Former Cochrane Generals goaltender McKenzie Chalmers is enjoying life as a college athlete.
Chalmers, who played three seasons with the Generals from 2013 to 2016, posted career numbers of 25 wins and 16 losses in 49 games had a 3.46 goals-against-average and a .893 save percentage. He recently finished his first season with the Bryn Athyn College Lions, a school an hour outside of Philadelphia, PA.
The school’s hockey team plays in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 3 independent league and concluded its first season in the NCAA with a 9-2 victory over Chatham College in late February.
Chalmers was solid on the year for his team, starting in 20 of a possible 24 games, going 8-11-1 with a 3.27 goals-against-average and a .911 save percentage as the Lions went 9-12-1 during division three play. The 21-year-old netminder was fairly happy with how his first season with Bryn Athyn went.
“It was pretty good, as a first-year program at the NCAA level, we certainly had our ups and downs. We outplayed and upset a few good teams along the way. We were in a conference this year where we had nothing to play for other than proving to the league that they made the wrong choice not putting us in the higher conference,” Chalmers said stating that the independent league, which only includes Bryn Athyn and two other clubs while the remaining Division 3 teams play in a higher conference.
“I was lucky enough to come in and become the starter, starting 20 out of the 24 games we played this year. It was amazing for me … the work I put in during the summer really paid off and I can’t wait to do it again this upcoming off-season.”
Chalmers credits a lot of his success and ability to be playing college hockey to his three years with the Gens in the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL).
“My time with the Generals was extremely fun. I made a lot of lifelong friendships with the players I met over the three years I was there. Coming into the league at 16, I was so nervous with how I would perform, never having experience at the AA or AAA level. I had some doubts about myself, but my confidence grew thanks to (then Generals head coach) Evan McFeeters,” Chalmers said.
I don’t think I’d be playing (college hockey) if it weren’t for my time with Cochrane. Evan (McFeeters) saw something in me that no other AA or AAA coach saw and they gave me a chance … I wouldn’t be playing in the NCAA without that opportunity. I came into tryouts as a scrawny 150-pound kid that didn’t play a level higher than Bantam or Midget tier one and the Generals were the starting ground for where I am today.”
“The Gens are a strong, fast, physical team with a lot of grit and are usually one of the best organizations in the HJHL year in and year out. The coaches put a lot of trust into our ability to play and they gave us a lot of opportunities to succeed and move onto high levels.”
While the Generals alumnus was happy with his freshman season, Chalmers said there is still lot of room for improvement internally with his personal success, but believes team success is the ultimate goal for next season.
“Expectations are always the same every year. Lower the goals-against-average and put more wins in the win column … I want single digit losses, which was one of my goals this year and unfortunately I came up just short of that,” Chalmers said.
“I expect myself to come in stronger than I did last year, be more prepared physically and mentally and I also expect myself to continue to grow and mature so when the time comes I can jump right into the next level.”
“Next year, we’ll be in a legitimate conference so I fully expect us to make the playoffs and take a run at the conference title.”
