Will the real Cochrane Generals please stand up?
One week from the next, you’re unsure you’re getting a team mailing it in or fighting for its playoff life.
This past week was the latter, as the Generals shook off a 4-2 road loss Jan. 17 in Banff to come home and double league-leading Okotoks 4-2 Jan. 18 before edging Northern Division-leading Blackfalds Wranglers 5-4 in an overtime shootout Jan. 19. The week prior, the Gens took lopsided losses against middling adversaries Banff and Red Deer, giving up a total of 16 goals. Those losses came after a sizzling 7-3 win over High River to kick-start 2014.
The fight for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s Southern Division has become a roller-coaster ride for the team, its coaches and fans. As of Jan. 24, the Gens were fifth in the South, one point ahead of Coaldale and one behind fourth-place Medicine Hat Cubs.
Through it all, head coach Evan McFeeters has been consistent with his approach and expectations of his group. He’s been on the level from the September launch of his Heritage League rookie coaching season.
“We’re confident we can beat everyone in the league,” he insisted, again, for the umpteenth time this season. “We’ve had close games against Blackfalds before and really close games against Okotoks before. And, of course, we get up to play against those teams. So when we’re playing the best, we know we have to be our best. And when we bring it, we can compete with those guys.”
Still, it’s hard to keep up with a team so technically good and terribly bad week over week. Is this bi-polar approach a healthy, or desirable, way to go about setting your team up for a playoff run?
“We’re looking for some consistency in our play, for sure,” McFeeters admitted. “But losing those two games (against Red Deer and Banff) might have come at the right time. It might have been a big wakeup call to everyone in the room that they have to bring it for the next month if we want to make the playoffs.”
Tyson Soloski, Talus Hume and Matthew Dunne had a goal and an assist each for Cochrane in Blackfalds. Ian McRae scored once. Andrew Bergmann led Generals scorers with a goal and an assist against Okotoks. Craig Packard, Logan Brown and Soloski had the other Gens goals. McRae added two assists.
“Those wins are behind us,” McFeeters stated. “We put ourselves in a good spot. Now we have to build off it. We can’t give up any more points. We just have to go forward each and every game.”
