After sweeping the High River Flyers in round one of the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) playoffs, the Cochrane Generals are looking for some revenge against a familiar foe in round two.
Game 1 started off fast for the Generals as Chris Sambrook potted an early goal to give the home side a 1-0 lead just six minutes in. High River was able to tie the game at the 10:53 mark of the first but Cochrane scored three goals off the sticks of Carter Cugnet, Caden Chudleigh and Jordan Marks in the final four minutes of the period and the route was on. Braden Bain, Brandon Aab, Keenan McElroy and Taylor Girard scored in the second to up the score to 8-1 with the scoring being rounded out by two goals from Ben Davidson and one by Jaeden Dowling to extend the lead to 11-1 before High River closed out the game with a goal to make it 11-2.
Jordan Marks led the way with four points while Braden Bain and Taylor Girard both had three. Only three Generals players finished the contest without a point while goaltender Erik Garber made 20 saves for the victory.
Game 2 was a much tighter battle with the series travelling to High River as the Flyers scored first midway through the second period but had their lead vanquish just 12 seconds after on a goal from Chris Sambrook. Brandon Aab scored the game winner with a power play goal just three minutes into the third before also scoring the empty netter to seal the victory and the series.
Generals forward Braden Bain, who led the team in scoring during the regular season with 56 points in 36 games said the first round match up was a good test heading into the remainder of the playoffs.
"It was a good series. It gave us a quick two games to get our feet under us and get ready for playoff hockey," Bain said. "We played the way we wanted to play for that series and we just have to continue to improve as the playoffs move forward."
With the series win, the Gens will now face the second place Okotoks Bisons, a team that finished just two points ahead of them in the standings and also knocked Cochrane out of last year's playoffs. Okotoks finished the season with a 27-7-4 record for 58 points compared to Cochrane's 27-9-2 record, good for 56 points on the season. The teams split the season series with Okotoks winning the two early season match ups 2-1 and 5-2 with Cochrane taking the two most recent meetings 5-0 and 5-3.
"We just need to play our game and I believe we all know our roles to win games. This is going to be a long series so we've got to come ready with everything we've got," Bain said of the best-of-seven series with Okotoks.
"They have some size and are a very physical team and we know that. If we match their physical play as well as play our game we should come out on top."
Bain had quite the jump this season points wise, going from 15 goals and 23 points a year ago to 25 goals and 56 points this season. To go along with his regular season production, he also has a goal and three assists in two playoff games, half of what he accomplished during last year's run. Bain feels he's taken a step forward this season and with the losses of players such as Talus Hume, Slater Ransom and Austin Keller - he also thinks the Generals are better suited for a long playoff run due to the depth at all positions.
"It has been a good year for me, I have a lot more confidence in my game now more than I've ever had. Travis (McMillan) has given me the opportunity this year to just go out and play my game the way I can. It's been a good year and I'm very happy with the way it's been going ... I just hope it keeps going uphill for us and we can make a good push for a championship," Bain said.
"To be honest, not having to rely on four guys to win hockey games is really nice. Having a third and fourth line that can score and make plays is important and just brings a level of energy on the bench that helps us win games. At the end of the day as long as we have one more goal than the other guys, our team will be happy no matter who's scoring the goals."
Bain was part of the team who lost to Okotoks last season and said he and his teammates have no shortage of motivation heading into the next round.
"Personally I have a lot of motivation regardless of the opponent due to the fact that this is my last run at a championship. For the graduating players, we have stressed how big playoffs are and how hard it is to win. We had the chance to beat them in the regular season but playoffs is a different beast and we need to be ready with everything we've got," Bain said confidently.
"Compared to the team we had that made the trip to the finals two years ago, we have the third and fourth line depth scoring which we lacked in our last run. We have a solid team up front and goalies we can rely on to help us ... if we want to win a championship, it's going to take every single guy to chip in through out the playoffs."
Game 1 of the series will go on Feb. 22 in Okotoks with Game 2 taking place the following day in Cochrane at the Cochrane Arena. Puck drop is scheduled to go at 7:30 p.m.
