Thinking long-term is paying off in the short-term for the Okotoks Jr. B Bisons. With a renewed focus the Bisons have polished off four straight victories to climb to the top of the Heritage Junior Hockey League Southern Division standings. “It’s huge. I’ve got my head into the finals, everyone wants to beat Coaldale, that’s the destination,” said Bisons alternate captain Kyle Dunville. “I’m sick of getting a taste of the championship there, I want the full meal this time. “I’m trying to speak up as a leader this year and just keep reminding the boys we’re going to play every game like it’s the championship.” Mission accomplished on that score. Okotoks took its home opener by a 4-2 count over the Strathmore Wheatland Kings Friday at the Murray Arena to extend its winning streak. “We had an excellent first period,” said Bisons head coach Chris Beston. “Ran into penalty troubles, both teams in and out of the box and that slowed the flow down. And we found a way to win at the end. “They’ve got a bigger d-corps, we’re smaller, but faster and that was our game-plan. We want to be fast and that’s going to be our game-plan all year, we want to use our speed and utilize that to the best of our ability.” After Okotoks’ Austin O’Bray scored in the first stanza both teams were stuck in the middle in period two, a frame marked by special teams and a steady stream of skaters to the sin bin. Isaac Benoit, a forward with the Bow Mark Oilers last season, brought the visitors even on the powerplay to make it a 1-1 game heading into the second intermission. “There were a lot of penalties, but we tried to stay out of it as much as we could and they got lost in it,” O’Bray said. “We knew they hit hard and go for the hits so we tried to get quick puck movement out.” Okotoks swiftly grabbed the reins in the final stanza. Tyler Bordt showed his quick release on the man-advantage, firing a pass from Jagger Thiessen in the middle of the slot and depositing into the back of the net just 57 seconds into the period. The Bisons doubled their advantage on the heels of a penalty kill. Connor Taylor and Kyle Harrison brought the puck up ice and Dunville, a former member of the Wheatland Kings, was there to clean up the rebound. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle and wasn’t going to come easy against those guys,” said Dunville. “Everyone was pretty excited, we knew our barn was going to be rowdy and just the new guys coming in were going to be excited. “I was even nervous getting in there, but we got that first shift under us, had a tough battle and did well after that.” The Kings mounted another charge and on the next shift were back within a goal as Tyler Wirth was given time and space to in front of goal. That’s as close as they would get. After opening the scoring, O’Bray finished it as well, picking off a pass at centre ice and depositing the empty netter with 71 seconds remaining for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. “I’m finding the bounces, my teammates are finding me,” said O’Bray, skating on a line with wingers Brandt Black and Jason Horn. “We all get along really well in the room, we’re always talking with each other and the way we play just works out with each other.” An off-season addition after playing last season with the Airdrie Thunder, the 2000 born centre has been a huge pickup for his efforts at both ends of the ice. “We knew he had offensive upside and always liked that about him,” Beston said. “What’s impressed me more is his defensive awareness. He’s a complete player that we can trust in any situation. Five goals in three games shows you a little bit of how offensively talented he is.” The herd made it two wins in as many days with a comeback 3-2 triumph over the Kings in a shootout, Saturday night in Strathmore. Taylor and Mitch Wolfe scored their first goals with the team in regulation while Horn and captain Kyle Harrison scored in the shootout. Okotoks enters the great unknown next week. The Bisons play the expansion Lomond Lakers for the first time in team history on Sept. 28 at the Murray. Lomond, coached by former Okotoks Bantam AAA Oilers bench boss Mike Glawson, won its first game as a franchise by a 6-0 score over Three Hills last week. Puck-drop is 8 p.m. Okotoks closes out the weekend with a home matinee at 1:15 p.m. versus the Medicine Hat Cubs. For more information go to okotoksbisons.com
