The second round of playoffs got off to a rocky start for the Cold Lake Ice as they're down 2-0 to the Wainwright Bisons.
The second round of playoffs got off to a rocky start for the Cold Lake Ice as they're down 2-0 to the Wainwright Bisons.
Starting down in Wainwright for the first two games of the series, the Ice weren't ready for Thursday night's game as they fell 9-2 after taking 56 shots on net.
Heading back for Game 2 on Saturday, Cold Lake was better prepared for what the Bisons were going to throw at them. It wasn't enough though, as an empty net goal in the final minute of the game gave the Bisons a 4-2 victory.
"I told the boys that we're still alright, last time i checked you need to win four games," said head coach Scott Hood. "Now they're coming back to our barn for two and hopefully we come out with a good effort like (Saturday) night and can win two and change the series."
Bisons break the Ice in Game 1
Winning their first series 4-1 over the Onion Lake Border Chiefs, the Ice were in Wainwright on Feb. 25 for the first game of the semi-finals.
The rivalry was evident as both sides were fighting hard in the first period. Since neither team was able to get the puck in the net, they headed into the second with both sides looking to be the first on the scoreboard.
It was the Bisons who managed to achieve that feat. Bryce Woodward nabbed the first goal of the game for the home team two and a half minutes in. In the second half of the period, Tyler Schubada and Cody Bird followed his lead, giving Wainwright a 3-0 lead.
The final frame didn't start out promising for the Ice, as the Bisons fired in four more goals by the 5:14 mark in the period.
Just before the halfway point in the third, a power play goal from Donavan Bibeau finally got the Ice their first point of the night.
Wainwright came back with two power play goals of their own, to further the gap to 9-1. In the final two minutes, Kurt Franklin found the back of the net for the Ice but it was too late for a Cold Lake comeback. The final score was 9-2 for the Bisons as they took the 1-0 lead in the series.
"Game 1 we just weren't ready. We let them get in our head and took some penalties and had a lapse in the second period and they scored a bunch of power play goals in the third. A loss is a loss in the playoffs, whether it's 3-2 or 9-2," said Hood.
Ice fall 4-2 to Bisons
On Saturday, Game 2 got off to a similar start with the score still at zero by the end of the first period.
By five minutes into the second, a goal apiece from Zach MacKay and Woodward gave the Bisons the lead.
It was Bibeau again who broke the scoreless streak for the Ice, netting a goal with six minutes left in the period to bring the score to 2-1.
Six minutes into the third, Christian Nypower found the back of the net off a pass from Bibeau to tie the game at two. While they managed to hold off two Bisons power plays, in the final two minutes of the game Wainwright managed to sneak the puck in to take the lead.
Cold Lake pulled their goalie in favour of the extra man, but an empty net goal from the Bisons with one minute left in the game secured their 4-2 win.
"Tonight we battled hard, we had them on their heels. We played 60 minutes as a unit, we had a breakdown with 2 minutes left that cost us the game," said Hood.
He added, "There's not a lot to change. We don't have to adjust our style of play, we just have to keep that up. The lines really played well and it's just unfortunate that the result wasn't what we wanted...Wainwright is a good team, they're going to keep coming at us. We just have to play a full 60 (minutes), keep our focus, play the game we want to play and dictate the play."
The Bisons are up 2-0 in semi-finals as the series heads back to Cold Lake for the next two games. Game 3 will take place on Wednesday followed by Game 4 on Friday, puck drop for both games is at 8 p.m.
