Gens Dominate Thunder To Begin 2011

The Generals began the New Year in style by dismantaling the Airdrie Thunder. Cochrane was looking for a little revenge after dropping a heart breaker to the Thunder just before the Christmas break. The previous game left a sour taste in their mouths and the Gens were pumped up to get back to work. 

With the game plan in place the Generals started the game with some jump and put pressure on the Thunder defence. Cochrane set the physical tone early and got the offensive train rolling when sniper Jonny Pictin wired an absolute howitzer passed Airdrie's goalie to open the scoring. 2 mintutes later, veteran winger Jordan Davidson deposited a loose puck in front of the net to increase the lead. Late in the period Pictin grabbed a rebound and fired it home to make the score 3-0 after the 1st period.

Early in the 2nd the Thunder tried to get back in the game when they took advantage of one of the only defensive miscues and cut the lead to 3-1. The two rivals then started to trade chances but both goalies stood the test. It wasnt until the clock was winding down to end the 2nd that the Generals restored their 3 goal lead. Pictin, who was flying all night took a Danny McSween pass and burst down the wing with linemate Darren Schmautz joining for a 2 on 1. Pictin made a nice move around the defencemen and slid a pass to Schmautz who buried the puck with only 2 seconds remaining in the period.

The Generals train really got rolling in the 3rd period. Only 41 seconds in the "grind line" struck again as Tyson Soloski swatted home a loose puck. Then Pictin completed his hat-trick 2 minutes later. It was full steam ahead as McSween buried his 29th of the season to make the score 7-1. With the score out of hand an Airdrie player took a run at Jesse Adshead and hammered him into the boards from behind. The Generals showed that they are a pack of wolves and arguably the smallest player in the league in stature, but not in heart took exception. Tyson Soloski dropped the mitts with the culprit of the nasty hit and went toe to toe in a spirited scrap. After the dust settled the train kept chugging along and Jason Labelle set up Mike Matlo for 2 more pretty goals. With the score well in hand the Gens had one more piece of unfinished business to deal with as Wes Kashuba challanged the Airdrie captain to dance. The two traded shots until Kashba got the upper hand and sent his opponent to the ice, capping off a full team effort. Kenny Quinn got the start in net and as usual made several huge saves in the game, keeping the momentum clearly on his teams side.

The Generals travel back home for their 1st home game of 2011 whrn they host the South Divison leaders, Coaldale Copperheads on Saturday Jan 8th. Come on out and jump on the Generals Train as they prepare for the playoffs.