Approaching the final four weeks of the 2022-23 regular season, the Cochrane Chaos find themselves at the top of their division in the Alberta Female Junior Hockey League (AFJHL).
With just over a month until playoffs get underway, the Chaos are currently in first place of the AFJHL's south division, thanks to a 15-3-1-1 record. Cochrane boasts a league-best 48 points, and an 80 per cent win percentage.
The Cochranites most recent outing was a 3-2 victory over the second-place Lethbridge Eagles on Jan. 8, which earned the Chaos some breathing room at the top of the standings. The squad's lead over the Eagles is now six points.
“We’ve had a pretty good year so far – pretty consistent performances,” said head coach Derek Loomer. “Once we’re out [on the ice], the girls are really competitive and they’re working hard to get better all the time. Hopefully that’s going to continue.”
Cochrane has leaned on experience this season, with the team's top scorers all veterans with the junior team. This season's main points-getters for the Chaos have been 2001-born Kelly Stanford and Kaley Müller (who is the Chaos' captain), and 2000-born Kalaina Kozak, who is one of the Chaos' overage players. Stanford tops the charts with 11 goals and 14 assists this season, while Müller has 10 goals and eight assists, and Kozak has three goals and 13 assists.
Stanford, who is likely playing her last season with the Chaos as a 21-year-old, has a point to prove in her final months wearing a Chaos jersey.
“It looks like she’s going to go to school out east to finish her degree [next fall]," Loomer said. "She’s been doing it online but has to go in person next year, so this is most likely her last season with the Chaos.
"She’s really determined to push us through into the playoffs and go for a provincial championship this year. This is her season to do that."
Loomer called Stanford "a dynamic player" who creates opportunities for both herself and her teammates to score.
"She has so much skill," the coach said. "It’s just a matter of finding the right line mates for her. Once they’re in sync, the sky’s the limit for her.”
The Chaos' next game will be Jan. 14 at home against the Chinook Blazers, who are at the bottom of the south standings.
To say the Stavely-based team has struggled this season would be an understatement: the Blazers are still searching for their first win of the campaign and sport a 0-19 record.
Nonetheless, Loomer said a victory for the Chaos this Saturday isn't a foregone conclusion, and the Chaos players will need to take the contest seriously. If anything, the game can act as preparation for Cochrane's subsequent battle with the Sherwood Park Steele the following day.
“Our girls have to try to keep our good habits and try to approach the game like we would any other game," Loomer said. "It’s kind of hard with the season [the Blazers] have been having, never knowing if enough players are going to show up, but good on them. The girls who want to play keep showing up."
According to Loomer, the Chaos are excited to play a team from northern Alberta on Sunday, as the bulk of the team's regular-season schedule is against the same four opponents from the south – the Calgary Jags, Calgary Titans, Chinook Blazers, and Lethbridge Eagles.
“It’s always good to see the north teams and get a little bit more variety in the teams we face," he said. "We see the Titans, Eagles, and Jags quite a bit, so it’s nice to see [the Steele]. This is our second of two games against them. We beat them up in Sherwood Park earlier this season and want to come out of the Blazer game ready to play them and continue rolling.”
After seeing plenty of Alberta's highways in the first half of the campaign, Loomer noted a positive for the rest of the season is that most of Cochrane's remaining games will be at home. Apart from their most recent battle against Lethbridge, all of the Chaos' games in January are at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
Come February, the team will have three games left to prepare for the AFJHL's provincial post-season.
“I think we have one more trip to Lethbridge and one game in Calgary against the Titans, so just one more road trip to go this season before the playoffs,” Loomer said. “It’s certainly nice to know we’re going to be at home for the majority of our games as we head toward the end of the regular season.”
This weekend's games against the Blazers (Jan. 14) and the Steele (Jan. 15) take place at 7:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., respectively. For scores, schedules, and other information on the Chaos, visit ajfhl.ca.
