Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan.
Nowhere was this more evident, than when the Cochrane Generals suffered a setback over the weekend in their quest for the HJHL’s Southern Division title, falling 4-3 to Red Deer Vipers in overtime on Jan. 23.
The first period was a quiet affair, with Vipers scoring a power-play goal through Nick Glackin to take a 1-0 lead.
Gens woke up in the second period and smashed the home side, scoring three straight power-play goals through George King, Dustin Ponath, and Connor Rendell to take a 3-1 lead going into the third period.
King, Talus Hume (two), Patrick Dove (two), and Slater Ransom, all grabbed assists for the visitors.
In the third, Vipers bounced back, grabbing two goals, in less than two minutes through Kale Lapointe (on the power-play) and Glackin (his second of the game) to send the affair into overtime. Gens battled hard, but unfortunately came up short, as Matt Krusky scored with 2:48 left, to give Vipers their 21st win of the season, and hand Gens their fourth overtime loss.
“I would chalk this one up to a bit of an emotional hangover,” said Gens head coach Evan McFeeters. “With Medicine Hat dropping out, we’ve only played three games in the past three weeks, and last weekend we played two games against Ponoka, where from a coaching standpoint, I thought we developed some bad habits that transferred to the Red Deer game, and came back to bite us.
“We started the game a bit slow and weren’t playing at the pace we like to establish in games. In the second we started to move the puck better which forced them to take lots of penalties, and our power-play is first in the league right now, so we’re very confident when we have the man advantage.”
However, McFeeters believes his team ran into a, “lull” in the third period, which cost them a point they needed if they plan on staying ahead of Okotoks Bisons in the standings.
“We had a little bit of breathing room, but now that’s been shut,” he said.
“We have to play with a playoff mentality if we want to keep first place.”
Gens now face Strathmore Wheatland Kings and Coaldale Copperheads this coming weekend, a test the team will have to come out of unscathed if they want to see their first place lead secured.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge this weekend,” McFeeters said. “Having two games in two nights is going to get us back into a rhythm.
“We want to be at full tilt going into the final couple weeks of the regular season.”
Friday, Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m., Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre: Strathmore Wheatland Kings (12-19-1, 4th Southern Division) at Gens (25-5-4, 1st Southern Division)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 8:30 p.m., Coaldale: Gens at Coaldale Copperheads (24-9-1, 3rd Southern Division).
Recently-acquired forward George King has continued his hot streak, picking up a goal and an assist in the game against Vipers, bringing his Gens total to nine points (four goals, five assists) in 3 games. Veteran forward Talus Hume continued his amazing assist run, grabbing another two against Vipers to take his total to a team-leading 32 in 31 games (he currently sits fourth overall in the league).
Gens second-highest goalscorer and third-highest points getter Corey Goeson was uncharacteristically quiet, being shut out of over the weekend.
Gens were 5-0 against Wheatland Kings last season (3-0 this season), and 1-3 against Copperheads last season (1-1) this year.
