. The Bisons beat the Wranglers 2-1 in last year’s best-out-of three league finals.
“This one is way different, sweeping the playoffs feels unreal,” Smith said of his second HJHL title. “This year we know there is a lot more work to do so we’re not taking this like it’s everything. We want the provincials, we want westerns.”
Loomer, the team’s regular season scoring leader and one of seven first year Bisons, was ecstatic upon winning his first title at the Junior B level.
“It feels great, we’re all really excited. We worked really hard for it and earned it. We feel,” Loomer said. “I think the difference was we wanted it more.”
The Bisons and Wranglers will renew acquaintances as two of the eight teams at the Junior B provincials, April 5-8 at Murray Arena in Okotoks. Loomer said the Bisons took pride in stamping their ticket to the tournament with a league trophy, despite their automatic berth as tournament hosts.
“We didn’t want to go (to provincials) without winning it just because we were hosting, we want to show people that we deserve to be there,” Loomer said. “We worked hard to be where we are and we’re going to take it all.”
For more information on the Bisons and the Junior B provincials go to www.okotoksbisons.com
