Home cooking continues to fuel the Carstar Okotoks Bisons.
Okotoks (28-3-0) stretched its season-long winning streak at the Murray Arena to 14 games with a pair of convincing Heritage Junior Hockey League triumphs on consecutive nights last weekend, kickstarted by a 4-1 win over the second-place Medicine Hat Cubs on Jan. 26.
“As far as the third period performance, I thought we played a lot better,” said Bisons head coach Brad Cobb. “The second period, I didn’t think we were managing pucks very well and didn’t win battles in our end.
“We regrouped and with good teams you find a way to gut it out and win and we did that.”
Okotoks opened the scoring with a newcomer rippling twine for the first time in Bisons colours.
Nolan Smith, from Turner Valley, opened his account with a wicked wrist shot off a set face-off play in the opening frame.
“Coach Cobber drew up a play where I came across the top, it worked out perfectly and I got the puck and shot it right below the glove,” said Smith.
Scott Brown doubled the advantage on the rush in the opening frame with Adam Kirkpatrick and Brayden Kapty scoring in quick succession in the final stanza.
Kyle Woolridge broke the Okotoks shutout bid with just 11 seconds left in regulation with netminder Grady Nicholas stopping 18 of 19 shots.
“It is one of our goals at the beginning of the year,” the coach added. “If we can keep it to 22, 23 shots or under we’ve got a good chance of winning.”
The formula worked 24 hours later on home ice.
Okotoks blanked the visiting Airdrie Thunder 6-0 with Nicholas earning the 20-save shutout, his fifth of the season, on Jan. 27.
Owen McFarlane, Ethan MacIntyre, Jady Shigehiro, Kegan Law, Easton Dean and Seamus Garagan lit the lamp for the home team.
Smith, who started the season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Kindersley, said it’s been amazing to be a Bison.
“The fans are great, I love the team and the coaches are amazing,” Smith said. “It’s a winning atmosphere here, the team is winning, they’re great guys and I thought this was the best opportunity for me to have some fun.
“For me, I was always away from home so coming back here is pretty easy and fun.”
Smith, forward Dryden Harding and goaltender Logan Maroni joined the team earlier in the month.
“They’ve all done a good job coming in and fitting in the room and that’s the most important thing,” said Cobb. “They’ve done that well and the performance on the ice is getting stronger and stronger every game.”
Okotoks saw its nine-game winning streak snapped the previous weekend on the road with a 4-0 loss in High River followed by a 4-3 win over the Coaldale Copperheads.
“It’s good, once in a while, to lose a game so you get humbled a little bit and smarten up a little bit,” the coach added. “We went into Coaldale played a really good hockey game.
“It was a good way to gut it out and dig ourselves out of a hole from the night before.”
Okotoks is back on home ice for a rare Tuesday night contest against Medicine Hat, a makeup game for the postponed tilt during the cold snap in mid-January. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. at the Murray Arena.
The Bisons are home this weekend to Coaldale and the Cochrane Generals on Feb. 2 and 3, respectively.
For more information go to okotokbisons.com.
