Okotoks Bisons win HJHL, move onto Provincials

Earlier this week, we updated you on the whereabouts of Alex Caravaggio ("Wait... where did Alex go?"), who is currently playing for the Okotoks Bisons of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) near Calgary.

Last night the Bisons completed a sweep of their opponents (and remained undefeated in post-season play), 3 games to none, to win the HJHL Championship and move on to the Hockey Alberta Junior B Provincial tournament, which will run April 5-8 and hosted by Okotoks.  We'll be following closely from So Cal.

Fight On, Bisons!

HJHL Playoff Info
Okotoks Bisons website

Wait... where did Alex go?

For those fans who noticed that sophomore goalie Alex Caravaggio was no longer in the Trojan lineup in the spring semester, fear not!

Alex makes his debut for the Okotoks Bisons
Junior B. Photo courtesy of Okotoks Western
Wheel.

The younger Caravaggio elected to return to the Calgary area and play for the Okotoks Bisons of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL).

Check out this article in the local Okotoks local paper featuring Alex and his joining the team!

The Bisons finished the regular season with an impressive 31-6-1-0 record, and Alex has a 4-0 record since joining the team, including one shutout.

Okotoks was last season's HJHL champions, and is currently defending its title in the HJHL Championship series against last year's runners-up, the Blackfalds Wranglers.

The Bisons are leading the best-of-5 series 2-0, with Game 3 set for Friday, March 23 in their home rink.

Go Bisons Go!
http://www.okotoksbisons.com/

2012-13 schedule released; New PAC-8 ranking system in place

Our schedule for the 2012-2013 season is now available at USCIceHockey.com/Schedule.

The most important development for the new season is the introduction of a new PAC-8 conference ranking and schedule system.  All PAC-8 teams are required to play 2 games against each other; for more than 2 games against one opponent, only 2 games (agreed upon by both teams before the season starts) will count for PAC 8 standings. 2 points are awarded for each win, and 1 point for an overtime loss.

This new straight points system replaces a complicated weighted points system that was originally instituted to compensate for uneven schedules between teams.

Some other interesting points of note:

• Currently scheduled are 12 home games and 14 away games = 26 games total.
• There will be road trips to the Bay Area, Salt Lake City, Spokane.
• Because only 2 games against any given PAC-8 opponent count for PAC-8 standings, USC and ucla have elected to count Games 3 & 4 (of our 5-game series). While Games 1, 2, & 5 will not count for conference standings, they will still count towards ACHA rankings & for the Crosstown Cup.
• After a 2 season hiatus, San Jose State is on the schedule for a home-and-home series (Oct 5 at SJSU, Oct 19 at USC). Last season, the Spartans entered the ACHA West Regionals as the 7th seed but did not advance to Nationals.
• Cal State Northridge is also a new addition with 2 games (Dec 8 at CSUN, Feb 2 at USC). CSUN joins the ACHA's Division II for next season; previously, the Matadors were competing in the Division III level, finishing in 9th place overall last season.
• San Diego State is not booked next season because of scheduling conflicts.
• We anticipate that there will be another pre-season exhibition game against ucla at the Honda Center, but we will have to wait for the NHL schedule to be announced, which occurs over the summer.
• There will be NO game at Staples Center.