The Cochrane Generals are still seeking the right ammunition for their guns.
Plagued with scoring woes this season, the weak firepower was evident in a 2-1 Heritage Junior Hockey League overtime shootout loss to the host High River Flyers on Halloween.
There was a time when holding a foe to two goals guaranteed Cochrane a win. This season, holding opponents to two goals gives Cochrane an outside shot at winning.
Generals head coach Evan McFeeters has been working on numerous strategies to improve his squad’s attack.
“It was tight-checking from the get-go. There was not a lot of room on the ice for either team,” McFeeters said of the High River loss. “It came down to another shootout that this time didn’t go in our favour. Just another one of those games that we seem to be getting ourselves into over and over.”
It was the fifth OT shootout of the month for Cochrane, and third in a row, with Cochrane winning three of the five playoff-style tilts. Rookie goalie Ty Robinson returned from injury, earning the start in High River and kicking out 24 Flyers shots.
“He gave us a chance to win the hockey game,” McFeeters said of the 19-year-old goalie.
But his offence didn’t give him much help. The Generals fired 30 shots at High River goalie Ryan Fisher, most coming from the perimeter. A two-man advantage early in the first period for Cochrane yielded nothing.
“We’ve been getting our opportunities to score but we want to work on getting the puck to the middle of the ice where those prime opportunities come about,” the Gens coach said. “Right now we’re playing a very perimeter game and it’s been showing on the scoreboard.”
The expected return of injured forward Slater Ransom should boost Cochrane’s flagging offence.
“He’s a big body with a good shot,” McFeeters said of Ransom. “And we’ve been missing that on our power play. Our power play sort of dried up the last few weeks since he’s been out.”
Gens captain Chris Hugo scored Cochrane’s goal in High River.
Next Home Game
Banff Bears (3-10) at Gens (5-5-2), Sat., Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Spray Lake Centre
Who’s hot?
Cochrane F Chris Hugo
Who’s not?
The rest of the Gens forward ranks
Gens HJHL Power Ranking
10 (last week, 10)
Home Sweet Home
After playing seven of nine October games on the road, Cochrane is finally in for some home cooking. Grinding out three overtime/shootout wins in hostile arenas over the last month, to go with two OT/SO losses, home ice may be what Gens need to get their scoring mojo back. The team is averaging just 2.4 goals a game, but stealing wins on the strength of its defence and goaltending.
Round 2
This is the second meeting of the season for Bears and Gens, with Bears winning 6-4 Oct. 3 in Banff. The four goals Cochrane scored mark the highest goal total in a game for the Gens this season, a feat they’ve accomplished three times in 12 games. The power play has been particularly anemic, with Generals firing blanks in a 98-second, two-man advantage in High River on Halloween.
“We’re excited to finally get some home cooking,” McFeeters said. “It’s been about three weeks since we’ve played in Cochrane. We want to make our building a tough one to play in for other teams. We are excited to come home.”
McFeeters says the Generals are looking forward to being on target against the visiting Bears.
“Banff is a young team that relies on their goaltending. We match up very well against them. I think the game will open up and the tempo of the game will be in our favour.”
