The Cochrane Generals are gearing up for the 2017 campaign with training camp beginning on Sept. 2 and 3 before their first exhibition game Sept. 8 against the Okotoks Bisons.
Generals head coach Derek Donald was happy with the first few days of training camp and practice.
“I was very excited about the energy and work ethic at camp. The players competed hard from Day 1 and we had a great practice last night and we will be looking to keep the momentum heading into preseason.”
The Gens will play Okotoks again the following day and then have a home and home with the Airdrie Thunder on Sept. 15 and 16 to close out the pre-season portion of their schedule.
Cochrane will then start their season on Sept. 22 with three games on the road in Okotoks, Strathmore and Airdrie before they host the Ponoka Stampeders for the home opener on Sept. 30. The game against Ponoka will be the start of a whopping six game homestand for the Gens, which could give them an advantage in the early part of the season.
“It’s nice to have some road games early on for bonding time, just get the guys on the bus and in a team environment where you’re not necessarily playing, but you’re still spending time with your teammates.” Donald said. “As for the home stretch, we want to get wins out of all those six games early on and be in the top half of our division early instead of trying to play catch up the rest of the way. It’s a lot easier to play with a lead than it is playing from behind, so that’s something we’ll look to do.”
Donald says seeing both Okotoks and Airdrie during pre-season will give them a good indication of what his team might see from those squads once the regular season gets underway.
“Truth be told, basically, what we were looking for was to play teams closer to us. Everyone in the league does that, but it’s also kind of nice because we play those teams early on, and to see teams in our own division could be used in our favour. Okotoks will be a team that will give us a good test early on and kind of see where we’re at.” Donald said. “They’re usually one of the top teams in the division and our league, so especially for the younger guys, it will be a tough test and see how we match up.”
