The Lacombe Generals were back on home ice to square off against the Rosetown Red Wings
The Generals came into the game looking to gain some ground in the standings, with Lacombe currently sitting just one point behind the first place Stony Plain Eagles in the Allan Cup Hockey west standings.
Unfortunately for Lacombe, a short stretch that saw the Wings score three unanswered was a huge turning point on the way to a 5-4 win.
The first period would find both teams spending their fair share of time down a man, with the Generals scoring on the powerplay and the Red Wings capitalizing immediately after an extended two-man advantage that left the Lacombe defenders gassed.
Ian Barteaux would pick up the Generals’ goal and Jonathan Redlick would score for the Red Wings — leaving the game tied 1-1 heading into the second period.
The second period looked like it was going to be a runaway freight train for the Red Wings after they scored three consecutive goals – Todd Fiddler and two by Jared Jago by within the span of three minutes.
Coach Sean Robertson said that that three minutes was the key to the whole game.
“You can’t take your foot off the gas. It isn’t a light switch. It doesn’t turn on and off — it takes awhile. That is one thing we have to learn,” he said.
The Generals would, however, keep the game within reason after Keegan Desmet tipped in a Brennen Evans point shot on the powerplay to keep the score only at 4-2 heading into the final frame.
It looked like the Generals were going to pull of the come back, but it was not to be.
Kyle Stroh scored his two first goals as a General to tie it up but a redirected shot by Red Wing Garrett Bembridge would seal the deal for Rosetown.
Robertson was happy to see Stroh score, but was disappointed with the outcome of the game.
“We have been patiently waiting for him to get comfortable and you can see it is there. It is just going to take a night like tonight where he probably could have had five with the chances he had at the beginning of the second,” he said.
Robertson said the penalties really disrupted the flow for his squad.
“We are trying to play four lines and I end up sending the same four PK guys over the boards. Even on the powerplay, it is hard to find a flow with all the penalties we took tonight,” he said.
The 5-4 score pulled Rosetown to within one point of the Generals for second place, with Lacombe hitting the road for the next four games — starting in Stony Plain, heading to Innisfail and then two in Rosetown.