The 5-1-0-1 Lacombe Generals rode a blistering first period on the way to an easy 8-3 win over the 0-10-0-1 Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs.
“It’s a tough team to play because you are playing against a team that has been kicked a little bit,” Coach Sean Robertson said. “If we don’t prepare to be our best, we could easily lose that hockey game.”
The Generals were all over the Chiefs early on.
Brett Robertson lit the lamp first when he slipped it past the chiefs netminder just under two minutes into the game. Generals Tanner Korchinski would follow suit 30 seconds later with the Generals second goal of the game.
Robertson would score his second goal of the game on a nifty back-hander, followed by Dylan Nowakowski scoring his first of the game 20 seconds later. He would add his second of the game short-handed three minutes later — capping off five unanswered goals by the Generals in the first period.
The Chiefs would finally stop the bleeding at the seven minute mark when Jordon Hoffman found the back of the net.
The Generals were undaunted though, and found the net again when Graham Black scored his first goal of the game, ending the period at 6-1 for the Generals.
“We knew coming out of the first that it wasn’t a 6-1 hockey game,”Robertson said. “I thought our puck possession was outstanding tonight, but at the same time we gave them some odd-number rushes.”
The second period was a much different frame, with both teams dialing down the intensity due to the lopsided score.
Generals Chris Gerrie would add to the Generals lead when he scored five minutes into the period, but that would be the only Lacombe goal of the period.
The Chiefs would get goals from both Aaron Boyer and Jared Smith, but the period was never competitive, as both teams looked like they were trying to get out of the game with a Generals win all but a certainty.
“That is an opportunistic team and they are all good hockey players,” Robertson said. “They won the second period. They outplayed us.”
The Generals would go into the third period up 7-3.
Generals Ian Barteaux would add one final goal in the third, leading to the eventual final score of 8-3.
Lacombe improved to 6-1-0-1, while Fort Saskatchewan fell to 0-10-0-1. The Generals dominated in shots 62-34.
The Generals play their next home game against these same Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs Dec. 3rd at 8 p.m.