The Cochrane Generals are on quite the roll after hitting a rough patch early in their Heritage Hockey League (HJHL) season when they lost three consecutive games to start the season 1-3.
They've won seven of their last nine games including taking five out of a possible six points this past weekend on Oct. 18 to 20 when they played the Lomond Lakers, the league leading Okotoks Bisons and the newly added Rocky Rams.
The Generals climbed on the bus and travelled to Claresholm to take on the Lakers in a game that the Generals dominated once they shook out their bus legs and found their footing. Lomond scored the game's first goal 30 seconds in before the Gens took over, responding with goals from River Ross and Takuro Okada to go up 2-1. They held a decisive advantage on the shot clock, 21-10. Keenan McElroy made it 3-1 in the second period off a power play goal before Dean Olenyk scored twice and adding an assist on Brandon Aab's goal. River Ross also added his second marker of the game to give Cochrane a 7-1 victory.
The following night Cochrane welcomed the undefeated Okotoks Bisons to Cochrane Arena in what turned out to be a doozy of a contest. Dean Olenyk continued his hot play, scoring his third goal in two games to put the Generals up 1-0. Olenyk's goal stood up until midway through the second period where Okotoks knotted the game at one heading into the third stanza. Keenan McElroy took a pass from Patrick Forde to make it 2-1 Cochrane. The lead was short lived as the Bisons scored the equalizing goal on the power play just minutes later sending the game to overtime. Cochrane took a penalty in the frame and it cost them, with Okotoks scoring another power play goal just 32 seconds into the overtime period to give Okotoks its 10th win of the season. Erik Garber was solid in net, making 33 saves on 36 shots.
Cochrane rounded out their weekend with their first look at the Rocky Rams, who were 2-6 coming into the contest. Cochrane took control early and often outshoot Rocky 11-1 halfway through the first period. This was followed up by three goals from Zack Stewart, Takuro Okada and Brandon Aab, with the shots being 23-3 in favour of Cochrane. In the second period, Dean Olenyk scored back-to-back goals making it 5-0 before scoring his hat trick goal in the third period. Jordan Marks and Ryan Davis also scored in the game which ended 8-0 after firing 67 shots on the Rams goaltender.
"Overall it was a great weekend," Olenyk said. "We walked away with the four points needed on Friday and Sunday. On Saturday, calls weren't really going our way, but I think we proved that we can compete with any team in this league. The team came in focused and determined and that was a huge factor in our success."
Olenyk had his hat trick on Sunday while also potting three goals in the other two games. He said it was a great feeling being able to find the back of the net while finding chemistry on the Generals top line with captain Brandon Aab and Chris Sambrook.
"It felt really good to get my first one (hat trick) in this league. We have a lot of very skilled players that were very unselfish and moved the puck well," he said.
"I have two very strong veterans on my line in (Brandon) Aab and (Chris) Sambrook and they have made the adjustment easier for me as a rookie starting in this league."
"They both have been very successful this year and years prior and they already had great chemistry. I've just been trying to do my best to fill that third spot ... I think we have been very successful (so far) and hope to keep building on that."
The Generals have been consistent in their play the past couple of weeks which has amassed to an 8-4-1 record through 13 games this season. Olenyk said they need to keep the momentum going.
"I thought those (early) games were ones we could have won, but all the lines are coming together and starting to click," he said. "We have a lot of depth on this team which is going to be key to our success when each line is contributing. We can always rely on our goalies and our defence as they've been very strong this year."
"Every line has been putting points up. At the start of the season we were having trouble putting the puck in the net, but the last couple weekends have shown that everyone has the ability to contribute offensively which will be key to continue winning games."
The Generals will now be off until Nov. 1, but will still be busy with practice. The Generals are hosting their annual pub night on Oct. 26 in an effort to raise funds for the team. The event will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25.
