The Cannex Cochrane Generals won the war against the Coaldale Copperheads in the first round of the HJHL Playoffs, following a dominant 11-4 win on game three that took place on Feb. 16.
The series first kicked off on Feb. 13 at the SLS Centre where the Generals walked away victorious with a staggering 8-1 victory.
Their following match on Feb. 15 saw the Generals visit the Coaldale Sportsplex, where they fell 1-2 against the Copperheads in a close game. Head Coach Derek Bell it was a close match; it just came down to the home ice advantage.
“What we struggle with sometimes is just with our speed, just in the smaller rinks,” Bell said. “They just seem to be able to trap a little bit more frequently in the smaller barn. They’ve kind of had the Generals’ number over the past few years, but as soon as we can get them to a place where we can skate, they don’t compete with us.”
For their game three that took place on Feb. 16, Bell said it was a special feeling to be part of the energy brought on by around 500 fans that attended the conclusion of the series.
“It’s a game that coaches and players dream to be playing in, and obviously with the success that again too,” Bell said. “That’s what we all do this for, just to do it in front of the fans and to close out the series.”
For their next campaign, the Generals will be facing against the Carstar Okotoks Bisons for a best of five series that starts on Feb. 21 at the Murray and Piper Arena. Bell expects this to be a very physical matchup between the two teams.
“There’s going to be extremely hard checking,” Bell said. “It has always been that way between Cochrane and Okotoks. The key factor for us would be just like we did in Coaldale. Discipline, staying out the box, playing five-on-five.
“When we play five-on-five, we’re really hard to beat and we just keep the goals going to the back of the net. We’ve had three games where we’ve buried some pucks, so we’re going to continue to keep doing that when we see them of Friday.”
With a surge of victory behind them, Bell said the team is ready to bring it all home.
“You can see that they’re committed,” he said. “I don’t see an end in sight for sure, but as every coach says – we all try to take it one game at a time. We’ll start with Friday, and we’ll see if we can steal one on the road in their barn.”
Bell adds that he appreciates the fans that come out to support the Gens, adding that it truly makes all the difference in their current playoff run.
“We just appreciate the fans coming out as they did and we absolutely loved the support,” he said. “We can’t wait to see them at the arena here shortly.”
