The Cochrane Generals Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type season continued on Nov. 17 and 18, where they lost against the Stettler Lightning 7-2, but came back the following night and defeated the league leading Airdrie Techmation Thunder 5-2.
In the game against the Lightning, the games’ first period was a back-and-forth, fast-paced affair, with four even strength and one power play goal. Jordan Fisher and Scott Shugg scored for Cochrane, but Stettler got three goals in the opening frame to give them a 3-2 lead. The second and third periods were all Lightning as they lit the lamp four straight times. The Generals struggled to put the puck past Stettler goaltender Brett Roper, who made 47 saves on the evening.
The two teams combined for a total of 96 shots on net, Trei Weber started the game for Cochrane, but was hooked halfway through after making 29 saves on the 34 shots he faced. Erik Garber came in and made 12 saves on 13 shots in his brief relief appearance.
Five players finished with a point in the game, with Shugg and Fisher scoring and Walid Hassin, Chris Sambrook and Carter Cugnet all had assists.
Cochrane also took seven penalties throughout the game, allowing the Lightning to score twice on those occasions. Assistant captain Talus Hume said his team needs to clean up the mistakes and be a bit more discipline.
“It’s something we always have in mind but we don’t typically focus on it,” Hume said.
“When emotions are high it’s easy to run into penalty trouble and we need to work on limiting that.”
The following night was a penalty filled battle with archrival Airdrie. The two teams combined for 124 penalty minutes, with six of those calls being 10-minute misconducts.
The Generals got off to a fast start, racing out to a 3-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game thanks to goals from Taylor Girard, Slater Ransom and newcomer River Ross, who would score once again to make it 4-1 after the Thunder cut into the Generals lead. Airdrie would score to end the period and make it 4-2, but only Slater Ransom was able to find the back of the net in the final two periods, giving the Generals a 5-2 win.
Erik Garber was solid in net once again turning away 23 of the 25 pucks he faced over the duration of the game. Austin Keller and Talus Hume had three assists, Ransom and Ross had two goals and an assist while Taylor Girard also chipped in with a pair of points.
Hume says the bounce back win against the league’s top team is huge for the Generals moving forward.
“It’s a huge confidence boost. We’re playing really well against the top teams in our league so we just need to find a way to bring that motivation to every game,” Hume said.
The Generals will look for some revenge against Stettler when the teams square off in Cochrane on Nov. 24, while Cochrane will then hit the road the following night to Medicine Hat to face the Cubs at the Kinplex.
