Drop the puck.
With the Heritage League exhibition season in the rearview, the Cochrane Generals start firing live ammo in Airdrie Sept. 19.
Following a gripping 2-1 overtime shootout win against Airdrie on Sept. 14 in Cochrane, Generals head coach Evan McFeeters expects more of the same from the Thunder in Airdrie.
“Airdrie, on paper, has a very veteran lineup. I expect them at their home opener to come out, they’re a very aggressive team. They’re big. They try to be physical. We try to counter that with our team speed.”
The preseason recon should help McFeeters’s troops in the regular-season battle.
“We saw some things we think we can exploit,” the Gens head coach said. “But they’re going to make some adjustments.
“The Airdrie-Cochrane rivalry is always huge. The guys are excited to play against them. It’s going to be a tight one. They always are.”
If the preseason has revealed anything to Cochrane Generals head coach Evan McFeeters, it’s that he has a cardiac crew this Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) season.
After shaking off an opening-night 7-4 road loss to Okotoks Bisons Oct. 12, the Gens defeated Okotoks 4-3 in overtime Sept. 13 in Cochrane before edging Airdrie Thunder 2-1 in an overtime shootout Sept. 14 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
Juggling a bloated training-camp roster through the preseason, McFeeters is whittling down the roster for the team’s Sept. 19 HJHL regular-season debut in Airdrie. He started with more than 40 players Sept. 6-7 at camp. He was down to 23 on Sept. 19, with some wriggle room left to anoint one of three goalies as the team’s starter and for any stray vets coming available from major junior and junior A roster cuts.
“People are still coming and going, we’re not going to finalize the roster until Thursday (Sept. 18),” McFeeters offered. “We have our roster, I’d say about 85-per-cent set.
“So we’re just juggling lines right now.”
He’s looking at a top forward line manned by veteran sniper Ian McRae, second-year forward Talus Hume and rookie Slater Ransom.
“Hopefully, that can be our top line to start the season.”
But that can change as line combos remain fluid in September.
In goal, he’s still considering three candidates: returnees McKenzie Chalmers and Garrett Iverson, and newcomer Ty Robinson.
“In goal it’s a toss-up. We have three guys left; Robinson, Chalmers and Iverson. “They’ve all played extremely well and exceeded our expectations. That’s the toughest decision we have right now.”
The one position he’s not still auditioning is defence. With four returning starters, he has a strong core of blueliners.
“We’re going to rely heavily on our veteran d-men (Austin) Keller, (Logan) Brown, (Craig) Packard and (Matt) Dunne,” McFeeters related. “Those are going to be our four go-to guys going into the weekend, for sure.”
