Late Goal Gives Generals Their 5th Win of the Season

The Generals hit the road Saturday night to take on the Southern Conference rival Strathmore Wheatland Kings. The Generals, tied atop the Southern Conference with the Okotoks Bisons, were looking for a road win to keep pace with the Bisons. Matt Shawchuck got his second straight start between the pipes; however, veteran defensemen Spencer Sobie and Gideon Neufeld would miss their second straight games with injuries.

The Generals are starting to get a reputation for being really strong out of the gate but tailing off as the game goes on. This was certainly the case on Saturday night. The Generals absolutely dominated the first frame and took only 3 minutes to deposit their first goal of the night. Jason Labelle sniped his 4^thof the season on a great feed from newcomer Ian McRae. Then only minutes later, Tyson Soloski buried his second of the season on the powerplay with Jonny Pictin and Kashtin Gordon picking up the helpers. The Generals weren’t done there though, as Riley Boothby extended his goal scoring streak to four games notching his 5^thof the young season. Kris Keller and young defenseman Dylan Bowerman, who has stepped up offensively in the absence of Sobie and Neufeld, picked up assists on the goal. After the first period the Generals held a comfortable 3-0 lead and outshot the Kings, who really had no scoring chances to speak of, 28 to 11.

The second period saw the start of the Generals decline in intensity. As has been the case in all five games this season, the Generals jumped out to an early lead and then decided to sit back and play passive. Strathmore narrowed the lead with powerplay goal that slipped by Shawchuck, who had no chance on the play. The second period ended with the scoreboard reading Generals 3, Kings 1. Although the Kings were outshot again 23-16, the period was much closer than the first.

The third period started much the same as the second had ended. A quick goal by Strathmore pulled them within one, and the Generals began to panic with the puck in their own end. With 13 minutes remaining in the 3^rdperiod the Kings pulled even on nifty passing play that ended with the Kings’ Austin Fisher tapping the puck into a yawning net. The Generals finally realized they were in a hockey game and started to dominate the play again. With only 47 seconds remaining in regulation Nick Borody picked off a Strathmore clearing attempt and tried to make a centering pass to linemate Luke Geddes. Before the puck reached Geddes’ stick it hit a Kings’ skate and deflected into the back of the net. The lucky bounce gave the Generals a thrilling 4-3 win and devastated the hometown crowd.  The Generals again outshot the Kings 17-15 in the period.

Final shots in the game were Generals 66, Wheatland Kings 44. The Gens went 1/6 on the PP and 4/5 on the PK. With the win they moved to 5 and 0 on the season and tied atop the Southern Conference Standing s with the Okotoks Bisons at 10 points. The Generals look to extend their winning streak to 6 as they head to Stettler on Saturday Oct.15 for a game against the Lightning, a team the Generals have developed a rivalry with meeting twice in the league finals in the past few years.