Notes: In what promises to be a gritty, hard hitting, take no prisoners playoff series, the Banff Hockey Academy Bears face off against the Okotoks Bison in the first round of the HJHL playoffs at the Fenlands on Friday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. for game two of a best-of-five series.
Notes
In what promises to be a gritty, hard hitting, take no prisoners playoff series, the Banff Hockey Academy Bears face off against the Okotoks Bison in the first round of the HJHL playoffs at the Fenlands on Friday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. for game two of a best-of-five series.
The first game of the series took place in Okotoks, Wednesday (Feb. 11). Results weren't available for the Outlook's press deadline.
The Bison swept the regular season series, but three of the four matchups were decided by one goal. The Bears improved their record immensely in the second half of the season, and finished with a 12-23-3 record. Okotoks finished 23-13-2. On paper, the matchup is lopsided, but the games have been close between the two teams.
“We're good with it,” said head coach Bill Doherty. “We had three one-goal games and one two-goal game and we think by being a little more gritty in the tougher areas is important.”
Okotoks has a workmanlike squad, with little flash and loads of grit, while Banff has a highly skilled lineup, led by Ryan Barrow, who scored 62 points in 31 games this year for the Bears. He, Logan Milliken and Nick Drought will be counted on for experience and offence, as this is only the Bears' second playoff appearance in the past 20 years.
The Bears bowed out in the first round of the playoffs last year to the High River Flyers.
“We've got a handful of guys involved in last year's playoffs and have the story of how things get tougher,” Doherty said. “Winning hockey games is a function of process. While the intensity might change, the process doesn't. There will be increased intensity and we will be sharp and be focused.”
Barrow, Blaise Arkle, Zach Goberis, George King and Milliken were all point-per-game players for the Bears, while the Bison only had one player achieve that mark,
“You look at their roster, they don't have anybody in the top 20 in scoring. They have a handful of guys at the 30-point mark. They also have some grit, some weight, and their goaltending is good,” said Doherty.
“But we like our depth. We think we're ready. The standings tell one story, but in the second half of the season, we were over .500. The guys are focused and healthy. Our daily conditioning is good. We have a little flu going around. Some guys aren't 100 per cent.”
Joel Lepper will suit up in net for the Bears. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday, and Doherty is encouraging the community to come out and support the club.
