After closing out the month of October with a win against the Coaldale Copperheads to put an end to their four game losing streak, the Cochrane Generals kicked off November with a pair of wins to push their win streak to three games.
The Generals took on the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s (HJHL) Southern Division leading Okotoks Bisons on Nov. 4 and came away with a 5-2 victory.
The Gens got off to a good start, scoring a power play goal off the stick of Brandon Aab, before blowing the game open in the second period to make it 3-0 on goals from captain Austin Keller and forward Harry Osler. Slater Ransom quickly answered an Okotoks goal with a power play marker of his own to cap off the period at 4-1.
Aab got his second of the game and the Generals third power play goal of the game, before the Bisons scored at the 10:29 mark of the third period to round out the scoring.
Goaltender Erik Garber stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced and Cochrane went three for four on the power play.
Cochrane then played host to Coaldale for the third time in four games the following night. The penalty-filled affair ended with the home side coming away victorious 5-0.
Talus Hume scored the Gens first two goals of the game, one coming on a penalty shot. Colton Wong also added to the Generals lead with 59 seconds remaining in the second period to give Cochrane a 3-0 lead after two. Hume knocked in a hat trick, and Austin Keller scored again to round out the scoring.
Keller and Hume led the way offensively for the Generals with three points each, while six other players chipped in with single points of their own in the victory as the Gens fired 51 shots on goal. Garber stopped all 31 shots he faced to register his third shut out of the season. Both sides racked up a total of 112 penalty minutes.
Hume says playing Coaldale three times in such a short period of time has really fuelled the rivalry between the two clubs.
“It’s an extremely competitive rivalry. Coaldale is a team we’re always excited to play because we know we’re in for a battle. The games are always physical, high scoring and very meaningful in the standings,” Hume said.
“It’s safe to say we’ve developed a hatred for one another. Playing them that much makes it feel a little like playoff hockey and it keeps your emotions fresh. We used that first loss as motivation and it led us to two lopsided victories in the following games.”
Hume also added that the Generals have seemingly turned a corner and hope the team continues to add wins to their 7-6 record in an effort to keep pace with the rest of the division.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before we started scoring again,” Hume said. “It’s all about confidence and right now we’re feeling pretty good.”
Cochrane will hit the road for three straight games starting Nov. 8 in Didsbury to faceoff with the Mountainview Colts. The Generals will have their next home game on Nov. 18 against the Airdrie Techmation Thunder.
