The Carstar Okotoks Bisons may have been down heading into game 3 of the HJHL final, but after a hard-fought 6-5 win, they're certainly not out.
They were in Sylvan Lake on Tuesday night (March 25) after two consecutive losses to the Wranglers in the best-of-five series.
The reigning league champion Bisons may not have had home-ice advantage in the do-or-die third game, but they quickly made their presence known, with Trevor Bonham landing a goal at the six-minute mark, and Kegan Law making it 2-0 just 90 seconds later thanks to a power play.
A shorthanded Bisons goal came in the twelfth minute, courtesy of Jady Shigehiro, with Wrangler Bret Gerrits notching one for the home team five minutes later.
Okotoks netminder Dylan Walker would make 21 saves in the game, 11 of them coming in the hectic first period.
Both teams added two goals each in the second, with Sam Callahan getting things started nearly nine minutes in and Easton Dean landing one of his own just before the 18-minute mark.
Hayden Motowylo and Riley Teulon of the Wranglers would score one each in between the Bisons' second-period goals.
Callahan was also the first to find the back of the net in the third period, two and a half minutes in on a power play.
The Wranglers added two more before the end, but it wasn't enough to keep the Bisons at bay.
With the win, the Bisons now trail the Wranglers 2-1 and will be back on home ice for game 4 on Thursday, March 27 at 8 p.m.