The Bisons men’s hockey team had a showdown against the Alberta Golden Bears in a weekend series at the Wayne Fleming Arena. The Bisons took the first game 3-2 on Friday, Feb. 7, but the Golden Bears bounced back with a 7-4 win on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Friday’s game was a tightly contested affair, with neither team able to gain a significant advantage. The first period ended goalless, with both teams creating scoring chances but unable to capitalize.
The Golden Bears took the lead in the second period, with forward Eric Florchuk scoring the first goal of the game at 6:23. The Bisons’ forward Eric Alarie equalized just over a minute later, but the Golden Bears took the lead again courtesy of forward Adam Hall at 9:12.
The Bisons tied the game in the third period, with forward Skyler Bruce scoring on a power play at 7:36. The game went into overtime where the Bisons’ forward Dawson Pasternak scored the winning goal at 2:57.
“It was a good pass by [Evan] Toth, and then I just figured shooting through his screen, [the goaltender] might not be able to see it, so it’s good it went in,” said Pasternak.
There were seven penalties in the game, six of which were due to the Golden Bears. Joel Sexsmith was sent off in the first period at 5:59 for delaying the game while Alarie and Aidan de la Gorgendiere were sent off in the second period at 14:22 for roughing. Sean Tschigerl was sent to the penalty box at 19:17 for tripping in the same period, while Konrad Belcourt, Brett Hyland and Marc Lajoie were sent off for interference, unsportsmanlike conduct and kneeing in the third period, respectively.
The Golden Bears outshot the Bisons 44 to 23, but the Bisons made the most of their scoring chances.
“We had a good week of practice […] I thought we executed well and pushed the pace up a little bit. I thought it translated into today’s game,” said Bisons men’s hockey head coach Gordon Burnett.
Saturday’s rematch was a different showdown as the Golden Bears came out strong and took an early lead. The Golden Bears’ forward Tschigerl scored the first goal of the game at 4:17, and forward Noah Boyko added another at 10:36. The Bisons’ forward Jonny Hooker scored their first goal of the game in a short-handed play at 15:06, but the Golden Bears also scored short-handed at 18:50 and took a 3-1 lead into the second period.
The second period saw the Bisons tie the game, with forward Riley Stotts scoring at 2:51 and Bruce adding another at 7:04. However, the Golden Bears took control of the game, scoring two more goals courtesy of forward Ty Nash at 9:47 and defence Elias Carmichael at 15:23. The Golden Bears took a 5-3 lead into the third period.
The third period saw the Golden Bears add two more goals, courtesy of forward Hyland at 1:45 and forward Tschigerl at 5:18. Pasternak scored a late goal at 19:08, but it was too little, too late. The Golden Bears took the game 7-4.
The Bisons amassed three of the five penalties in the game. Alarie and Caden Zaplitny were sent off for tripping at 7:48 and 14:14, respectively, while Hyland was sent off for high sticking at 18:29 in the first period. Lajoie and Hooker were sent off for interference and slashing at 12:13 and 12:36, respectively, in the third period.
The Golden Bears outshot the Bisons 43-14 and made the most of their scoring chances.
The Bisons men’s hockey team will face the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. CT and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. CT in Saskatoon.
