A much-needed 8-1 home win over the short-staffed Ponoka Stampeders on Feb. 2 was just what the Cochrane Generals needed to bolster their quest for the fifth and final playoff spot as the Heritage Junior Hockey League regular season winds down.
After losing 6-3 to the Mountainview Colts on Feb. 1, the Generals made sure Ponoka, with just seven players on the bench, wasn’t going to steal one at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
“We definitely turned it around,” said Generals defenceman Matt Krigel of the Ponoka win. “We definitely had to win. A loss to Ponoka would have been devastating. That game we definitely came together as a whole.”
Eight different players scored in the Ponoka contest.
Kris Keller added four assists to go with his goal while Jason Labelle and Tyson Soloski had two helpers each to go with their goals.
“We all know what we have to do,” Krigel remarked of the team’s final three-game push for a playoff spot. “We’re playing pretty well now.”
