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Game 1 of HJHL north final in the Gens win column

The Cochrane Generals are up one in the north series final after clinching their first win 5-4. They hit the ice in Red Deer against the Vipers for Game 2 Saturday and Game 3 at the Cochrane Arena on Sunday.

Game 1 of the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) north final is in the bag 5-4 for the Cochrane Generals.

First to hit the scoreboard was Gens forward Dagan Kadlec 13 minutes into the first period during the March 3 home game. It was followed by a comeback from Red Deer Vipers Rhett Walker to tie it up.

Cochrane claimed the next three goals, to which Vipers Connor Sholdice responded to with a power play goal about five minutes into the third. 

In his second goal of the night, Gens captain Patrick Forde went on to tally the score up 5-2, but the Vipers came back to strike twice in the last five minutes of the game.

Despite emptying their net and leading a six-man attack for the last two minutes, Red Deer was unable to bring the game into overtime. 

"We were behind the whole time," said Vipers head coach Kyle Scott. "At the end of the day, we didn't play our game tonight and they did.

"We showed them in spurts that we can really dominate them at times in the game. We've just got to bring that for 60 minutes into the next few games and we'll be fine."

Gens assistant captain Tristan Ripplinger, who was the second top scorer in the HJHL regular season behind Forde, said the team's confidence level is high after forcing seven games and coming out victorious in the semifinal series against the Rocky Rams.

"I think our last two games against Rocky were the best two games of the series in general," he said. "Coming into a tough series like this with two good games under our belt, I think it showed in Game 1, so hopefully we can keep that going."

One of the biggest things the team needs to work on though, he added, is taking penalties. Half of Red Deer's goals last night were made on power plays.

"We have to stay disciplined and we can never get comfortable," he said. "As soon as we get comfortable and we're able to sit back, that's when it gets most dangerous for us. It's all about keeping pace."

The two teams were closely matched throughout the regular season with records of 28-5-3 for the Gens and 25-8-3 for the Vipers.

Cochrane has two in the win column from the regular season against Red Deer, including one in overtime, and the Vipers also have two, including an overtime win. 

"They gave us some of the most trouble in the North Division for sure," said Ripplinger. "They're a big, strong team that can move the puck and they've got guys who can really shoot as well.

"It's obviously a tougher team going into round three, but we got a squad too, so there's no doubt in my mind that we're able to beat these guys."

The two teams meet again for Game 2 of the best of seven series in Red Deer Saturday, March 5 and will return to the ice at the Cochrane Arena March 6. 

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