The Buffalo Bison opened the 2013-14 season at the Buffalo Community Center with a back-and-forth tie against the Osseo Orioles. The game finished knotted 4-4. The game marked the debut of head coach Aaron Johnson and his staff.

 Junior Gunnar Goodmanson was the star of the game as he netted his first career hat-trick and played a solid game in both ends of the ice. Goodmanson opened the scoring on a 2-on-1 rush as he sniped his first of the season with a wicked-wrist shot into the top right corner. After Osseo’s Seth Yonkers tie the game at one, senior defenseman Justin Laven found a loose puck and fired a point shot found the twine.

 Osseo tied the score on the power-play and the first period ended locked at 2-2.

 Midway though the second period, Goodmanson found himself on another 2-on-1 break. This time he used his linemate as a decoy as he faked a pass before wristing a laser through the Orioles’ Conner Dahlberg’s five-hole. Jake Ramsey picked up his second assist of the game on the play. The Orioles then got two goals from Mason Hautala and took a 4-3 lead in the third period.

 Then, with 5:31 remaining in the game, Goodmanson wheeled around the Oriole net and fired the game tying goal through a moving Dahlberg. The goal completed Goodmanson's first career hat-trick and the Bison fans serenaded him with a shower of hats.

 Goalie Mikey Otten made 25 saves and kept the Bison in the game through some tense situations.

 Coach Aaron Johnson was pleased with his teams effort but sees areas that need refinement. “We definitely played hard and that is going to be our M.O. for the year. Early in the game we turned over a lot of pucks, took penalties, and played a little sloppy. But we improved and overcame 17 minutes of penalty-killing,” explained Johnson.

 “We will improve as we become more comfortable with our system,” added Johnson, “this will be an exciting season.”

 Up next for the Bison is the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles at the Bloomington Ice Garden on Tuesday night.

Photos courtesy of Rob LaPlante, Wright County Journal-Press

@laplante71