There is something to be said for veteran experience in the post-season.
The Okotoks Jr. B Bisons came away with the most competitive four-game sweep imaginable in clinching the best-of-seven Heritage Junior Hockey League South semifinal series with a 3-1 triumph of the Cochrane Generals, Monday night at Murray Arena.
“We felt like we probably could have won each of the games, but we ran into a veteran squad and they know how to win,” said Generals head coach Evan McFeeters. “They did an amazing job of blocking shots, stuck to their game plan and shut our offence down.
“Our young group had a little bit of a mental block this series and couldn’t get over the hurdle of some of those older players, those veteran guys.”
Facing the prospects of a four-game sweep, the Bisons continued the series-long pattern of establishing an early lead in the series clincher on Monday.
First-year Bison Connor Tudor whacked in a rebound in the first 10 minutes then, in the middle frame, Zak Johns and Kristian Ayoungman scored 68 seconds apart to earn a three-goal advantage at the second intermission.
“Our main focus was to get pucks in deep and have that F3 (forward) high,” Tudor said. “When they would try to force the puck through the middle it was just right on our tape every time.
“We were fortunate enough to get ahead of them every game, the systems worked.”
The Generals kept firing shots and finally got one past Okotoks’ on-form netminder Alex Bilton when Kurt Thrussell slapped in a rebound early in the third period.
The third-year Bison goaltender would shut the door from there, stopping 44 shots for his fourth win of the series.
“It’s tough hockey, it’s playoff hockey, every game is going to be close, but we were prepared for it,” Bilton said. “We knew Cochrane was going to give it their all, especially when we have them up against the wall.
“Cochrane is a great team, you can’t take anything away from them.”
The Bisons took complete command of the series in a 2-1 win in Game 3, Saturday night in Cochrane. For the third-consecutive game, Okotoks built an early lead an held on.
An even-strength tally from Josh Haley and powerplay marker off the stick of hard-shooting defenceman Keifer Schaufler put the visitors up by two at the first intermission.
Cochrane was kept off the scoreboard until the final seven minutes when blueliner Austin Keller netted his first of the playoffs.
Game 2 saw the Bisons hold on for an identical 2-1 triumph, Friday on home ice.
“We played as a complete team, for a complete 60 minutes,” said Bisons blueliner Bryce Honish. “We played physical, they started to back off a little bit and took some penalties and we just capitalized on our opportunities.”
Harrison Smith broke the deadlock early when he was on the doorstep for a one-timer late in the opening stanza. Ayoungman would double the lead midway through the middle frame when he collected a loose puck in the slot and found the back of the net.
The Generals rescued some momentum in the final minute of the period when alternate captain Logan Brown’s seeing-eye point shot got behind Bilton.
Cochrane would threaten in the third period and if not for a lack of puck-luck, as evidenced by shots off the bar from Connor Rendell and Craig Packard in the final minutes, would have evened the score.
Okotoks took the series ice-breaker by the skin of its teeth in a 4-3 double overtime triumph on Thursday in Cochrane.
The Bisons jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Kyle Becker, Smith and Spencer Barlow-Lakusta tickling the twine. Cochrane would storm back on the powerplay, netting three times on the man-advantage through Packard, twice, and Reed Boothby to send the game into sudden death overtime.
Aidan Geiger netted the game-winner in the fifth period, in what would be a major turning point in the seven-game series.
“It was kind of a shock to our system, we couldn’t get over it,” McFeeters said. “I’ve been around the league a long time and won my championships, too. Once you get that momentum going, teams feel good about themselves and it turns into a well-oiled machine.
“Great series. We wish Okotoks all the luck going forward. I’m getting sick of Okotoks winning, but that’s how it goes.”
Okotoks, fresh off a two-game sweep of the Banff Bears in round-one, may just have caught the Generals, idle with a first-round bye, off guard to start the South semifinal.
“That first survivor series was really beneficial for us,” Tudor said. “We were still trying to find ourselves as a team coming into playoffs and that little extra motivation boost from Banff, that’s exactly what we needed coming into this series.
“They (Cochrane) gave us a good run…we had to show them what Bison hockey is all about in the playoffs and I’m pretty sure we did that.”
The four-time defending league champion Bisons will face the winner of the Coaldale Copperheads and Strathmore Wheatland Kings’ best-of-seven series. The top-seed Coaldale holds a 2-1 advantage in the set.
