2012 Boulder Bison Playoffs

During the season the Boulder Bison earned the second seed in the Mountain Division WSHL playoffs this year. Our first series was against the Cheyenne Stampede two weekends ago. We quickly eliminated them with a sweep in a 5-1 win Friday night and a 7-1 win Saturday night. I recorded three assists against Cheyenne, two of which were on the power play.

After the sweep we directed our attention to the Idaho Steelheads. We had our bus ride up late Wednesday night and pulled into McCall Idaho around 7 Thursday. Our morning skate Friday morning got us prepared and relaxed for the series and the team was focus and prepared. Friday night’s game was a great one. We stuck to our systems throughout the game and held a 1-0 lead the entire game until about 8 minutes left when we extended the lead to 2-0. Unfortunately we took a little breath with about 4 minutes left in the game and Idaho scored 3 goals in the last minutes to win 3-2. As a team we prepared ourselves for Saturday’s game and put that heartbreaking loss behind us. Although the same situation happened again late in the game when we lost a 2-0 lead again. Behind 3-2 late in the game Dylan Meier gave us a clinching goal with under a minute left to send us to OT. We went through 2 overtime periods before Chris Guidotti scored with 10 minutes left in the second overtime to win the game.

Unfortunately after such a great win we fell in the final game 4-2 with an empty net after Preston James led us with 2 goals late in the game as we fought for a comeback after being down 3-0. The Bison had a great season and I was honored to be a part of the team in playoffs. Our coaches Brent Cullaton and Derek Armstrong taught me, along with the rest of my teammates, some extremely valuable skills and values this year. I am sure I speak for the rest of the team when I say that we sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with two coaches so knowledgeable and experienced.

I now set my sights on next year. After being out with my hip for 6 months the 7 games I played have barely begun to quench my thirst and passion that has accumulated over the past months. I intend to continue training and preparing my options for next year.

Back after 6 months

In the last couple months much has happened. In early January I began skating with the Junior Bison with full pads, at that point my hip was still very fragile and pushing it was not an option. I worked hard with therapy to strengthen my entire body back to hockey standards with much help from my therapist Jennifer Knox and both my coaches, Brent Cullaton and Derek Armstrong who were all patient and helpful with what was best for my recovery. Throughout the entire process there was always the hope of salvaging something from this season and coming back to play at the end of the year. However, this idea was mere hope for keeping spirits high for myself and my career rather than a serious thought. Originally I was supposed to be recovering for 8-10 months and my surgeon, Dr. Brian White, seemed to be very set on no sooner than 8 months. However, since January my hip has improved dramatically and returning for playoffs seemed to be more and more of an option. I gave my doctor a call in early February to inquire about my return to sports and his recommended release from his care. To my surprise he was supportive of the idea and said that the opportunity of having playoff experience was worth coming back early and my hip was fully healed.

I dressed for 6 games since the call and was in the rotation for 2. The first period against the New Mexico Renegades was a little nerve racking after 6 months without playing, I made some simple mistakes that I usually would not, but the second game I gained some confidence and performed close to my full capability. I'm looking forward to playoffs this weekend which will be my first junior postseason experience! I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in this recovery especially my family who has had to deal with a injured hockey player going through some serious withdrawals, I'm sure that took more patience than I realize.