Bisons 16U win bronze at USA Hockey nationals

The Buffalo Bisons took bronze at the USA Hockey Girls National Championships held in San Jose, Calif. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: Pamela Zgoda (Cheektowaga), Kelly Mendola, Brianna Murphy (Depew), Julia Fleming, Maggie Giamo (Orchard Park), Carolyn Wolcott, Kimberly Sass (East Amherst); top row - Scott Welch (East Amherst), Robert Sass (East Amherst), Kristina Moss, Grace Waters (Snyder), Kelsey Welch (East Amherst), Mackenzie Lee, Erica Owczarczak (West Seneca), Jacquie Greco (Clarence), Brigitte Cellino (West Seneca), Abby Runyon, Danielle Drabin, Cassie Stein, Tenley Odenbach, Jay Waters (Clarence) and Gary Moss.

After winning the New York State Girls Tier I 16-and-Under Championship in Long Island, the Buffalo Bisons traveled to San Jose, Calif., to represent New York State at the USA Hockey Girls National Championships.

The Buffalo Bisons opened the preliminary round of the tournament by beating nationally recognized Minnesota District Champion Shattuck St. Mary's, 3-1. The following day, the Bisons took on the Michigan District champion and perennial power HoneyBaked and came away with an impressive 3-0 win. The Bisons completed the preliminary round by overcoming a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Southeast District champion team from Florida, 4-2.

The Buffalo Bisons' undefeated preliminary round record would set up a quarterfinal match-up against the Central District champion Chicago Young Americans, the team the Bisons had lost to in the quarterfinal round two years ago in Denver, Colo.

The Bisons came out very slowly, spent the majority of the first period in the penalty box and were fortunate to finish the first period scoreless.

The second period was much different, as the Bisons came out flying and took a 2-0 lead. The third period was more of the same, with the Bisons dominating a very tired Chicago Young American team, scoring three more goals. The final score was an impressive 5-0 win.

The quarterfinal victory earned the Bisons a semifinal match-up against the New England District champion Connecticut Polar Bears, a team that struggled earlier to defeat Honey- Baked in their quarterfinal match-up, 5-4.

The Bisons came out strong in the opening period of the semifinal game and took advantage of two power play opportunities late in the period to take a 2-0 lead. Both teams traded several scoring opportunities in the second period but the score remained unchanged, with the Bisons maintaining a 2-0 lead after two periods.

The Bisons came out sluggish to start the third period and took some uncharacteristic penalties, allowing the Polar Bears to score on a power play with 10 minutes remaining in the third period. Another penalty gave the Polar Bears the opportunity to tie the game with seven minutes remaining. The Bisons responded and dominated play the remainder of the third period but were not able to slip the puck past the Polar Bear goaltender.

Throughout the next three overtimes, both teams traded scoring opportunities. After it appeared the Bisons would finally end the game with a goal on a two-man advantage to start the fourth overtime, the Polar Bears broke up ice and rang a shot off the inside of the post to end the game. It was an extremely disappointing loss, as both teams knew the winner would face defending champion Assabet Valley in the gold medal game, a team the Bisons had defeated in the championship game of the Polar Bear tournament in December. Assabet Valley went on to defeat the Polar Bears 4-0 in the finals.

While the Buffalo Bisons were disappointed with the way the season ended, the team is proud of its accomplishments. The Bisons finished the season with a 53-4-6 record. The team won the Fire and Ice Tournament and the prestigious Connecticut Polar Bear Tournament, a feat that had never been previously accomplished by a team from Western New York.

The team also had some individual accomplishments at the National Championships, as Grace Waters and Kelly Mendola both won the Easton Skills Competition.