This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.
After recording a franchise record of 62 points and finishing first overall in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) regular-season, nothing but hope and tears of joy swept Cochrane.
Now, there are tears of a different sort.
On March 23, The Cochrane Generals heroically fell to a 4-2 defeat on the road in Game 6 of the HJHL Championship series to Mountainview Colts, ending their season and dreams of glory.
Despite a promising start to the series, Gens were on the wrong side of a four games to two deficit, but can hold their heads high knowing they did everything in their power to bring home the coveted prize.
“The last game was typical of what we saw throughout the series,” Gens head coach Evan McFeeters said. “We got off to a slow start and dug ourselves into a hole. I’ll give the Colts a lot of credit though, they stuck to their game plan and made it tough for us to sustain any pressure in their zone.”
Right from the get-go, it seemed like the all the odds were stacked against the Gens, as the Colts took a convincing 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Mitchell Visser and Dennis Lawrence.
The second period was a stalemate as neither side could manage a goal despite the Gens creating several golden chances.
“After the first period, we knew we were fighting for our season,” McFeeters admitted. “We gave them everything they could handle, but their goalie had the game of the season and we couldn’t crack him until the third.”
The final period of the Gens’ season was of an entirely different breed, as the Cochrane team rediscovered their scoring touch.
Chad Harrison knocked in a goal (Connor Rendell and Brett Hamer with helpers) to make it 2-1 and give the Cochrane team a glimmer of hope.
That glimmer was blown out like a candle however, as the Colts restored their two goal advantage through Cole Sutherland just 29 seconds later.
The Gens battled back, with Tyler Kinnon making it 3-2 (Harrison and Slater Ransom with the assists).
Unfortunately, that proved to be the last Gens goal of the season as, Ryan Klinck added insult to injury, with an unassisted goal to finish them off and giftwrap the championship to the Colts.
“We knew we were the more skilful side throughout the series and we out-chanced them two to one,” McFeeters said. “From the combined stats of all the games we outshot them by 40, so it wasn’t like we didn’t create scoring opportunities.
“Their goalie standing tall in the final game made all the difference.”
For McFeeters, this season marked the conclusion of a three-year plan by him and his coaching staff to make the Gens title contenders.
“We said three seasons ago we were going to build up and bring a winning mentality to the dressing room,” he said. “It was a very optimistic goal to have a three-year plan of reaching the finals, but we got there. We’re very proud of what we accomplished. To have a record-breaking regular-season and get to the playoffs was fantastic.”
The wound of coming so close and falling at the last hurdle still stings, but McFeeters and his players can look back at the season with a sense of accomplishment, and take pride in the fact their organization has, “taken massive strides forward.”
“I’ve coached some of these players for five years now, and seeing some of them play the best hockey of their lives and reach their full potential has been fantastic,” McFeeters said. “Players like Corey Goeson have battled though injuries and played out of this world all year long. Guys like him have set the standard for what a Cochrane General is and should be.”
Despite the fact players such as the offence triumvirate of Slater Ransom, Chad Harrison, and Connor Rendell have been picking up the glory all season long for racking up a ridiculous amount of points, McFeeters is quick to point out the team wouldn’t have gotten to where they ended up without the grinders and the unsung heroes.
“Guys like Patrick Dove, Brett Berndt, Dustin Boone, Ty Robinson, and Brett Hamer have been huge for us this year,” McFeeters said. “There’s no way we would have been there without guys like that providing us with a solid backbone. Cochrane’s pretty lucky to have talent like that in their town.”
Things are already shaping up to be interesting for the 2016/17 season, as only one player (Boone) is ineligible due to overage, and the playoff experience the team has gained after a long, hard season can do nothing but help them in the coming years.
“This roster absolutely has the potential to be stronger next year,” McFeeters said. “For the players to have gained the experience they did, Cochrane will be walking into next season as one of the potential favourites to win the league.”
As for McFeeters, the season has been filled with rumours of his moving up to the next level since he’s been juggling coaching the Gens and an assistant role with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) Canmore Eagles.
However, the coach is quick to reiterate his desire to lead the Gens on another run come next season.
“I’m taking off for Vegas to clear my head for a couple days,” he said. “There are some offers on the table, but I feel a small void now. We got so close this year, and I want this team to succeed so badly, and be a part of it. After building this team up for so long, I don’t want to leave with anything left unfinished.
“I’ll look at all the options over the summer and if the Generals are the best fit, then I’m more than happy to lead this team on another championship run.”
Whatever the future has in store, win or lose, this season has been a hell of a ride.
In times of uncertainty such as these, the Cochrane Generals gave their town something to be proud of.
Here’s to next season boys.
