Following a long, unremarkable straight stretch, there’s a corner on the road ahead.
But are the Cochrane Generals ready to turn it?
With four wins and a tie in their last five Heritage Junior Hockey League games, the latest indication is they’ve grabbed the wheel and are beginning to steer in the direction they want to go.
Head coach Ken Soloski says the next few miles will determine how the drive turns out.
“We’ve played some teams that are below us in the standings in that stretch,” he said following a well-played 7-3 win over the visiting Blackfalds Wranglers Dec. 9 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. “We’ve got four really tough games coming up.
“After the next four games I’ll tell you if we’ve made the turn or not.”
Regardless, after lurching out of the gate with just one win and two ties in their first nine games, the Generals appear to be firing on all cylinders heading into pivotal games against Okotoks, Coaldale, Strathmore and Medicine Hat, all before the Christmas break.
Prior to the 7-3 home win over Blackfalds, the Generals were in a 9-9 firefight against the Mountainview Colts Dec. 7 in Didsbury.
“We didn’t prepare properly,” Soloski said of the one bobble in Didsbury during Cochrane’s five-game climb. “If we had a better first 20 minutes, we would have won that hockey game.
“Part of it is who you play. Knowing that this team (Blackfalds) has only lost three games all year, they know they’d better be ready to go. That was the difference. Mountainview, they took a little too light.”
Tyson Soloski bagged two goals for Cochrane in the win over Blackfalds. Reed Boothby had a goal and two assists and Sayer McDonald had three assists. Kris Keller and Tyler Collins had a goal and an assist each with Jason Labelle and Daniel Bunnah scoring singles. Forward Taylor House was named the league’s rookie of the month for November, scoring nine goals and adding 12 assists in nine games. The Generals are at Spray Lake Sawmills Sports Centre to contest the Coaldale Copperheads Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m. puck drop.
