The Battle of the Bisons went the way of Wainwright with provincial gold on the line.
The Wainwright Bisons edged the host Okotoks Carstar Bisons 3-1 in the Hockey Alberta Junior B Provincial Championship on Easter Sunday at the Okotoks Centennial Arenas.
“They’re sad, they’re upset in there,” said Okotoks head coach Brad Cobb. “But my message to them is when you leave this room be proud of what you accomplished this season.
“It’s a one-game deal and anything can happen, you’re still champions of the league, you still represented well and you’re one of the two best teams in the province.”
Wainwright captured its third Russ Barnes Trophy as an organization with the result as finalists in five of the past six provincial championships.
“We didn’t start well, I think they were a little nervous, for whatever reason, maybe being in front of the home crowd,” Cobb said. “I think the nerves got us early on in the game, we didn’t start on time, we got on our heels early on in that game and it’s tough to get the momentum going the other way.
“Then we got that 5-on-3 call against us and that’s kind of your TSN turning point.”
Power forward Kael Perkins opened the scoring for Wainwright, poking in a rebound early in the second period.
Okotoks got one back through Adam Kirkpatrick, with the sniper arriving on the doorstep at the right time to lift in a rebound.
The visitors went into the intermission in front through special tams with captain Dylan Eremko firing in a one-timer from the hashmarks on a 5-on-3 powerplay.
“We definitely wanted to get a jump on these guys,” Eremko said. “They’re a very good team, they don’t get here by accident and we just tried to get a jump on them and not try and chase the game the whole time.”
Okotoks turned up the urgency in the final frame, but found it difficult to find a hole past Wainwright netminder Vaughn Holbeche and a physical defence corps.
Eremko put the finishing touches on the victory with an empty net tally with 62 seconds left in regulation.
“They’re a really good team, they play a really structural game like we do,” said Okotoks forward Jaevon Buschlen. “I think we just turned it on a little bit too late. They played a really good game, there wasn’t much we can do. It was a 2-1 game and a matter of a lucky bounce or not.
“We just came a little bit flatfooted and just had to focus on getting some shots and keeping our feet moving and winning battles, being the first one to the puck, I think that really mattered. They’re a big, really physical team and I think that’s what hurt us.”
Wainwright was four seconds away from not even being in the gold medal game.
The Bisons teams played 24 hours earlier in a game with disparate stakes for the combatants with the visitors scoring a 5-4 overtime victory.
Wainwright needed a win and some help on the proverbial out-of-town scoreboard, which they received with the Calgary Rangers being downed by the Fort St. John Huskies in the night cap, to get a spot in the gold medal game. Okotoks had its spot locked up and took out several regulars from the lineup in the April 8 tilt.
Lucas McClennon scored with four seconds left in regulation and won it just half a minute into overtime to seal the deal for Wainwright, who erased a 3-0 deficit in the victory.
“We’re a resilient group, we’ve been through some things all year,” Eremko said. “We stuck with it and we’re lucky enough to pot one in there late last game to give ourselves a chance to get to this game.
“Fort St. John won and we were in the hotel room and very, very excited and really prepared for the final.”
Earlier on Sunday in the bronze medal game, the Calgary Rangers dispatched the Sherwood Park Knights by a 7-3 count.
The Bisons have now won nine medals on the provincial stage (one gold, four silver and four bronze). They’ve medalled all three times hosting the event with bronze in 2003 and silver in 2012 and 2023.
“As a team, it is a big accomplishment to make it to the finals,” added Buschlen, one of three graduating Bisons. “It’s pretty rare you see a host team that won league, that’s hosting and in the finals because they’re a good team.
“I’m really proud of our group and our group of guys were really deep this year. We had a really fun year, for my last year it was awesome.”
Buschlen along with 2001-born forwards Alaister Standen and AJ Belanger graduate from the program as impactful overagers on and off the ice.
“They’ve been leaders right from the get-go,” Cobb said. “They show up to the rink with a purpose, that they want to compete and play all of the time and it’s super sad to see them not go out on a winning note.
“They meant everything to this hockey club and this organization.”