The Cochrane Generals are peaking at the right time, as they smashed the Ponoka Stampeders home and away over Jan. 16-17 in Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) action.
Originally, Gens (24-5-3, 1st Southern Division) were set to host Medicine Hat Cubs (5-26-0, 7th Southern Division) on Jan. 15 as the first game in a three-game weekend.
However, due to issues with roster turnover since the Christmas break and trade deadline, the team was unable to put together enough players to field a team. They have now been forced by the league to forfeit all their remaining games 1-0.
In the first game against Stampeders (9-12-2, 6th Northern Division) Gens opened the floodgates, running out 9-1 winners.
Stamps opened the scoring through Tyson Crampain in the first period, but it was a short-lived lead as Gens forward Corey Goeson tied things up going into the second period.
From there on, it was a non-stop Gens goal gusher as Chad Harrison, Colton Wong, Brett Berndt, Slater Ransom, Dustin Boone, Talus Hume, Connor Rendell, and Goeson with his second of the game rounded out the scoring.
Berndt, Goeson, Logan Brown (two), Craig Packard, Noah Bigland, Brett Hamer, Kurt Thrussell, Patrick Dove, Dustin Ponath, Levi Barker, and new acquisition George King (two) all had helpers.
Gens maintained their momentum the next day, travelling to Ponoka and again hammering the Stamps, this time 11-1.
King (three), Barker, Rendell (two), Goeson, Boone (two), Hume, and Joey Stensland were all on the scoreboard for the visitors.
Hume (two), Berndt, Thrussell, King (two), Rendell (two), Stensland, Hamer, Hume, Ransom, Wong (two), Dove, Goeson, and Tyler Kinnon all contributed assists.
“The results this weekend, were exactly what we intended them to be,” said Gens head coach Evan McFeeters.
“After learning that Medicine Hat was no longer going to be playing games this season, that narrowed our regular-season schedule down to only six more games. So, we had a team meeting and we realized it’s crunch time, so we’ve made a conscious effort to start playing like it’s the playoffs now.”
Gens recently acquired forward George King from the Olds Grizzlys and so far, the seventeen-year old has impressed, scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in his first two games.
“George is a player we picked up on the Jan. 10 trade deadline, who has a lot of offensive upside, and has already fitted well into our hockey club,” McFeeters said. “It’s been a seamless transition since he’s come into our locker room. He’s getting along well with all his new teammates, and it’s shown on the ice.
“There’s been a lot of creativity playing him on different lines and he’s put up some good numbers for us over his first weekend here.”
What was McFeeters’ thinking in bringing in another offensively minded player to a team that has no problem getting goals?
“Going into playoff time we know it’s going to be a lot tougher scoring goals and you’re going to need to have lines with more depth,” he said.
“Matchups become more important, and teams start playing tighter defensively, so it becomes more difficult facing them.
“Adding a player like George who brings that extra offensive punch is going to be huge for our club. Once we had the opportunity to get him from Olds we felt that he would be a huge asset going forward.
“We also have a chance to help him with his situation, because he wants to play Junior A next year, and we’re giving him a chance to showcase his talents in Cochrane.”
Gens next face Red Deer Vipers (19-8-4, 3rd Northern Division) on Jan. 23 at Red Deer Arena.
The last time these two teams met was a tight encounter on Nov. 27 that Gens edged 2-1.
McFeeters is expecting another similar battle this time around.
“Red Deer is one of the strongest teams in the league, and this year they’re hosting the provincial championship tournament,” he said.
“So, they’re a team that we definitely want to match up well against if we want to get the goal that we’ve set for ourselves.
“They’re very tough on home ice, so we expect another low scoring game. I believe the way we played against Ponoka sets it up well. If we can play from our back end out and let our offence take over, we’ll have some success this coming weekend.”
Gens currently sit on 51 points in their division – seven more than second-place Okotoks Bisons who have two games in hand – how does McFeeters plan on maintaining that lead going into the tail-end of the regular-season?
“We’re looking at every game from here on out as a must win,” he said. “We’re treating all the remaining games as if they were a game seven in the playoffs, that way if we get in that situation we’re prepared and feel comfortable.
“We don’t expect Okotoks to lose a game down the final stretch, so they’re still the team to beat in our division.
“Our sights are set not only on winning the division, but on gaining home ice advantage for the playoffs.”
Saturday, Jan. 23, 8 p.m., Red Deer Arena: Gens (24-5-3, 1st South Division) vs. Red Deer Vipers (19-8-4, 3rd Northern Division).
Friday, Jan 29, 7:30 p.m., Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre: Strathmore Wheatland Kings (12-8-1, 4th Southern Division) at Gens.
Saturday, Jan. 30, 8:30 p.m., Coaldale: Gens at Coaldale Copperheads (21-9-1, 3rd Southern Division)
The race to finish as the Gens scoring leader looks like it is going to go down to the wire as Talus Hume (two goals, three assists), Slater Ransom (one goal, two assists), Corey Goeson (three goals, two assists), and Connor Rendell (three goals, two assists) all added to their season totals this past weekend. Hume still leads the team overall with 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) followed closely by Ransom on 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists).
Austin Keller had a extremely quiet weekend on the scoreboard compared to his consistently high standards, picking up no goals or assists over the two Stampeders games.
Gens’ new 17-year old forward George King, who was picked up on the January transfer deadline has made an instant impact, scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in his first two games in Cochrane.
Rookie forward Levi Barker added to his team-leading 125 PIM ,picking up 12 in the 9-1 win over Stampeders on Jan. 16. He sits ninth overall in the HJHL, just one minute behind eighth-place Aiden Geiger of the Okotoks Bisons. Tyler Kinnon is the next highest ranked Gens player sitting in 13th with 98 PIM.
Gens have five players in the top twenty in the league in terms on game-winning goals scored. Hume (5th) with four. Ransom (13th) with three. Goeson (16th) on three, and Chad Harrison (18th) on three as well.
Gens were 1-1 against Vipers last season, and 1-0 this year. 5-0 against Kings last season (3-0 this season). 1-3 against Copperheads last season, and 1-1 this year.
