The Cannex Cochrane Generals won their first playoffs battle against the Coaldale Copperheads on Friday evening.
The Gens won by a monumental 8-1 score over their HJHL rivals.
Head coach Derek Bell said that for their first game in the series, the biggest takeaway for the Gens is to keep their composure on the ice.
“Composure for sure, trying to keep our cool, and make sure that we’re ready to go for every game, every shift,” he said. “Just staying out of the box. When we play five-on-five, we’re really tough to beat. But as soon as you get into that trouble and you start giving away penalties to those special teams, that’s when you start getting into trouble.”
With their mantra of being the hardest working team on the ice, Bell said that the boys showed fortitude and relentlessness during the first two periods of the game.
“I thought we were the hardest working team when you look at shots on net,” he said. “I think by the 12 or 15-minute, or even less than that, we had them down two or three shots.”
By the end of the match the Generals had 56 shots on net versus the Copperheads who made just 21 shots
Towards the 7:42 mark in the third period, chaos erupted from both sides near the benches.
“That’s just a team that’s frustrated and trying to make a statement for game two,” Bell said. “We take it with stride. We see that every time we play these guys and other teams. When you’re down by seven goals, frustration’s there for sure.
“They’re showing emotion, and there’s nothing wrong with emotion, but keeping it in check and making sure everybody is safe is my concern.”
With a wave of momentum as they head into game two, Bell said the Gens will just need to keep things rolling as they head into enemy territory.
“You’re going to someone else’s barn, and you’re going to have their fans on top of you,” he said. “We’ve got to go as hard as we possibly can. It’s just setting the tone right away with them that we’re here to win. We’re not going to let them push us around in their barn.”
