It’s been a week like no other in the history of the Cochrane Generals hockey club.
On Mar. 4, Gens took a 2-0 series lead in their Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) best-of-seven Southern Division finals series against Coaldale Copperheads.
Gens absolutely annihilated Copperheads, taking the game 11-5, in front of a boisterous home crowd.
“We accomplished what we wanted to do in terms of our game plan,” said Gens head coach Evan McFeeters. “We set out to utilize our strengths, like our speed to the neutral zone and our suffocating defence.”
Right from the get-go the home team’s game plan did exactly that. The offensive triumvirate of Connor Rendell, Chad Harrison, and Slater Ransom combined for a total of 16 points, with Corey Goeson and Talus Hume each scoring a pair, and blue-liner Austin Keller grabbing a goal and two assists.
Goalie Ty Robinson continued his excellent playoff form, stopping 20 out of 25 shots.
“For the first half of the game, we played our strategy to a tee, and that allowed us to play some of our younger guys later in the game,” McFeeters said. “They got some valuable experience.”
The fact Gens managed to outscore Copperheads 17-7 over the first two games of the series is something McFeeters could have only dreamed about.
“We figured the games would be tight,” he said. “They’re a high-scoring team themselves. We always planned on shutting down their top line, and that has allowed us to create some offence.”
As jubilant as the mood was after the game, things took turn for the worst when Gens travelled to Coaldale on Mar. 5.
The team fell to a 4-1 score-line in the Snake Pit (Keller scoring the only goal, with Harrison and Craig Packard assisting), but the game will be remembered for something else entirely, as the team was notified their bus had caught on fire before the start of the second period due to supposed mechanical problems involving the engine.
The game continued despite firefighters rushing in and out of the building, and parts of the arena and dressing rooms filling with the smell of smoke.
“It was definitely a night to remember,” McFeeters said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be involved with a game like that again. At least, I hope not. It’s not often your bus burns down 20 feet away from you in the parking lot.”
This is the second time that Gens have had bus trouble in Coaldale this season, but McFeeters isn’t crying conspiracy considering the usual company the team contracts out had no buses available on the night and instead contracted out another company Gens had never used before.
“It was smooth sailing on the way down there,” McFeeters said. “But, a minute into the second period our equipment manager said our bus was on fire. I didn’t know how to take it. Our players got wind of it, and I think it put us into a bit of a panic not knowing what was going on.”
The Gens equipment, along with numerous personal belongings suffered smoke damage, but McFeeters is quick to point out his team will bounce back from this unfortunate situation.
“I don’t want to create excuses for us, because that’s the easy way out,” he said. “Our team is a mentally tough group, and although I know it affected some of our guys, we’re not down.”
