The Cochrane Chaos are off to a high-flying start.
After another tough Alberta Junior Female Hockey League (AJFHL) finals sweep to the Edmonton Wolves, the Chaos kicked off a new season with four games from Oct. 5 to 19.
In the first game of the season on Oct. 5, the Chaos defeated the Fort Saskatchewan Fury by 4-2. Chaos rookies did all the damage for Cochrane as Kaley Mueller had two goals while Brooklyn Palin and Brooklyn Carels also tallying goals in the victory. Returning goaltender Jenna Weseen kicked away 21 of the 23 shots she faced for the victory.
Cochrane was back in action with a pair of games on Oct. 11 against the Lethbridge Eagles, and Oct. 13 against the Calgary Jags. The Chaos fired 56 shots on the Eagles goaltender, peppering her in waves throughout the duration of the game, while managing to fire home five goals. Brooklyn Carels scored her second goal in as many games while Shea Dolan and Callie Cummins both had two goals in the game. Weseen wasn't tested much throughout the game but still managed to make 14 saves on the evening.
The Chaos faced a tougher test against the Jags, escaping with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over their Calgary neighbours. Returning player Faith Gette had two goals, continuing the stretch of Chaos players plotting a pair of goals in three consecutive games with Kaley Mueller nabbing the other goal. Weseen once again got the call in net, making 23 saves.
Finally in their most recent game on Oct. 19 in Calgary, the Chaos failed to find some offence. Faith Gettein earned them a goal from a 4-1 loss in which they fell behind 2-0 early and weren't able to play catch up.
Even with the latest loss, Chaos head coach Derek Loomer said he's been fairly happy with how his team has played early in the season.
"We have had a really good work ethic and players are getting to know each other’s tendencies on the ice," Loomer said of his team's early season performance through four games. "Lines are coming together and progressing well. I thought we were really flat in our last game and it cost us. A good learning opportunity for the team as we are going to have to work hard every game to get wins as the league gets tougher every year."
"We have a really resilient group with strong leadership. It's important for us to stay focused on the process and not get too high when we win or too low when we lose - just learn from each other and get a bit better each week."
The Chaos have a lot of returning players from last year's squad that went to the league final, something that Loomer said should benefit this year's group as the season moves along while also playing into Cochrane's early season attack.
"I find it really helps as we can focus on skill development early and still have cohesive team play on the ice as many of the players have experience with each other in prior years," he said. "Our returning players are also great at being new players into the system and making them feel comfortable."
"It is a real treat for us to be able to roll four lines and six defencemen with no worries about how they will match up on the ice. I do notice that all (of the other teams) are getting a bit stronger through their line ups so having a balanced attack is important to success as you never know which shift is going to deliver the goals."
Cochrane will have a set of back-to-back games on Oct. 25 and 26 against the Jags at home and then on the road against Lethbridge.
"We need to be ready to compete," Loomer said of being prepared for the upcoming games.
"Teams have shown so far that anyone can beat anyone if you are not ready to play. I expect a physical game verses the Jags, and we will have to tough it out against an improved Lethbridge team as we head out on the road after playing late the night before."
