“I’m going to move the team to Florida.”
That was Banff Hockey Academy head coach Bill Doherty’s joke following his Bears’ 6-5 loss to the Okotoks Bisons, which eliminated the team from Heritage Junior Hockey League playoff action in a two-game sweep.
After a rough year away from the ice where the team asked the town to defer its ice fees, the Bears had a strong second half to the season, which they hoped would translate into playoff success. The Bears fell short, though, losing two straight to the Bisons.
After a 6-2 loss on Feb. 11, the Bears were in a must win situation Saturday (Feb. 14) at Fenlands Arena, but were waylaid by a glut of penalties.
Led by local stars Ryan Barrow, Logan Milliken and Joel Lepper, the Bears fought valiantly, but were overpowered by the Bisons, who have won the league championship four years running.
It’s the end of the line for a handful of Bears players, including Nick Drought, Jorge Abin, Givi Shepotko and Hayle Kincross. However, those 17 and under can still play on the BHA varsity team in the CSSHL, which is still chasing the playoffs with seven games to go.
The Bears looked unstoppable in the first period against the Bisons as their skill advantage shone through brilliantly. Isaiah Letendre opened scoring at the 3:47 mark to bring a raucous Banff crowd to life. Zach Goberis followed it up with a goal of his own, which prompted a pushback and two quick goals from the Bisons. Givi Shepotko restored the Bears’ lead to 3-2 to end the first period.
Goberis scored his second of the game half-way through the second period to give the Bears a two-goal cushion. But even though the Bears gave up a massive size and age difference to the Bisons, they got into penalty trouble.
The Bisons scored at the 15 minute mark to draw within one, then scored three consecutive powerplay goals to take the lead. Kyu Ho Min pulled the Bears back with a great shot in the dying minutes to make it 6-5, and Barrow had a glorious chance to tie the game late, but in the end, the Bears couldn’t solve the older, larger, Bisons.
The Bisons launched 48 shots at the Bears net and went four for 10 on the powerplay for the win, while the Bears had 29 shots and were zero for five on their powerplay.
Doherty said the team played well, but their emotions got the best of them.
“We did a lot of great things. But we mishandled our emotions for sure. Five-on-five we were dominant and at least even with them. That’s a young team in that room (16 Bears are 17 or younger, compared to the 20 year olds with Okotoks) and we were playing against some men,” Doherty said. “We didn’t quit. I’m proud of them for that. We were expecting a better result, but there was a lack of emotional control.”
Doherty also praised the development of many of the Bears, and said he’s getting more calls from junior A teams as the Bears have improved. Milliken and Barrow both earned stints with the Canmore Eagles this year, and the team is hungry for even more success next year. This is only the Bears’ second appearance in the HJHL playoffs.
“We want to build on this momentum. We’re upset because we wanted a better result. We shot ourselves in the foot, for sure,” Doherty said.
