The Cochrane Generals snapped a four-game losing streak with a convincing 9-3 road win over the Coaldale Copperheads on Oct. 28.
The Gens took an early 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Colton Wong and Brandon Aab, before exploding for five goals in the second period to give Cochrane a 7-1 lead after two periods. Aab added another two tallies to give himself a hat trick and Jarod Domingo got a second period hat trick of his own.
Zach Cugnet and Scott Shugg also scored for the Gens to push the score to 9-1 before Coaldale scored a pair of goals to round out the scoring.
Slater Ransom chipped in with three assists to put himself in the team lead point-wise, and Colton Wong also had a pair of assists to go with his goal to give him three points on the night.
Goaltender Erik Garber was solid, keeping the Copperheads at bay once his team got the lead.Garber made 28 saves for his team-leading fifth win of the season.
Gens assistant captain Talus Hume was happy with how his team responded, especially since Cochrane was beat 6-1 by Coaldale on Oct. 21.
“Honestly, I don’t think anyone was expecting us to win in that fashion,” he said. “We finally put a full game together and it speaks to what we’re capable of as a team.”
The Generals were also missing some key players due to injury, sickness or suspension, including team captain Austin Keller and his defence partner Will Gretton … Hume said Cochrane played the game with four defencemen but were able to find a way to win.
“We’ve got a resilient group in that locker room, so to be able to find a way to win, especially missing some key guys, it’s huge for us,” Hume said. “We’ve developed a big rivalry with Coaldale recently so it feels great to bounce back in such a big way.”
The rivalry will continue on Sunday, Nov. 5, when the Generals host the Copperheads at home.
It’s the second of two home games this weekend, with the Gens taking the ice against the Okotoks Bisons on Saturday.
Puck drop on Nov. 4 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is at 7:30 p.m., while the Nov. 5 game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
