McDonald stops 53, Bisons hang on for Game 1 victory

OKOTOKS – Matthew McDonald put up a wall between the pipes, making 53 saves on the night, including 20 in the final 20 minutes as the Okotoks Bisons hung on for a wild 6-5 win over the Coaldale Copperheads in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Thursday.

Connor Tudor led the charge for the Bisons with a pair of goals, while Ryan McLean chipped in with a goal and assist.

Okotoks led 2-0 after 20 minutes and held a 6-3 lead in the middle stanza before the Copperheads would claw back to make it a one-goal game with less than five minutes to play in the third period.

McDonald turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the opening period, before making 20 saves in each of the final two frames.

Joshua McCulloch, Nicholas Murrell and Michael Stach rounded out the scoring for the Bisons.

Calvin Swanson finished with a pair of goals and one assist for the Copperheads, which also got tallies from Sam Paskuski, Ryan Swier and Brady Parenteau.

Dillan Kelly turned aside 25 shots in the loss.

The series now shifts to Coaldale for Game 2 on Saturday night. Action begins at 8:30pm.

GAME SUMMARY