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Airdrie's AAA hockey teams fall short of playoff berths

The race to the 2019 Alberta AAA Midget Hockey League (AMHL) playoffs ended just short of the finish line for the Airdrie CFR Chemical Bisons. After losing its last regular-season game of the 2018-19 season 2-1 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes Feb.
Yearly recognition
All three of Airdrie’s AAA minor hockey teams held year-end awards banquets together, April 3 at the Town and Country Centre.

The race to the 2019 Alberta AAA Midget Hockey League (AMHL) playoffs ended just short of the finish line for the Airdrie CFR Chemical Bisons. After losing its last regular-season game of the 2018-19 season 2-1 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes Feb. 16, the Bisons could only wait and see if the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers and the Calgary Flames won their final fixtures of the season the following afternoon. Unfortunately for the Bisons, both the Flames and the Oilers came out on top in their respective games, knocking Airdrie out of post-season contention and down to the bottom of the South Division standings. “You look back and you reflect as a coach, and you say, ‘Where were the games where we could have or should have [won]?” said Bisons head coach Dustin Taylor. “And there were a few in there that would have given us a better outcome. But it is what it is.” The loss to Lethbridge meant the Bisons finished the regular season with a 16-15-3 record. Airdrie’s 35 points were just one behind the sixth-place Flames and the seventh-place Oilers. “Overall, I’m quite happy with how the boys played,” Taylor said. “We had the ability to set our own destiny on a positive note, and we didn’t take advantage of that. Unfortunately, the results came out on the wrong end for us – by one point.” Taylor noted the Bisons’ points total would have put the team in fifth place of the North Division, which has 10 teams compared to the eight in the south. “The south division is very strong,” Taylor said. “Historically, it’s been like that for quite some time. Personally, I think the league needs to look at how the divisions are structured, especially when it comes to the playoffs. “My belief is you want to have the top 12 teams playing in the playoffs ­– not the top six from one division and the top six from the other.” Despite finishing bottom of the division, Taylor said his players were competitive and showed plenty of development throughout the 2018-19 season. “If you look at each player individually, where they started and where they’ve arrived, and where the next chapter is for them, there’s a lot of development that happened on the ice and off the ice,” he said. “Many of them have become very capable young men, so I’m quite pleased with that.”

Xtreme falls short

Airdrie’s other AAA minor hockey team – the bantam Xtreme – also fell short in its hunt to compete in the playoffs. The Xtreme still has one fixture left in 2019, but even if the team wins, it won’t qualify for the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League’s (AMBHL) post-season. The Xtreme’s most recent outing was a 3-2 road setback against the Lethbridge Golden Hawks. The loss put Airdrie’s record at 10-19-3, with 95 goals scored and 113 conceded. While the Xtreme is the defending AMBHL champions, this season saw an entirely new roster join the association, with many first-year bantam players. Airdrie will return to the Ron Ebbesen Arena for its final fixture Feb. 23 to take on the struggling Calgary Royals (5-21-5). Puck drop will be at 4:15 p.m.

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