Familiarity bred goals with the Battle of the Foothills kicking off the HJHL season.
Brandon Jarman, Ethan Burgeson and McCallum Bakken all scored in their regular season debut with the Carstar Okotoks Bisons against their former team in the 5-3 triumph over the High River Flyers in the Heritage Junior Hockey League season opener Friday night at the Murray Arena.
“They’ve got a past of winning and I’ve been in this league for three years now and thought I would come here and play with a good group of guys,” said Jarman, a 21-year-old forward from High River. “They’ve been super welcoming and it’s been good so far.
“It’s a good rivalry, but it’s hockey at the end of the day.”
Okotoks defenceman Hunter Cobb notched his first goal with the Bisons to start the scoring on Friday with Bakken adding the other first period tally.
Burgeson and Jarman scored in quick succession in the middle stanza with Sam Callahan, a High Riverite new to the Bisons program, adding the other tally in the third period.
Bisons goalie Dylan Walker, another former Flyer, turned aside 21 of 24 shots for the victory in his Okotoks debut.
“It was just being calm with the puck,” Jarman added. “We’ve still got some work to do, but there’s nothing we can’t do. First game with a new group of guys, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ll be fine.”
The Bisons leadership group includes fourth-year forward Jake Snashall as captain, fellow veteran winger Adam Kirkpatrick, blueliner Caden Scott and last year’s leading point producer Easton Dean, a third-year centre, as alternate captains.
Snashall and Kirkpatrick have won league championships in all three of their seasons in Okotoks and the provincial championship in the spring, the second in team history.
“It’s an honour to wear the C, especially for the Bisons, one of the best teams in Junior B history,” said Snashall. “I’m proud to wear it and ready to take on whatever comes at us.
“I’m going to be a leader, I’ve been in the league for four years, played a lot of games so hopefully I can bring up some of the younger guys.”
Bisons head coach Brad Cobb said Snashall’s evolution as a player and person make him a terrific fit as a leader.
“When he first come in at 18 years old, he thought the world was against him and it was everybody else’s fault why he wasn’t playing well,” Cobb said. “He grew up through the program and seeing some good leaders ahead of him like Evan Woods, Lucas Watkins.
“That winning and the conversations we’ve had and being open with him as a person, hockey is the secondary of it and made him a better person. He’s just really elevated and taken that to the next level.
“He’s a great teacher and great role model for anyone coming in that dressing room.”
Snashall has played in 102 games over parts of five seasons in the HJHL, skating during his rookie season with High River.
“I’ve been in and out of this league since I was 16 and I’ve learned lots,” Snashall said. “The better character off the ice, the better you’re going to be on the ice so I think just learning from coach Cobb, coach (Trevor) Bueckert and all of the guys in the dressing room has helped me develop into a better person in general.”
Okotoks continues its opening homestand Saturday night with the Medicine Hat Cubs visiting the Murray Arena for an 8:30 p.m. puck drop.
Next week, Okotoks is home to Coaldale on Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. and Cochrane on Sept. 28 at 8:30 p.m. to close out the month.
For more information, go to okotoksbisons.com.
