The Cochrane Generals' 2023 Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) playoff run officially gets underway this evening, when they host the High River Flyers at the Cochrane Arena.
After finishing second in both the HJHL playoffs and ensuing Alberta provincial junior B championships in 2022, the Generals will be hoping to go on a similar run this year.
“I think we’re well prepared,” said Tristan Ripplinger, a 20-year-old forward for the team. “Our coaching staff has definitely pushed us this last half. We’ve been through a bit of a rut, but I think we came together as a team properly. We have a lot of experience heading into playoffs – veteran players who will take the lead, so I’m very confident heading into this first round against High River.”
As Ripplinger mentioned, the Cochranites are coming into the playoffs after a bit of a rough patch. Despite spending most of the season comfortably in second place of the HJHL's south division, the Generals surrendered their spot in the final weeks of the campaign after a string of disappointing performances.
Had they finished in second, the Generals would have earned a bye through to the second round of the post-season.
Ripplinger said it's hard to determine exactly what led to the drop in form in January and February, but suggested it could have been due to complacency against some of the teams that were in the lower half of the league table. He added the Generals are eager to put the recent setbacks behind them and re-find their groove.
“I think the work is there, the work ethic is there," he said. "There were some things that just didn’t go our way with some teams and we maybe overlooked a few teams and felt almost too confident. But I think we have our mojo back and there’s a lot of good stuff to come moving into the playoffs.
"We’ve worked hard these last few weeks, correcting some things and preparing for the playoffs. Lots of team-building stuff too. It’s felt really good to be a General the last couple of weeks.”
In evaluating tonight's opponent, the Generals won four of their five games this season against the Flyers, who come into the first-round, best-of-three series after finishing at the bottom of the south division standings with a 6-29-3 record. However, one of those shootout wins came in the struggling team's last outing against the Generals, meaning the Flyers can't be under-estimated.
Ripplinger, who notched 54 points for the Generals during the regular season (fourth overall in the HJHL), said Cochrane will be looking to the experience of veterans such as captain Patrick Forde and Connor Stephenson to lead by example this post-season.
“There’s lots of experience and a lot of guys know what it takes during the HJHL playoffs,” he said. “There are a lot of guys who will lead the way and pave the way for us to be successful.”
The second-year Generals member said the playoffs are the culmination of what everyone is building toward throughout the regular season, and thus Cochrane's players are relishing the chance to hit the ice tonight.
“The regular season is important, but what it really comes down to is the playoffs, and we’re well prepared,” he said. “The HJHL playoffs are a blast. It’s a whole different hockey game – it’s fast, high-hitting, very physical, and completely different than the regular season. There’s a switch that has to be turned on for everyone and you have to buy into the system.”
Puck-drop is set for 7:30 p.m. this evening at the Cochrane Arena. Game two will get underway tomorrow in High River at 8:30 p.m., and game three, if necessary, will be back in Cochrane on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
