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On behalf of the Generals, we'd like to thank all of our sponsors this past season, and most importantly to all of our loyal fans, the Generals army for their continued support. Unfortunately, the Generals goal of winning a second consecutive Allan Cup was not to be. That being said it was still an enjoyable season, and they will be back again next season in the hunt and you can bet on that! In the meantime congrats to Fort St. John, and we'll see you all next season. With a 5-3 win today at the Red Deer Arena vs. Fort Saskatchewan, the Bentley Generals have advanced to the 2010 Allan Cup. The Generals will be vying for their 2nd consecutive Allan Cup when they head to FSJ later this month. With the win today, it was the 4th consecutive time they've qualified for the Allan Cup and the 5th time in the last 7 years. Someone on the message forum will likely post who scored, or check the chinook site later. Sean Robertson scored twice last night including the tying and eventual winning goal to lead the Generals to a 4-2 win Wednesday night at the Bentley Arena, and thus put the Generals in the driver's seat up 3-0 in their best of 7 Alberta Provincial Final series vs. Fort Saskatchewan. Travis Brigley would score the Generals 1st of the game and Tyler Haarstad notched the important insurance marker early in the 3rd period. Russ Purdy and Eric Sonnenberg scored for the Chiefs. Galenza made 20 saves for the W, Tetrault 25 in the losing cause. Gens go 1 for 3 on the PP, Chiefs 0 for 2. Generals can wrap it up and clinch their 5th Provincial Title in team history, 4th in a row on Saturday night in Fort Saskatchewan at the JRC Arena, game time is 8:00 PM. The Generals, thanks to a pair of win on Friday night in Bentley 4-2 and a Saturday night romping 9-3 up in Fort Saskatchewan are now up 2 games to 0 in the 2010 Senior "AAA" Provincial Final. 2 more victories and they make the trip to Fort St. John to defend their Allan Cup Championship. Friday night in Bentley, the Bentley Arena was jam packed with 800 + fans in attendance who witnessed a 4-2 Generals win. Kurt Bensmiller, Darryl LaPlante, Scott Hood and Travis Brigley scored for the Generals. Matt Hunter and Corey Rutt replied for the Chiefs. The Generals out shot the Chiefs 34-25. Brigley got the game star for the Generals, Rutt for the Chiefs. Generals were 2/5 on the PP, Chiefs were 1/5. Galenza recorded the W in goal, Tetrault with the L. Saturday night in Fort Sask, the Generals cranked up the after burners romping the Chiefs 9-3 at the JRC Arena. Travis Brigley, Darren Van Impe, Scott Hood and Kurt Bensmiller all had a pair of goals, Don Morrison had a single. Richard Kelly, Brady Cook and Eric Sonnenberg scored for the Chiefs. Generals out shot the Chiefs 58-27. Brigley was the game star for the Generals, Classen for the Chiefs. Generals were 1/10 on the PP, Chiefs were 0/6. Galenza recorded the W in goal, Tetrault who was replaced by Kindred after 13:25 of play recorded the loss in goal for the Chiefs. Game 3 goes Wednesday night in Bentley. It should be another good game with another full house. Let's not be afraid to make noise during the game, let's not sit on our hands, this is hockey not golf. The players appreciate the crowd support and the noise. Game time is 8:30 P.M. They didn't play a full 60 minute game, however the Bentley Generals turned up the tempo when it mattered, and after trailing the 1st period down 2-0 to the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs, the Generals specialty teams went to work scoring 2 powerplay goals in the 2nd period. The Generals also had a huge 5-3 penalty kill, which was successful in the 1st period also proved to be vital. Sean Robertson would score the game winner in the 3rd period his 2nd of 2 on the night, the player of the game for the Generals. Hartnell scored the other Generals game. Kyle Pess and Benjamin Lindemulder scored the goals for the Chiefs. Next game is next Saturday vs. the rival Stony Plain Eagles @ the Red Deer Arena, 7:45 PM start. The last four episodes of the "Bentley Generals Report" is now up and available for download. Click on "Multimedia" and download for there. The Generals were able to extract a measure of revenge tonight in Lacombe vs. the Chiefs, by defeating them by a score of 5-2. By Wade Giesbrecht The good news is the Bentley Generals didn't lose in Stony Plain over the weekend. This may come as a surprise for anyone who follows the Chinook Hockey League over the last while. Despite compiling a string of Provincial titles and an Allan Cup to boot, Bentley has beaten the 'birds' in their own building a grand total of two times since the start of the 2007/08 season. Yes. Its true. A single 'W' in Stony all last winter, decided in a shootout no less. That was a regular season win. The Gens then saw their undefeated season aspirations squashed in their next trip up the QE2. On subsequent playoff dates in the Glenn Hall Arena; The Army was besought with bad reffing, cruel and twisted behavoir of vulcanized rubber and a big, brutally stingy goaltender to be sure. Stony is always strong but they're mostly super-human in Stony. Preceeding that futility, is arguably the best moment ever achieved in Stony Plain. The 2008 Provincial Title did happen in Stony. Against all mathmatical logic: The Generals had lost every single game in Stony Plain, up until Scotty Galenza delivered an unforgetable Game 7 shut-out effort. They are now the best senior hockey team in the country but they are haunted by that storied old centennial arena, to the extent a cancelled game can be considered an accomplishment instead of a disappointment. To be fair...the CHL's decision to cancel all games last weekend was more about common sense in the name of safety. Unless a bus driver can double as a Champion Iditarod sled racer, the blizzard had to win out on this blustery occasion. The League Convenor will now re-schedule 4 games, including Bentley's trip to Stonyburgh. The Generals slide ahead, with a chance to continue a more positive streak this Saturday night in Bentley. Lloydminster Border Kings will be in town and the Gens all time record against the 2 time Allan Cup winners from Saskacthewan is perfect. LBK is looking to change that this year. Start time is 7:00PM. By Wade Giesbrecht The #1 team in the country is now #1 at the box office as well. Close to 700 people came to Red Deer's Memorial Centre to see the premiere of Pounce Productions' documentary; 'Blood, Sweat and Beers' on Saturday night after the added joy of a win over Stony Plain earlier in the day. Overall, it was a weekend which all The Army can be very proud of and while I'm not Siskel & Ebert I'd have to say Pounce Productions can be proud as well. Their film crew, led by Mr. Eppo Eerkes, has put together a compelling, raw, hard hitting, inspiring and quite often perspiring perspective of what the Bentley Generals are all about. Eerkes' entire ambition was through how impressed he was by the character behind the sweaters of the Bentley Generals...his finished product found a way to cover those characters all the way to the culmination of their 10 year journey which commanded nothing less than relentless work and vision; which Eppo sunk into the project. As for the Generals, they continue to work tirelessly as the attempt to defend their Allan Cup amps up, with December now upon us. The 2nd last game of a busy November nearly never happened. On Friday night, road conditions were so ruthless the Innisfail Eagles were left with a skeleton crew of only 8 players. The Generals bench was better, but not by much, with 13 skaters. A few more came skidding in after the game was underway but by the end of the 1rst period it was 6-0 Gens'. There was no easy way out for Innisfail. The Generals must play at machine level intensity every time out. This means no mercy on meagre opposition. Maybe Innisfail felt differently and that might be why frustrations unfolded late in the game? With 1:20 left in this laugher a full scale line brawl erupted. Kent Beagle and Donny Morrison both received 1 game suspensions for taking part. It was the 2nd time in as many games a yard sale of gloves and helmuts had to be sorted but the timing couldn't have been worse for Bentley, as the suspensions would have to be served against Stony Plain the following afternoon. The big 'G' machine rolled on without the Captain and an All Star defenceman on Saturday. Our first look at Stony Plain this season, or more-over, our first chance to behold Doug Auchenberg in a Stony Plain sweater. Built like a fire hydrant, Auch', won the CHL scoring title last year as a member of the Fort Sask Chiefs. There is plenty of him to go around but he's not getting around so good to start this season: 21st in league scoring and only 2 goals. To be fair, the UofA and Fort Sask. Trader grad' has the ability to leapfrog several spots in any given game. Thankfully, Saturday was not that game. Sean Robertson altered Joey Vandermeer's shot at 17:24 of the 1rst period. The powerplay goal held until 14:57 of the 2nd when another former Chief, Brandt Middleton, dunked Gens' D-Man Eric Lodge down with a chase, a check and a steal as Lodge may have been guilty of over-trusting his often amazing puck packing skills...Middleton made a nice shorthanded effort beating Justin Alford with a backhanded brush. Auchenberg then collected his only point of the game, an assist on Jeff Drummonds goal, giving Auch's new team the lead. At that point...the Gens were in trouble. Having squandered two 2nd period PP's and now trailing a game half-way gone they found themselves searching for some luck. As it turns out...they happen to have an Irish descendant on the roster. The same pedigree which put them into infamy, in Steinbach, last fall: Diarmuid Kelly. First providing finish on a well ran powerplay at 5:07 of the 2nd. Stony netminder Sean Fields then used his head to make a save, literally! Kevin Smyth's widow-maker from the wing drilled the goalie, right in the mind, but because the force of the shot jarred his mask free...play was blown dead before the rebound could be converted as a goal. Fields re-attached his head to his shoulders and play resumed at two all. The tie was temporarily untangled at 12:46 of the 3rd: Chad Beagle bounced up and started the Gens out of their zone allowing Diarmuid 'Irish Rover' Kelly to range up the rink away from notice. Kelly then caught a long pass and put a four leaf clover deke on Fields for a 3-2 lead. As luck would have it, Stony would return the favour via the league's most lethal leprechaun: Lil' Mikey Thompson. He may not be Irish but he's small, bearded, annoying and extremely mischievous. His goal at 5:12 spelled overtime. And then? The ultimate in frosted, magically delicious finishes! Stony was slumbering through an ill-timed line change when Chris Martini sliced a bouncing puck across the rink for Diarmuid Kelly along the Eagles blueline. Kelly; batted at the puck twice before gaining enough control to move forward onto Fields. The puck was in gravitational limbo when Kelly made a fake shot freezing Fields into icy concentration...or was it fear? He did, afterall, still have a dent in his head from an earlier shot. I'm not sayin' but I'm just sayin'. The 'Irish Rover' waited long before lifting a deep angle wrister to statistical permanency. A hat trick, completed on a GWG! With the overtime tingle, the Gens went to 16 points on the season. Four ahead of Fort Saskatchewan and five ahead of freshly vanquished Stony Plain. This coming weekend: The Army attacks Stonyburgh in their fortress on Saturday night @ 19:30 hrs. Hopefully your a part of the invading envoy! The Generals got 3 goals from Diarmuid Kelly, including the game winner 30 seconds into the overtime period as the Bentley Generals defeat the Stony Plain Eagles, late Saturday Afternoon by a score of 4-3. The two latest editions of the "Bentley Generals Report" are now available in the multimedia section for download. So click on "multimedia" and click the appropriate download and take a listen to what Troy has to say. The 2nd Bentley Generals report for the 2009/10 season is now available for download. Click the link below or visit the multimedia section. Right click and save as to save it to your computer, or click on it to listen in your browser. The Bentley Generals report is brought to you by The Monkey Top Saloon in Bentley. click here to download and listen! By Wade Giesbrecht Last fall I came across a ratty looking jacket abandoned on a park bench near my house. The faded red lettering and logo's had been bold and shiny about 20 years ago. I was compelled to adopt the orphan coat. It seemed to me that someone had accomplished something significant on a football field somewhere, sometime long ago. This was, at one time, no ordinary team jacket. I could tell it was top of the line in its day and I figured a top of the line wind breaker could have belonged to a top of the line lineman who wore "# 76" for "COLTS FOOTBALL". That's all the story that jacket could tell me for the time being. So it hung in my closet until the other day when I decided to wear it while I raked the leaves. The neighbour was across the hedge scooping his own harvest into a plastic bin so I jokingly coached him to 'hustle it up' before the wind spoiled his work. He looked up as he laughed and when he did he froze his eyes on the orphan coat. Instantly; I knew the coincidence occurring between us. Between the branches left barren from another summer lost, # 76 had trained his eyes on me as if I were an opposing QB alone in the pocket. "Hey!" He dropped his rake onto the pile and began to close in across the grass. "I think that might be my coat, does it have # 76 on it?" I was sacked for a loss of 25. I washed the coat on a cold cycle with just a careful table spoon of detergent and hang dried it before I returned it to him this morning as he was finishing up his front yard harvest. We then sat and had a coffee on the step while he took me back to 1990. He doesn't look like a lineman anymore but not just anyone could have walked onto the grid iron and started at defensive tackle for the Calgary Colts; circa 90'. They were National Junior Football Champions that year and that coat will forever belong to him. One of his two boys ( not yet identified in a line of suspects) had let his curiosity get the best of him the day the coat was forgotten on the edge of the ball diamond across the street. After reminiscing about what it took for his team to beat the Saskatoon Hilltops 19 years ago he couldn't help himself from asking how on earth what was a treasure to him hadn't become rags in my garage or at best a donation to a clothing drive. I told him about the 2009 Bentley Generals. I told him about The Army. I told him about Diarmuid Kelly's 2OT goal, the parade around the boulevard in Bentley just this past May and of course I gave him this seasons schedule and invited him to join The Army for a game or two. Some teams are timeless. He gets it. He'll be there soon enough but a new season has already begun for The Army. With 17 returnees on the roster The Generals opened up defence of their Allan Cup with a 10-1 smash on the newly transplanted WCA Rams in Bentley this past Friday night. Formerly known as the Rocky Rams, the 'AA' team hoped for a closer game the next night in Sylvan Lake. Scott Galenza secured the 5-0 shutout win and although the team is not quite up to the level we saw them at last April... they did display 2 solid enough efforts to serve sufficient notice they are serious when they say they want to become the first Senior 'AAA' team since the 95' & 96' Warroad Lakers to lock up back to back Titles. The Lakers are actually the last Allan Cup dynasty; they won in 1994 as well. Brian Sutter is back as Head Coach. The entire off ice entourage worked all summer to prepare a spectacular new expansion to the Generals Club House on the west end of the Bentley Arena. In the lobby stands a giant shrine full of Championship mementos and trophies. Brand new road sweaters were activated in Sylvan Lake along with impressive player recruits: Former FLA. Draft Pick; Dustin Johner, 6' 4" 245 lbs Defenceman Cole Butterfield and returning after a one year hiatus from the Gens is Daryl Laplante who played with the Detroit Red Wings in the late 90's. Among the returnees, Kevin Smyth is not only included but already scoring at a rate of 3 per game. The diesel burning winger was wound wide open for the home opener where he completed his hat trick with a trademark trick shot to the top corner. The beat goes on indeed. As most of you are aware, Troy Gillard from Sunny 94 does the Generals Report on Sunny 94 FM every Tuesday at 5:40pm. However, not everyone is able to listen to it at that time. So throughout the year, Troy will be emailing me the Generals reports in .mp3 format as a podcast here on the Generals website for you all to download. To download the first Generals report for the 2009-10 Season, Click the link below or go to the multimedia section where they will be put throughout the season. The Bentley Generals report is brought you by the Monkey Top Saloon. click here to download and listen! (Make sure you have Quicktime installed on your browser. If not, then right click and save as. Prior to Friday night's homer opener against the West Central Rams, the Generals had a presentation of framed memorbilia, to commemorate their 2009 Allan Cup Championship which will be on display in the Bentley Arena lobby. The Generals would get a six point night from Kevin Smyth and a five point night from Curtis Austring as they romped the West Central Rams 10-1. Kevin Smyth had the hat trick, Austring had 2. While, Lodge, Robertson, Hood, Lang and new comer Hobson had singles. Scott Galenza made 23 saves for his first win of the year. Kelly Kramer had the lone goal for the Rams who were outshot 40-24. Generals face the Rams again, Saturday night in Sylvan Lake. Just to let you all know the Generals schedule for the 2009-2010 regular season is now up. Click on the link above that says "Schedule" and it should take you to it. Should be pretty easy to make out. Thanks to Troy for originally posting the schedule up on the message forum. More updates to the website will come as the new season approaches. By Wade Giesbrecht In the throes of a tension induced black-out, The Army (nearly 200 strong in Steinbach, Manitoba last week) witnessed the Bentley Generals win the elusive cup on Saturday. A ten year long journey to the summit of amateur hockey is now complete. After outscoring their opponents 14-3 in 2 round robin games, the Gens clinched a bye into the semi-finals. A statement win over the Host Steinbach North Stars team seemed to draw a tonne of attention the Generals' way. Steinbach had already beaten Thunder Bay the previous day. They were hyped as a pre-tournament favourite...featuring Theo Fleury and a number of other highly decorated players on their roster. The Gens were unfazed when they went down 2-0 early in the 2nd period of the game. The Stars 2nd goal clearly had struck the cross bar and not entered the net...but it was on the scoreboard none the less. Late in the period Brett Thurston got the rally going. Then with only 27 seconds left in the middle period, Curtis Austring tied the game. The Army waited in anticipation for the 3rd period to get underway. It was evident how the previous period ended, the Gens were the better conditioned and a better prepared club. Big 97's go-ahead goal early in the 3rd re-enforced that fact. Taking ownership of the Right Wing with his size, Smyth crashed to the net, forcing his (and his team's) will for the remainder of the game and for the entire tournament! Austring supplied another goal and then Scotty Hood iced it with an empty netter. The Gens posted 51 shots to Steinbach's 31. Rudkowsky picked up the win. Steinbach left the ice in a state of bedazzlement. It seemed like their hopes of having a bye to the semi-finals were ripped right out from the red-carpets they were standing on at the start of the hockey game! If it's possible to jump into the proverbial 'drivers seat' so early in the tournament, the Gens' had both hands on the wheel. Unfortunately for the Thunder Bay Twins...they were caught crossing the road the following day. With the all critical bye in their headlights, the Gens ran right over top of T-Bay. Dion Darling got it started on a slapshot 34 seconds in. The Gens led 2-0 after a period. The lead went down to 2-1 early in the 2nd but the Gens answered right back and kept answering! Seven straight goals on a game total of 60 shots! A glutton for punishment, the Twins found a way to win their quarter final game against Lloydminster the following day, which meant that as the round robin's lowest seeded team...they had the unenviable task of taking on the Generals again, in the semi-finals. Once again, the Generals mercilessly punished the Twins. 8-1. For the 2nd straight game...Coach Sutter calmly took advantage of the lop-sided score, lifting starting goalie Cody Rudkowsky to give him extra rest, showcasing long time Gens' goalie Scotty Galenza and rolling lines...despite a steady stream of players into the penalty box. From where I watched...everything seemed to go the Generals way. They buried their opposition in each game while other teams who maybe had comparable skill and ability to that of the Gens...played loose and made things difficult on themselves. Dundas Real Mcoys were a pre-tournament favourite...but they traded good shifts with bad shifts...and powerplays with dumb penalties and soon found themselves caught amongst a group of teams that ultimately cannibalized in the quarter finals round, a round which the Gens were enjoying from the bleachers! In the other quarter finals, Steinbach advanced over Dundas on a cross over of round robin pools. The following day, the speculative whispers about the South East Prairie Thunder possibly emerging as a surprise contender were confirmed in full force. Manitoba's 'other team' shocked some and others not so much when they eliminated Fleury's team, 4-2. Steinbach was out shot by their rivals 17-4 in the 3rd period but couldn't overcome a 4-1 deficit with Thunder goaltender, Brent Zelenewich, zapping the hopes of the home town team. The Championship game was set. The Generals coming in, had now outscored their opponents: 22-4 and outshot them 160- 87 through 3 games. On the morning of the Championship game, the team was quiet and stoic. Statistics were the furthest thing from their minds. The lobby of the teams Winnipeg based week-long hide-out, filled up for 15 minutes before the bus left for the 30 minute drive to Steinbach. There really wasn't much left to be said and not a lot was said. They had a team breakfast, they kissed their kids good-bye and out the door they went. I realized a few days later, why I was so emotional and tense at that time. All our hopes and dreams was all right there and would be determined in the next few hours. Donny Morrison struck the cross bar on an early shift and then the Gens went down a man late in the 1st. The tournaments top scorer, Ryan Smith (not to be confused with Ryan Smyth) then staked the Thunder to a lead when he tricked Rudkowsky with a back hand from the RW. Bentley had been in penalty trouble for most of the opening 20 minutes. Having almost gotten through it until Smith's goal and with only 7 seconds left on the last of 5 straight calls against the Gens. Ryan Manitowich rallied the Army early in the 2nd. Scraping a one timer off the bottom of the far post on a pass from Chris Martini. The Generals, ideally would have loved to take over the game with strong 5<>5 play but the game was weighted with special teams battles most of which were advantaged to the Thunder. Tim Skarperud sniped the 2nd lead of the game for South East. He one timed a powerplay shot that went direct route to the back of the net at 5:13. Again, Ryan Manitowich would answer for The Army. This time quickly burying a rebound in the crease at 17:44. Kevin Smyth and Brett Thurston drawing assists. The taut set of circumstances was paralysing. The Generals would start the 3rd period of the biggest game of the season, shorthanded for nothing more than pushing and shoving after the whistle. Matt Ulwelling's PPG 19 seconds into the 3rd period would have been a death blow for most teams. He set up, on the bottom of the right circle and took a perpendicular pass from the point before perfectly shooting over Rudkowsky's shoulder. For the 3rd time in the hockey game the Gens were trailing. At 7:15 of the period, it looked like maybe the road had outlasted the traveller. Jeremy Stasiuk was assessed a double minor for high-sticking and as he left the game (for his 3rd stick infraction) a skyward looking Army called upon the hockey gods to pick them up and put them back on their feet. 4 minutes of shorthanded time against a S.E. team that had the crowd of 1500 working with them would surely result in the biggest lead of the game for them. However, it wasn't the hockey god that took momentum back. It was Captain Kent Beagle's shin The alluringly short neutral zone of the ice surface in Steinbach had caused congestion all week long. Players seemed constantly fooled by the optical illusion that baited them from blueline to blueline. With his trusty P.K. sidekick, Jared Smyth, riding shotgun...Beagle stalked the Thunder as they set-up to come out of their zone. As the SE defender scouted out a passing option, his feet slowed down as Beagle began to close in. By the time the puck left his stick, the crest of Beagle's sweater was in front of him. The puck hit Beagle's leg and bounced down in front of him allowing Beags to walk in all alone with his head-up and his eyes as wide as harvest moons.......then a quick snap of the puck........5-hole. Tie game. Again! Regulation time closed down for the season...the Gens outshot S.E. 47-31. The referee was still not done. The Gens had to kill of 2 penalties in the 1st OT. The P.K. time seemed to come much easier for the Gens, in the wake of Beagle's shorthanded goal. The Thunder were much more concerned about turnovers now. No doubt! With 5 seconds left in the 1st OT, the Gens got themselves off the hook. Dave Butland took a cross-checking penalty, nullifying the last bit of PP time the S.E. Thunder would ever see. Gripping to the puck, the Generals took 6 shots in the double overtime before the 60th shot of the game was left in the hands of Diarmud Kelly. Kelly had helped out along the wall and broke free of his check in deep while Kurt Bensmiller waited for Kelly to call for the pass. Kelly set his stick down, looked Bensmiller square in the eye and the puck was placed on his stick. Kelly made a first shot as he loped across the top of the crease. The save was made but Diarmud's angelic wing-span allowed him to stretch out and recover the loose puck and shot it in the back at the net. At 5:21 of the 2nd OT, a light came on that will glow forever in our memories. Kelly flailed his arms, his stick helicoptering into the roof of the rink. The Generals were rushing off the bench now, in a shower of sticks and gloves. Thrashing upon one another at the far end of the rink. Victories like that are violently celebrated amongst men who are brothers for the winter and now forever. The post-game fun then went to a more formal setting. A colossal banner that will blanket a lot of square footage somewhere in the Bentley Arena in the coming months and more importantly a 101 year old Allan Cup Trophy accepted by Kent Beagle, Joey Vandermeer and Sean Robertson. The Army of fans first took photos and then joined their team on the ice for more photos and slippery high-5 celebrations. From Team President, Wes Gyori through every trainer, coach, executive member and of course the players everyone took their turn with the Cup. Everyone looking on acknowledged that it was the Generals turn. It was the Generals' time. From the outset of the tournament, they had the eye of the tiger. They unanimously deserved and then earned everything. Vandermeer and Morrison were selected as all-star defensemen. Kurt Bensmiller and Kevin Smyth took the all-star forwards...(along with S.E. Centre Ryan Smith). Zelenewich was the top goalie. Everyone of them an Allan Cup Champion! Something I put together, hope you all enjoy it!! By The Canadian Press  STEINBACH, Man. — Diarmuid Kelly scored the double overtime winner as the Bentley Generals defeated the South East Prairie Thunder 4-3 to win the Allan Cup on Saturday. Kelly took advantage of a sprawled out Thunder netminder Brent Zelenewich to pick the puck out of the air and bang it into the net at 5:21 of double overtime to end the stalemate. It was a bitter defeat for a South East squad that came into the final considered a prohibitive underdog against a Bentley team that outscored their opponents 22-5 in three games here this week. And yet it was South East who had a 3-2 lead until the eight-minute mark of the third, when Generals forward Kent Beagle took advantage of a Thunder giveaway at the blue-line to skate in all alone on Zelenewich and go five-hole to score the short-handed equalizer that tied things up until Kelly put the game away an hour later. “I had a feeling he’d go five-hole,” said Zelenewich. “For that split second, I opened up....” Zelenewich was spectacular in the final — as he’d been all week for South East — turning away 56 of 60 shots. Zelenewich was named the tournament MVP, but it seemed small consolation outside a quiet Thunder dressing room. “It’s a downer for sure. That’s what we played for all year. This is what we wanted all year,” Zelenewich said. “It just doesn’t feel the same.” South East — playing with a no-name lineup that even head coach Rob Friesen describes as a “mishmash” — overcame the odds just to get to Saturday’s final, beating a talent-laden squad, which included former NHL player Theo Fleury, in the semifinals Friday to advance to the final. But they didn’t look a bit out of place against a Bentley squad that is coached by former NHL player and coach Brian Sutter. On the contrary, they felt like they let one get away against the Generals. “We still feel in there that we should have won that game,” said Zelenewich. Already leading 3-2, South East looked poised to put the game away at 7:15 of the third period when the Generals’ Jeremy Stasiuk took a double minor for high-sticking. But instead of padding their lead on the power play, the Thunder gave up a short-handed goal and that was all the second life the Generals would need to finally win an Allan Cup in their fourth appearance since 2004. “To come out here, play with guys like this and accomplish what we did is amazing,” said Generals forward Kurt Bensmiller. Among the huge contingent of Bentley fans that packed the Centennial Arena Saturday was Colorado Avalanche forward Ryan Smyth, who was in the stands watching his brothers Kevin and Jared, who both play for the Generals. With the win, Sutter became the first member of his hockey-playing family — six Sutter boys played in the NHL — to win an Allan Cup, a 101-year-old hockey tradition in Canada reserved for the best senior team in Canada. But Sutter wanted only to talk about the men around him Saturday night. “I’m just happy for all these guys and for their families,” Sutter said. “I’m glad I could help them out.” Diarmuid Kelly scores the OT winner and the Generals win their 1st Allan Cup 4-3 in double OT over the South East Prairie Thunder! Let the celebration begin!!!! By Wade Giesbrecht The Bentley Generals are 2009 McKenzie Cup Champions. Bound for Steinbach next week, the Generals have proved themselves tough enough and talented enough to represent the Pacific region (BC and Alberta) in the Allan Cup. For the 3rd straight season, The Fort St John Flyers were felled by the Alberta Champions but not before clarifying for everyone, the courageous and and feisty flare they will always play the game with. The size and raw physical power of the Generals roster has been dually noted numerous times this season. Matched up against the Flyers this past week, that size was put to the test, not by a similar physical stature but heart and will. The opening moments of the series saw the Gens set to motion in stunning fashion. Brett Thurston sifted a hard, accurate pass through the neutral zone, connecting to the stick of the fastest man in the series, Ryan Manitowich less than 2 minutes in. 'Manny' made no mistake on the breakaway, beating Chad Vizzuti into the top of the cage. The goal got the building jumping and the Generals followed it up with a steady buzz in the Flyers zone. Powerplays followed and Coach Sutter was savvy to key on his teams by size and reach. With nearly 500 pounds of scoring touch around the Fort St John crease...the combination of Big Smytty and affiliate Kurt Bensmiller put on a clinic in the opening period and throughout the series. Big 97 flicked away futile attempts to bump him off the puck before banging his own rebound behind Vizzuti for a 2-0 lead. Bensmiller then did some flicking of his own. After the Gens had worked the puck down low and then back to the point, Bensmiller set his feet square in front of Vizzuti and found a partially blocked shot off to the side of the net. In one giant swoop, the puck was in and the home side leading 3-0. Although the Gens presence around the Flyers crease would ultimately be a prevailing theme, the Flyers response came full force in period 2. FSJ cut the lead to 4-2...scoring twice on Cody Rudkowsky who has chosen to accept the Generals invitation to join them for the duration of their season as a 'provisional goalkeeper'. Hockey Alberta affords their Senior Provincial Champion the luxury of adding a 3rd goalkeeper from anywhere in the Province, to guard against potential injuries, and Rudkowsky was an obvious choice. The fact he was assigned starting duties in the McKenzie Cup was a reflection of how he nearly carried his Stony Plain Eagles team into the same series less than a week ago. Chris Martini helped to ensure the Generals had finished strong in game 1. Spinning onto a loose puck in the slot and wristing the Gens 5th and final goal of the game. Game 2 belonged to the Flyers and the Gens knew they had nobody to blame but themselves. Rudkowsky again got the nod...but he was unable to steal a game for a Bentley team that failed to come out with the same skating and energy as game 1. The Flyers shook off Dion Darling's goal when Paul Wiens tied the game at 1, late in period 1. The Flyers followed with 4 goals in succession, burying the Gens 5-1 at one point in the 3rd...the most the Generals have trailed any game in 2 years! Bentley bounced back...a bit...with goals from Donny Morrison and Big Smitty's 3rd of the series. Ryan Carter killed the rally buzz with a long breakaway goal after the lead was down to 5-3. A 6-3 score and the series was tied at 1 game. The Gens did not hit the snooze button after that wake up call. In game 3, the Gens were fired up and never let Rod Stevens opening goal hang around by itself for very long. Scott Galenza was back in net, having not lost a start on home ice in the entire playoffs. Galenza is a gamer who can be counted on to play well. Curtis Austring's deflection tied the game 30 ticks after the Stevens tally. Galenza stopped the next 26 shots on the night. The Flyers were unable to beat him even with the added help of 11 powerplay chances. Kurt Bensmiller caused the 2nd goal for the Gens by planting himself in front of Troy Hunt who tended the Flyers net for all but game 1. With the last seconds of the period falling away...Curtis Austring was the 3rd man high on a surge into the Flyers zone. Hunt was down and out after making one save and Austring carefully shot over top of him to make it 3-1 with less than a second of time on the clock! The 2 goal lead was more than enough for a Generals team which defended with extreme prejudice in the last period. Hammering the Flyer forwards and boxing out the front of the area in front of Galenza...a full season of focus on defence was shining for all 2000+ fans who filled the Red Deer Arena every night. With a few minutes left in the game...the gloves of Jeff Hansen hit the ice as he squared off with the consensus heavyweight champion of the NPHL: Tyler Loney. Hansen was born ready on this occasion...speed-bagging the larger Loney with an accurate opening sequence of iron-fisted jabs to Loney's face...exploding his nose. Loney came back with big swings of his own...his weight toppling Hansen at the end of the scrap. Loney would enter the rink the following night with his beek broken and swollen as wide as it is long. Hansen doesn't play every game...but he fights every enforcer and has done enough for this pundit of pugilists to place him the Heavy-Weight Champ' of the Pacific Region! With a chance to punch their ticket to Steinbach in game 4, the Gens used another impressive opening burst to gain the lead in the game. 25 seconds after the opening face off...Big Smytty sniped his 4rth goal in 4 games. Late in the first period, justice was finally delivered for Ryan Manitowich, who spent the entire series electrifying the fans with his spectacular skating. After several near misses since his series opening goal, Manny made good when Joey Vandermeer scouted him out with a sweet stretch pass. Backhand shelfed, behind Hunt! The Generals made it very tough on the Flyers in the 2nd period. Kurt Bensmiller tending to his office space in front of th FSJ net, watched and waited while the Generals powerplay worked the puck around the perimeter. Riley Lang chipped the puck into the slot where Bensmiller had all the time he needed to curl a back hand around the out-stretched leg of Troy Hunt. It was Bensmillers' 3rd goal and 7th point of the series. The Flyers team was trimmed down with a few players playing hurt and a few others sidelined with injuries...a predictable result from a vicious series. Facing elimination...they found it in themselves to cut the lead down to 3-2 before the Army came to their feet to salute the Generals for their 4th McKenzie Cup Championship in the past 5 years. Kurt Bensmiller accepted the McKenzie Series MVP Award. One week after his Dewberry Mustangs team went winless in Sr AA Provincials, Bensmiller led the scoring in the McKenzie Cup. With the WPCA season fast-approaching, Bensmiller Stables will have to graze in the open pasture for another week! 2009 Allan Cup gets under way April 13th. The Generals play their first of 2 round robin games on April 14th versus Theo Fleury's Steinbach North Stars (Host). Fleury was a notable attendee last week in the RDA, scouting a Gens team that will be mentioned amongst a few others as the favorite going into the tourney. Host teams are typically strong in this tournament, so the Generals will get a full frontal view of the what they face in terms of opposition talent. Greg Hawgood is expected to bolster the 'Stars blueline with his extensive NHL resume. This is the same group of hockey people who assembled the 2003 Allan Cup Champions: Illes Des Chenes North Stars, with Pat Falloon. A few returnees have translated into the Steinbach team, including Kelly Glowa. The Generals will be looking for a bye through to the semi-final round...and the most mathematically likely way for that to happen is to finish the round robin at 2-0. The 2nd game for the Gens will be April 15th versus the Thunder Bay Twins. Although T-Bay is in this Allan Cup having advanced on just 2 wins over Northern Ontario rivals, Kenora Thistles, Thunder Bay has spawned a total of 10 Allan Cup winners all time, their most recent coming in 05' when they shocked the country with a semi-final upset over the the Horse lake Thunder that spring in Lloydminster. In the opposite pool, The Dundas Real Mcoys stand as the early favourite to take the title. The Mcoys, have something in common with the Gens...they were in Brantford last year and are back this year with several key returnees on their roster as well as the Captain of the 2008 Allan Cup Champion Brantford Blast, Tyler Pelton joining them this year. Mark Jooris is still around as well. Jooris is considered by Ontario hockey people to be (arguably) the best hockey player to never play in the NHL. He is in his mid-forties now, retiring at the end of this season. The Lloydminster Border Kings (Saskatchewan Champion) and the South East Prarie Thunder (Manitoba Champion) round out the pool. Sunny 94.1 FM will be sending Troy Gillard's talent and technology out to do live broadcasts for the Generals games. Allancup.ca provides a link to for tournament statistics. I will be filing daily muses on bentleygeneralshockey.com and hopefully 'you' will be sitting there beside me in Steinbach, MB! The Championship Game will be covered live by TSN on Sunday, April 19th. The Divine Board of Hockey Gods Willing...The Generals will be there and better their 2nd place performance from one year ago. On behalf of the Generals, thank you to every single Army Member for all the support and energy that the team has been fortified with. The Bentley Generals will surely summon everything they've got to represent you with class and heart! Sunday night in Red Deer the Generals officially clinched a berth to their 3rd consecutive Allan Cup with a hard fought 3-2 win over the Fort St. John Flyers. Generals got goals from Ryan Manitowich, Kevin Smyth and Kurt Bensmiller. Bensmiller was named the MVP of the Mackenzie Cup series. Cody Rudkowsky turned in a solid effort between the pipes earning player of the game honors for the Generals. The game could've easily been 3-3 if not for the sensational stops he made in the 2nd period. The Generals will now head to Steinbach in hopes of capturing the Allan Cup. The Generals Saturday night in Red Deer were determined to forth a much stronger effort than they did in game 3 and they delivered. Putting together a strong effort in a 3-1 victory and taking a 2-1 series lead. Curtis Austring lead the way for the Generals with 2 goals on the night, as he was named the Generals player of the game. Scott Galenza turned in a sharp performance making 26 saves on the night. Game 4 is Sunday once again @ 7:30 pm, the Generals with a win will clinch their 3rd consecutive Allan Cup berth. After taking game 1 of the 2009 McKenzie Cup by a score of 5-2, the Generals were looking to put a strangle hold on the Fort St. John Flyers, however it was not to be. The Flyers got goals from six different players (Brett Loney, Adam Loncan, Paul Wiens, Ryan Carter, Tyler Brough and Todd Alexander) Including early period goals :21 into the 2nd period, and :29 into the 3rd both on the powerplay en route to a 6-3 win. The Generals got goals from Dion Darling, Don Morrison and Kevin Smyth. The flyers were up 5-1 at one point in the 3rd until the Generals started to bsttle back a bit scoring two goals 37 seconds apart in the 3rd period, however that momentum was killed by Ryan Carter as he walked in alone on Rudkowsky, making Rudkowsky commit and roofing the shot over him. Full marks to the Flyers on this night for a better effort. There is no doubt though that coach Sutter will motivate the Generals into put forth a much better effort for game 3! A strong 1st period was instrumental in tonight's 5-2 win for the Bentley Generals over the Fort St. John Flyers. The Generals stormed out to a 4-0 lead after the first period, with goals from Kevin Smyth with 2, Kurt Bensmiller and Ryan Manitowich. 3 of those coming on the man advantage. The Generals held a 20-7 shot advantage. In the 2nd period the Flyer woke up and were able to hold the Generals to only 4 shots in the period and cut the lead in half 4-2 after 2 on goals by Ian Munro and David Alexander. After 2 the Generals held a slim 24-21 shots advantage. In the 3rd the Generals got the only goalby Chris Martini. Total shots for the game were 38-29 for the Generals. Generals lead the best of 5 series 1-0, game 2 is Friday night 7:30 Pm @ the Red Deer Arena. If you cannot make it, listen online at sunny94.com Article courtesy Greg Meachem, Red Deer Advocate. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And where there’s a Kevin Smyth . . . well, even better. The former NHL player (58 games with the Hartford Whalers in the ‘90s) buried a power-play pass from Diarmuid Kelly at 11:59 of the third period Wednesday and the Bentley Generals pulled out a 2-1 win over the Stony Plain Eagles in the deciding game of the best-of-seven provincial senior AAA hockey championship. As the teams battled through a scoreless opening period before an overflow crowd of 2,214 at the Red Deer Arena, it became evident that the game would be decided by a single goal. “That the way it’s been all series, all season long against these guys (Eagles),” said Smyth. “We knew we’d have to fight hard. But that’s why we play all season, to get home ice advantage so we can play the last one at home. “Last year we were fortunate enough to win Game 7 (of the provincial final) up there (Stony Plain). It was nice to do it at home this year.” Smyth also drew an assist on the game’s first goal, scored by Sean Robertson at 8:34 of the second period. Robertson, alone in front, buried a rebound over fallen Eagles netminder Cody Rudkowsky. The lead help up until the dying seconds of the period when Tate Locke connected on an Eagles power play, sliding the puck past Generals netminder Scott Galenza and into the far corner with 15 ticks left on the clock. The Generals fired 13 shots at Rudkowsky in the third period and cashed in when Smyth moved into the slot and one-timed Kelly’s corner feed past Rudkowsky. “We played well all game. We stuck with the plan and my goal was just one of those things,” said Smyth. “I had lots of chances tonight and I wasn’t going to miss that one. It was just a great play. He (Kelly) has been great all series and all season. The pass was right on my tape. I didn’t think too much, I just shot it and it went in.” While he displayed a sense of relief, Generals head coach Brian Sutter insisted the contest didn’t have to go down to the wire, with Rudkowsky on the bench in favour of a sixth attacker. “It wasn’t easy but we didn’t make it easy on ourselves, either,” said Sutter, whose team held a 30-20 overall advantage in shots. “We had a number of chances to put the game away over and over again. We’re a team that makes it hard on ourselves. We really have to earn things. “But I’m proud of the guys because they stayed with it. When you get opportunities and you don’t score, it’s easy to hang your head. But as a coach you have to keep pushing in those situations, otherwise they do hang their heads.” Sutter wasn’t surprised that it was Smyth who pulled the trigger on the winner. “Your best players have to be your hardest workers,” said the Bentley bench boss. “He had four or five chances to score tonight and that one went in. He also made a great play on our first goal. “It’s easy to say that (the winner) was a great goal, but you’re paid to be good and you’re supposed to be good. The thing is we missed a lot of chances tonight and that’s why it made for such an intense game, when it shouldn’t have been.” Of course, Rudkowsky had something to do with the Eagles not only sticking around Wednesday, but through the entire series. Rudkowsky faced 320 shots over the seven-game set and was named series MVP. “He was good. In the playoffs your goaltender has to be your best player and their goaltender was their best player,” said Sutter. “I have a lot of respect for their team and their coaches . . . the whole organization,” he added. Next up for the Generals are the Fort St. John Flyers, who will represent B.C. in the best-of-five McKenzie Cup series starting next Thursday at the Arena. The winner will represent the Pacific Region in the Allan Cup tournament April 13-18 at Steinbach, Man. “It just keeps going on and on,” said Sutter, whose club has played a whopping 19 post-season games. “Our guys have a bunch of aches and pains. We used 32 players in this series, which tells you how hard you have to play.” The entire McKenzie Cup series will be staged at the Arena, a clear advantage for the Generals. “It’s kind of neat to get the support we’re getting here,” said Sutter. “This is a neat building to play in and Central Alberta is a great place, a special place with some great hockey fans.” Story by Wade Giesbrecht This Wednesday night at the Red Deer Arena, the 2009 Sr AAA Mens Hockey Provincial Champion will be determined. Game time is 8:30. If you have not yet had the chance to experience this amazing level of hockey, you have Cody Rudkowsky to thank for one more opportunity to attend a game this spring. Rudkowsky is the now infamous goaltender for the Stony Plain Eagles. He is certainly not the only reason this series is going to game 7...but there has been no bigger reason, all the same. For their part...the Generals deserve praise for pushing through 6 games so far and finding ways to win 3 of those. On home ice, in Red Deer, in front of capacity crowds...the Generals have been borderline superb. Literally unbeatable. After the events of this past weekend...they must now cling to that perfection on home ice...as their only hope to prevail and carry their Allan Cup aspirations any further. 2020 fans filled every seat and open spot along the glass Saturday Night. The first shift of the game ended in peril for Bentley Generals power-winger Kevin Smyth. After tangling briefly with Eagles' Dylan Dellezay, Smyth slumped over as he left the ice..and was never able to return to the game. With his teammates pouring their will into every ensuing shift, speculation on Big Smitty's condition whipped over the whisper lines around the rink. The Generals controlled the puck throughout the first period. Taking 12 shots on Rudkowsky while staging hockey's version of a filibuster, refusing to budge from their rock steady focus on the defence oriented task at hand. Stony mustered a meagre 5 shots on Scotty Galenza. The 2nd period got underway...still sans-Big Smytty..but not to worry. At 18:52, Sean Robertson bookended a quick but thorough passing sequence with his linemates, Curtis Austring and Ryan Manitowich, using a slapshot that beat Rudkowsky like a dusty floor mat. As it was becoming apparent that #97 was not going to be available for the remainder of the game, the Gens never missed a beat. As one soldier falls another comes to fill the spot along the front-line and the reforged integrity on a frozen battlefield. A 7:20 of the 2nd, Darren 'Dancing with the Stars' Deschamps delivered a dizzying 100 foot long magical display of skill with the entire Stony team unable to keep time with the brash young Generals pointman. He toe-dragged around one, then another and then 2 more Eagles players before coyly clinching his spot in Army Infamy with a top corner finish. Several fans were needing treatment for their sprained eyelids but Thomas Scantlebury was far and away the most notable pretzel on the unforgettable play. The Generals were up 2-0; in glowing hot fashion for sure. Stony dipped into their bag of tricks at 4:28. A rush gone wrong...was barely kept onside for Jim Kerr to turn and place a panic shot past Galenza from 40 feet out. The Generals had the appearance of a team totally capable of carrying the 2-1 lead all the way to final buzzer in the 3rd. However, Kent Beagle supplied insurance in the midst of a penalty kill. Beagle set his shorthanded trapline just inside enemy lines and snared the puck along the boards. Rudkowsky rushed on, hoping for a sneak-suprise save, but the mad trapper Beagle smelled him coming. Beagle's rangy frame allowed him to finagle the puck around his pads and finish into open strings for a 3-1 lead. With the chance to seal a 3rd straight Provincial Title and a McKenzie Cup Series still up for grabs...the Generals found it too far of a reach the next night. There are casualties and costs on victory, sadly. Big Smytty along with Chad Beagle, Tyler Haarstad and Eric Lodge were all too injured to play game 6 in Stony Plain. The depleted roster opened the game with 4 freshly arranged forward lines. Stony's Captain Mike Thompson took fast advantage of the understandable lack of structure. Scoring just 40 seconds after the opening faceoff. The Generals did their best to be on top of things...but Stony had edges to each attack they made and cut the visitng Gens deep when Tate Locke took a rebound past Gilhooly before the game was 10 minutes old. Loyal and unrelenting soldiers to their Allan Cup cause...the Generals marhsalled themselves for a proper rally. They cut the lead in half on a 5 on 3 powerplay late in the 1st period, via Ryan Manitowich. Twice prior in this series...the Gens have overcome 2 goal deficits and the efforts in game 6 seemed headed to a 3rd succesful attempt to flip the game over in their favor. They fired 21 total shots on Rudkowsky. In the 2nd period, Ryley Lang rang the cross bar after the Gens gained energy from some solid penalty killing. Rudkowsky recorded 38 saves in the game...as the Gens foraged for the tie. Several were of the boggling variety. Down and out on goalmouth scrambles...but there is always a method to his maddening flails. With each shot...the Generals demanded more from Rudkowsky than the ECHL Half Of Famer ever imagined he would be called upon for when he signed on in Stony last September. The Generals were not mesmerized. They still managed to dish out the big hits and the sound passing that has come to be counted on from them. They just couldn't catch that one ideal chance to avoid defeat on this night. It seemed they had to make due...and they almost made it. As it turns out the game ended in regulation, 2-1 for Stony. For the second consecutive season, Bentley will require a seventh heaven if they are to advance. This same surly group from Stony...extended the Gens to the brink last year. The Generals have ample experience and skill to draw from. They will be sending a fast, hard hitting roster into Wednesday Nights game. They are this far along, thanks somewhat to the steadfast eliminators effort they took Fort Sask. out with in a semi final game 7, 2 weeks ago. This time around...nobody is blindsided or reeling against some upstart force. No, these two teams are formidable and familiar with this scenario. Sutter has stated: 'There are two kinds of fear. Fear of success and fear of failure.' The latter, will be a rocket powered fuel in a defining moment like game 7. Therefore: "No Smoking in the Arena tomorrow night. Fearoline in Use!" Photo - Deschamps dazzling goal was the winner in Game 5 at the Red Deer Arena. Game 7 will decide the provincial champion Wednesday night. Game time at 8:30 PM.  -Courtesy Red Deer Advocate. STONY PLAIN — The Alberta senior AAA hockey final is going down to the wire. The Stony Plain Eagles forced a seventh and deciding game in the provincial championship series with a 2-1 win over the Bentley Generals Sunday, just 24 hours after the Generals posted a 3-1 victory in Game 5 at the Red Deer Arena. The Arena will host Game 7 Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. The Eagles grabbed a 2-0 lead Sunday on first-period goals by Mike Thompson and Tate Locke, before Ryan Manitowich notched a power-play marker for Bentley, also in the opening frame. “We didn’t come out with the same pace as we did Saturday,” said Generals manager Jeff McInnis. “We didn’t give them (Eagles) anything Saturday and tonight they had several odd-man rushes. They also had loose pucks bouncing their way, which tells me they played better than we did.” Cody Rudkowsky continued his stellar play in the Stony Plain net, blocking 37 shots. Mike Gilhooly made 30 saves for Bentley. Each team has won three times at home, which bodes well for the Generals heading into Game 7. “We earned home-ice advantage during the regular season and now we have to make sure we use it in our favour,” said McInnis. On Saturday, in front of close to 2,000 fans at the Arena, the Generals broke a scoreless tie with second-period goals from Kevin Robertson and Darren Deschamps. Jim Kerr replied for the visitors in the middle frame and Bentley captain Kent Beagle sealed the deal with a short-handed goal at 6:40 of the third period. Rudkowsky made 35 saves, with Scott Galenza turning aside 17 shots for the Generals. Saturday night in Red Deer it was game 5 between Stony Plain and the Generals. The Generals got goals from Robertson, Deschamps and Kent Beagle, while Stony's lone goal came from Jim Kerr as the Generals won game 5 by a score of 3-1, and take a 3-2 series lead. The Generals can win their 3rd consecutive provincial title Sunday night in Stony Plain, game time 7:30 pm you can also catch all the action on the radio 94.1 FM or visiting sunny94.com. Story by Wade Giesbrecht Tension is rising like an ocean tide in the 2009 Alberta Sr Men's AAA Hockey Provincial Finals. Two weeks and five games into the best of seven, the Generals are deadlocked at two wins with the Stony Plain Eagles. After splitting the opening weekend, The Generals hosted Stony in the Red Deer Arena for game 3 with a near capacity crowd of 1800 in attendance last Friday night. The Generals had 2 powerplay chances to try and open the scoring but were unable to beat Stony's consensus MVP, Cody Rudkowsky. On their 3rd man advantage of the period, the Gens were guilty of running head long into a fast and aggressive Stony penalty kill. Eagles' winger Blair Hennes paraded away, after stealing a pass in his own zone, before casually deeking Scotty Galenza out of position to pot the opening goal. The Generals kept charging onward, quickly responding with Diarmud Kelly's goal. The rangy centre was a towering force throughout this game and he knowingly followed up Ryan Manitowich's racing skates to the net to cash a rebound. Stony's most towering presence comes in the form of former U of A Golden Bears quarterback, Blair Zahara. A plucky hockey player, built into a 6'4' 200 pound plus frame, Zahara is worthy of the title 'two sport athlete'. Centering the Eagles top line, he's been a frequent note on the scoresheet all season long. Zahara pivoted to face a pass just inside the Gens zone in the 2nd period and first timed his always accurate shot for a 2-1 Stony lead. Rudkowsky's refusal to relent anything easy in the net, forces the Generals to counter with often overloaded attacks to the net. The Generals stabbed, jabbed, and grabbed for anything they could get their sticks on as they tried to tie the game. Kevin Smyth got credit for the 2-2 goal, with less than 2 minutes to play in the middle period. The puck was only across the goal line for a half a heart-beat but it was enough time to be witnessed by the referee. Scott Mackee hopped around a potentially big hit in the corner of the Gens zone early in the 3rd period. He then circled out front and rolled the puck over Galenza to stake the Eagles a 3-2 lead. The shot clock seemed to be motion activated at times in the 3rd period, but the pressure in the Stony zone was all too real to deny. Joe Vandermeer calmly squared up a nice D to D pass and socked the puck low, to the glove side, and tied the game in dramatic fashion with 14:20 elapsed. The Generals poured on the coal in overtime. Out Stony Plain was enough to get exciting chances on Rudkowsky. It was the fact they also outmanned the Eagles, that won the game: Defenseman Brett Thurston hustled in behind Curtis Austring and slapped the puck over Rudkowsky, who had already counted himself out of the play when he poke checked Austring's deke, to the top of the slot where Thurston was smartly supporting the game winning attack. Facing the potential of going down 3-1 in the series, Stony stepped onto home ice the following night. The Generals know, when they go into that building, they are facing a hostile and hateful energy that aches for the days of old....when Stony was the lone power in AAA Alberta Mens' Hockey. Times have changed. However, Stony still plays like a 'dynasty team' for their home fans. Curtis Austring went to the top of the playoff scoring race with his powerplay goal at 15:23 of the 1st. The Gens had a chance to take a 2-0 lock on the game when they went on a powerplay later in the period. Unfortunate winds blew back in their faces after Dylan Dellezay poked the puck through Dion Darlings skates at the blueline. The puck was then curled about 60 feet down just inside the Gens blueline where goaltender Gilhooly got aggresive and tried to beat the on-rushing Dellezay to his breakaway bid. The ensuing drama looked not unlike a 4 way stop in a freezing rain storm...with half hesitating motions from a goalie, a speeding centerman and the puck...each with its own heartbeat....all coming together in one ugly, gut- flipping moment. Dellezay stretched out for a desperation touch of the puck as Gilhooly sold himself out with a headfirst slide at the same time. The puck coughed up into the air, off some broken piece of the wreckage and hung high in the air, long enough to toast a pop tart, then we watched in disbelief as it rolled into the gaping net. A paranormal point to be sure. The Generals went into the intermission feeling the bite of that bad bounce and the sting of the 1-1 score. Trevor Sherban added to the headache when he put Stony into a lead not long after the start of the 2nd period. Dion Darling was not neccesarily to blame for the demonic moment that Dellezay had dealt late in the first, but he redeemed his team with a powerplay goal, just in case. Darling lunged into a soft Sean Robertson pass and sent a high, wild shot flying over Rudkowsky's frozen shoulder to re-set the game 2-2. Momentum made its way from one side to the other as the rivals raised the stakes down the stretch. Stony was keeping a watchful eye on Big Smytty...sending their most punishing players out everytime the Gens' top scoring threats came over the boards. Thomas Scantleberry rammed Big 97 into the corner of the rink temporarily taking Smytty's equilibrium down a notch while sending the intensity up a notch. With play blow down to ensure the Gens training staff could get Smyth safely back on the bench, the Gens players went looking for the culprit and found him not far from referee Doucet. As tempers red-lined at the red line...Jeff Hansen skirmished with Scantlebury but wound up getting himself tossed for 2 mins + a 10 minute misconduct. Hansen had to handle the heavy taunting of the Stony faithful before he could make his way to the exit. With the game and the series both tied at 2, the 3rd period was a golden opportunity for the Gens. Stony Plain presented what was their best defensive effort of the series to resist the Gens attempts. Holding Bentley to 11 shots...Stony counted for 16 of their own...but neither Gilhooly or Rudkowsky were anything less than 'gamers' right to the dying minutes. The Eagles managed to hold a clearing attempt in with a little over a minute to go in the game and Sherban took a shot from the far left point position. Tate Locke ticked the shot up off the ice and it disappeared from Gilhooly's sight-line, long enough to arch high over top of him...eerily similar to the Dellezay goal...this one went in with only 1:36 left for the Gens to fix the damage. Sutter sent in an extra soldier, with his goalie on the bench...and managed to use his timeout to try and script the ending. Stony wrote the last chapter on this night, editing the Generals offensive attacks with strong positional play as the raw emotion and effort of both teams collided at full force. The good news is, the Generals hold the home ice hammer in the series and they will have a chance to move within one game of their 3rd straight Provincial Title in Red Deer this Saturday night. Game time is 8:00 PM. The bad news, is they have won just one game in Stony this winter, losing 4 other games up there. Last season: the Gens found it equally rough going in the Glenn Hall Arena. The single victory they recorded there last year...was game 7 of the 2008 Provincial Finals. Good or bad...this series is now down to a best of 3. Regardless of the outcome in Red Deer on Saturday, the Gens go back into Stony for game 6 on Sunday night. History says that a game 5 loss, with the mathematics as they are at the moment, would put the Gens in a statistically bleak spot. Conversely, a win in this upcoming home game, would give them a 2 for 1 shot (game 7 at home next Wednesday, if necessary) to advance to the best of 5 McKenzie Cup, set for the first week of April and to be hosted in the home rink of the winner of this Alberta Series. The Generals looked to put a strangle hold on their best of 7 Alberta Finals series with Stony Plain, but it was not meant to be. Tate Locke scored the winning goal for Stony Plain late in the game to give the Eagles a 3-2 win. The best of 7 series is now deadlocked at 2 games a piece. Game 5 goes next Saturday at the Red Deer Arena, game time @ 7:45. You can catch all the action on Sunny 94 with Troy Gillard The Generals were able to avenge the overtime loss from game 2 with their own overtime winner, 4-3 Friday night at the Red Deer Arena in front of over 1700 fans. Kelly, K. Smyth, Vandermeer and Thurston, who scored the OT winner scored for the Generals. Hennes, Zahara and MacKee for Stony. Galenza made 25 saves, Rudkowsky who got Stony's player of the game made 62 saves. Kelly earned player of the game for the Generals. Game 4 goes tomorrow night at the Glen Hall Centennial Arena in Stony Plain. Game time is 7:30 PM. And do not forget to tune into Sunny 94 for "Bentley Generals Playoff Hockey", play by play by Troy Gillard. For those that missed the exciting news this morning, Sunny 94, (94.1 FM) will be covering the rest of the Generals vs. Stony Plain Eagles Alberta Finals series. "Bentley Generals Playoff Hockey on Sunny 94" makes it's debut tonight. Calling the play by play will be Sunny 94's own Troy Gillard. The broadcast will begin at approximately 7:35PM. So be sure to tune into 94.1 on your radio dials, or logging onto Sunny 94 to catch all the action. Pumps & Pressure Bentley Generals Hockey on Sunny 94 is brought to you by Pumps & Pressure, Line-X Coatings, Budal Construction, Buist Motor Products and R. Pollitt Oilfield Construction. Story by Wade Giesbrecht In vanquishing the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs last Wednesday, the Bentley Generals pursuit of the Allan Cup pushed 2 games into the Alberta Sr. AAA Finals this past week. In front of an 'Army' 800 strong in the Bentley Arena for game 7 against the Chiefs, the home team took the series, squeezing out a 3-2 victory. The Gens' never trailed in the game but the Chiefs provided a chase that will not be soon forgotten. Joe Vandermeer's red hot shot less than 2 minutes into the game blew Chiefs goalie Garret Kindred's water supply right off the top of the net for a forceful opening. As the Gens celebrated the goal, Kindred calmly put the water bottle back on the net and then proceeded to stop 15 more shots in the 1st period. The Chiefs managed only a few shots on Scott Galenza but their determination to deny the Gens' was evident on every shift. Tyler Haarstad supplied another quick start less than a minute into the middle frame. A 2-0 lead did nothing to ease the tension in the building. Braden Appleby's seemingly omnipotent presence throughout this amazing series was once again re-enforced when he cut the lead in half with 18:35 still to play in the 2nd. At the elapse of the period a 21-12 shots advantage and yet only a 2-1 lead created the feel of a few thousand tonnes of bricks upon the tired shoulders of the Generals. Even a tiny mistake or a tricky bounce could have turned the game against the home team. To their complete credit, they carried the load like true soldiers. With 20 minutes to go, the Chiefs stepped up the pace in the 3rd. The Generals were a defensive fortress. Denying rushes and doubling their puck support on every check was not enough to keep Fort Sask from finally finding a way to send a heart murmur pulsating through the rink. Richard Kelly raced up the ice and ripped a hail mary shot from 40 feet in front of Galenza and struck just inside the far post. A pall fell over the faithful. The potential to stand down and be stupefied by the sting on the moment was certainly an option at that point. The Gens stepped up instead. Jared Smyth was tipping tush over tea-kettle when Dion Darling's dagger dinged off him, over Kindred and dramatically ebbed only a few inches past the goal line as the building erupted in relief with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. The 3-2 lead would hold, despite Appleby twice un-reeling inspired attacks up the ice in the final few moments of the game. Appleby and his team-mates lined up for handshakes after time had run out on their season. I assume every hand was still trembling with adrenaline. A 48 hour turn around was all the down time the Gens had to be ready for game 1 of the Alberta Finals (best of 7) against Stony Plain. Apparently it was more than enough! The Gens assaulted Eagles goalkeeper Cody Rudkowsky with 55 shots on the night, racking up a 4-1 win at the Red Deer Arena, in front of 1200 fans. Scott Hood confused Rudkowsky by deftly deflecting a cleverly disguised shot-pass from Donny Morrison on the PP at 11:54 of the 1st. Chad Beagle, back in the line-up for the 2nd game since an injury, was busy all night. Busting down the left wing late in the period, Beagle tried a backhand pass towards the slot but the puck bounced back to him and he promptly buried it to make it 2-0. With Stony still searching for their legs in the 2nd, the Gens tortured the Eagles with astronomical amounts of scoring chances. Rudkowsky's acrobatic efforts were futile. Tate Locke's PPG at 9:18 to cut the lead to 2-1, went unnoticed against 24 total shots in just 20 minutes. Morrison cleaned up one of countless goalmouth scrambles to restore a 2 goal lead. Beagle walked down main street and wired a slapshot off the post in the 3rd period. The piercing ring of iron was not enough to alert Blair Hennes to wake up and get out of the way as the puck struck him and went to its intended destination behind the flailing goalkeeper. The Gens' enjoyed their stroll through Stony's lethargic line-up all night. The final score could have been far more devastating if not for Rudkowsky who has a single NHL game on his hockey resume. The following night, the Eagles were on home ice and intent upon restoring dignity in game 2. They came out with a barrage of hits and vindicated themselves completely of their lacklustre loss one night earlier. Locke lifted his stick into the path of a Trevor Sherban point shot, as Stony was on 1 of 13 powerplays in the game, to give Stony their first lead of the series at 2:50 of the 1st. The Generals did what any decent opponent would do, answering back with all the hard hits and intensity they could be asked for, playing their 3rd game in 4 nights and 5th in a week. Referee Tom Trottier tightened the circumstances with a ruthless eye, calling a head-rolling 29 minor penalties over the course of the game! Tate Locke's sinister rush on the first shot of the 2nd period resulted in a 2-0 lead for Stony. The constant confusion of whistles was partly to blame for Scott Mackee getting away with a free shot on Mike Gilhooly a few minutes into the final period. Now facing a 3-0 deficit, 1000 Stony fans and a totally tiring, non-stop stream of special teams play to boot...Bentley bucked up and began to rally against impossible odds. Ryan Manitowich worked his way into the slot and sniped high over the shoulder with under 10 minutes to play. With the Gens coming on like a June hail storm, Trottier battened the hatches and assessed the Gens another penalty with under 5 minutes to go. Chris Martini slammed into a Stony defender and jarred the puck past him in the process, then pushed all the way down the left wing and defiantly drove a slapshot through the 5-hole for an electrifying shorthanded goal to make it 3-2. Brian Sutter boldly lifted Gilhholy for an extra solider with 2 minutes still on the clock. Sean Robertson dove heart first into a smoky battle around Rudkowsky. Hazardous travel conditions to and from the game, were well worth the risk when Robertson found the puck amidst a haze of panic and tied the game. It seemed to be all Gens' at that point. Manitowich and Dairmud Kelly both had chances to win the game. Stony's defence was clearly coming apart against the mammoth pressure put on. Trottier was not nearly as moved as The Army, however. He extinguished the excitement by putting 2 Gens in the box in under a minute of overtime hockey and Stony's Jim Kerr was wide open on a very rare 4 on 3 powerplay, when he one timed Sherban's pass for the gut-wrenching game winner. The goal was an unjust verdict. Sutter engaged Referee Trottier as his team picked themselves up off the ice and headed for the door. The bench boss pointed to the illuminated evidence still on the penalty time board. Glenn Hall Arena was too loud for the discussion to be heard...but the body language was telling to say the least. Typically, good teams don't take penalties in OT and if one is handed out...its supposed to be for something atypical. The type the Gens took? Well, lets just say...its tough to take. Game 3 goes at the Red Deer Arena Friday night at 7:45 PM. The Generals looked to go ahead 2-0 in their best of 7 Alberta Provincial Final Saturday night, in Stony Plain. The Generals had registered a rather convincing 4-1 win the previous night, outshooting Stony Plain 55-17 However on this night, things would not play out the same way. The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Tate Locke (2) and Scott MacKee. The Generals however would not let up, and would fight back and score 3 unanswered goals in the final 10:00 of the 3rd period to send the game to overtime. Manitowich, Martini and Robertson were the Generals trio who were able to send this game into overtime. However in the overtime, after some questionable calls, the Generals faced a 4-3 situation, and unfortunetly their 3rd period heriocs were smashed when Eagles forward Jim Kerr hit the mesh behind Mike Gilhooly sending the Eagles fans home happy. Game 3 is set for this coming Friday, March the 13th. Once again at the Red Deer area, 7:45 PM. Game 4 goes back in Stony, 7:30PM start. Please don't forget to bookmark this new site. And updates will happen to the site as time permits it, please be patient Story by Wade Giesbrecht The Bentley Generals were able to defeat Stony Plain, and stretch their franchise record streak to 22 games last Friday night in front of 1200 Red Deer Arena patrons. The following night, the streak was pronounced dead in Stony Plain but the rivalry between the 2 teams has never been more alive. The Generals hoped to fly high for the biggest regular season in recent history. The opening game of a home and home set quickly deteriorated into ping pong on ice as both teams lobbed conservative-minded dump and chase hockey back and forth for the better part of 40 minutes. No score after 1 period. Shots were just 8 per team. Galenza and Fricker in the nets ordering their respective teams into proper positions for inch by inch trench warfare. Mid-way into period 2, Scott Hood snuck out of a fox hole, inside enemy lines, and triggered a one-timer past Fricker for the first goal of the game. Later in the frame, a lucky bounce off another dump-and-chase, helped Blair Zahara tie the game only 1 shift later. Later, Zahara converted a loose puck into a go ahead goal on a 3rd period Stony PP. That goal seemed to strike a chord with the Generals as they sprung to action and proceeded to buzz with flashing energy for the remainder of the game. Sean Robertson stormed over the Stony Plain blue line and tanned Fricker with a 45 foot beam to tie it at 2. The Generals finished strong. Dion Darling hammered a powerplay point shot for the game winning goal and closed up shop with a series of strong defensive plays to preserve the lead. The Gens' caravan went to Stony Plain the following night hoping to bring home win #23. The Gens' took a 2-0 lead in the game and seemed to be poised for victory but Stony's Blair Zahara cut into the lead that Kent Beagle and Joe Vandermeer had provided,with only 23 seconds left in the first. In the 2nd period, Stony's Jim Kerr and Dean Tiltgen beat Cam Ondrik. Afterwards, Blair Zahara scored his 4th goal in 2 games to give Stony their biggest lead all year over Bentley. Diarmud Kelly helped recover some of the lost ground before the 2nd period was finished but the game finished with 48 shots on Stony goalie Cody Rudkowsky, a 4-3 final score and some bench-clearing fireworks for the full effect. A cease-fire was called before anything truly crazy took place but anytime 2 teams end a game milling around, pulling at each others sweaters and pointing fingers while fans stand and scream from the bleachers, you can't help but hope for more. The Gens' have just one regular season game remaining. January 31st in Fort Saskatchewan, then the playoff schedule will be tendered to which some big dates are sure to be circled. Story by Wade Giesbrecht With playoff hockey looming up around the bend, its come time for head coach Brian Sutter and the Bentley Generals to finish fine tuning the machine. The trek towards Steinbach, Manitoba took a critical but transformative turn this past week. The Generals identified and met their roster needs, by adding 3 talented and tough defensemen and a scorer to what was already a turbo-boosted team. Dion Darling, Eric Lodge and Brett Thurston were called to duty just before Hockey Alberta's January 10th roster cutdown deadline. Also added was, North Peace Hockey League scoring star, Tyler Shantz. The freshly greased gears of war were working with merciless and machine-like momentum against the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs on the weekend. The Gens rocked the #4 team in the Province for an eye popping 20 goals through the 2 game set. Kevin Smyth couldn't miss on Friday night. He led the scoring assault with 3 goals. Dustin Claffey, Diarmud Kelly and Ryan Manitowich each scored twice and Dion Darling, Chris Martini, Jeremy Stasiuk and the always handy Tyler Haarstad also cashed in once each. Sean Robertson joined teammates, Curtis Austring and Joe Vandermeer, in the top 10 of the league scoring race with a 4 assist night. The final score of 13-3 was a rock bottom moment for a Fort Sask, a team normally known to be difficult to play against. On Sunday evening, The Chiefs tried hard to vindicate the thrashing but Joey Vandermeer led a flashy defence core with 2 goals and 2 assists and the Gens rolled to a 7-3 road victory. Chris Martini added 2 goals and Dion Darling, Eric Lodge and rowdy Riley Lang added tallies. With the wins...the Gens ran their record to 21-0. They have just 3 games left to clean up what's become a regular season feeding frenzy for a team that hungers for nothing less than the sweet taste of an Allan Cup National Title. But... perfection will not be spoon fed! The Chinook Chefs are serving a late season treat. This Friday, January 23rd, the Generals set the table in the Red Deer Arena for a feast featuring the top AAA teams in Alberta! 1st place overall and home ice through-out the playoffs is still on the line but the Stony Plain Eagles are also the only team in the last 10 years to run the regular season table, The Eagles were 28-0 in 2003-04...only to be vanquished with the Generals 1st of 3 trips to the Allan Cup later that spring. So we can gather in Red Deer Friday night, knowing the Eagles will want to scavenge more than just the points. They detest the idea of the Gens equalling or bettering any part of their Alberta Sports Hall of Fame noted history. Friday nights game is one of just 3 remaining check points for a Generals coaching staff that's working hard to sort out the best possible roster to entrust with the playoffs. There are over 25 players who have now become part of a living dream and nobody wants to be the first to blink in the upcoming weekend stare down with Stony. Game Time is 8:30...In the Red Deer Arena! Make sure your eyes are there to witness it, too! Story by Wade Giesbrecht The River Cree Warriors have earned a reputation as a scrappy squad this year. On Saturday night in Bentley, the Generals completed the regular season series sweep and set up what will be an interesting playoff series next month should the cards fall that way. Kevin Smyth set up Sean Robertson twice but the Generals trailed 3-2 after the first period. Before the opening 20 minutes were in the books...a score was settled between River Cree's part time entertainer/enforcer Jason Bone and Generals Peace Officer Jeff Hansen. Throughout the week leading up to the game, Bone had made a few notable comments about what he had in store for the Generals. Hansen and Bone found one another at centre ice 6 minutes into the game and had 250 fans on their feet before Officer Hansen was able to restrain 'The Funny Bone' with the take down. Funny Bone played to the crowd throughout the game, unbeknownst to him, the hockey game was going south in a hurry for his teammates. In the 2nd period: The often gritty Scott Hood capped a fantastic passing sequence into the open net for a beauty from Chad Beagle and Claffey. Riley Lang's slapper from the left wing over-powered Randy Moon's glove hand. After that, the Gens over-powered the Warriors for 2 more goals. Joe Vandermeer moved up a notch or 2 in the scoring race with a powerplay goal. Chad Beagle came alive and out of the hive with a vintage bumble-bee burst around all five River Cree defenders before stinging Moon to the far side with a forceful finish. The Generals had to again respond to some antics in the 3rd period as Big Smytty was being taunted by River Cree's "Lieutenant" and captain, Dan Leckelt. Top scorer Curtis Austring ordered Leckelt to stand down and on 3 subsequent shifts Austring trumped Leckelt to the net...setting up the toque trick for Sean Robertson and then sniping one of his own before added an assist on new recruit Jeremy Stasiuk's 3rd goal as a General. The River Cree Warriors were more difficult to deal with than the 3 previous games. Having added Swift Current Bronco Defenseman Jesse Duda who is somewhat AWOL from the WHL at the moment...the Warriors are the odds on favorite to be our opening round playoff opponent. A 9-4 final score was recorded not just in the standings where the Generals enjoy a big lead...but in the minds of the Warriors who still seemed to have a 'bone to pick' when the game was over. Gens host the Kings of the Border on the 10th at 7 PM. See you there! Story by Wade Giesbrecht On Saturday night with the Stony Plain Eagles in town to try and stop the Generals epic run of 15 straight victories and with the temperature dropping to -30 outside, the scene was set for a barn burner. Before the game the Generals thanked nearly 500 frosty fans for their 'general-osity', piling up boxes of donated Christmas gifts in the Arena lobby. Less than 10 minutes after the opening face off, the Generals scored on the grinchy Eagles goalie, Cody Rudkowsky. Darren Cain's shot from the corner deflected in after some early pressure in which the Gens' tagged Stony for 10 unanswered shots to start the game. Stony thawed out with a couple of powerplays before Clem Arsenault completed a rare Stony rush with a score from close in on Cam Ondrik. Toes were keeping warm with a steady cycle of shifts from the home team but a decisive 17-8 shot advantage was stymied by Rudkowsky. Mid-way through period two, the 1-1 tie was snapped when Kyle Rossiter's powerplay point shot found the mark for Stony Plain. The Generals responded with workman-like determination drawing penalties off of their speed and terrific team play. Wowing the crowd with several well planned plays. Rudkowsky really never had a chance when Chris Martini came down the chimney to tap in an excellent crease cutting pass from Ryan Manitowich to re-set the tie at 2. Stony Plain Eagles top line then served up their best shift of the game leading to a goal from Boyd Olson at 14:29 of the 2nd period. The home squad had to white knuckle through a 5 on 3 shorthanded situation before what was about to become a truly timeless final 20. In the 3rd the Gens poured on the coal. Shovelling shot after shot at the Stony net. From close, far and in between the team had tried everything to tie the game. Sean Robertson's backhand went over Rudkowsky at about the 10 minute mark and the goal light came on to signal what we thought was a freshly knotted affair. The chain of events that followed was enough to leave even a barber scratching his head. With the timeless Martin Schneider manning the goal judges seat where he's sat for what seems like a century, Referee Greenburg blew the play down and erased the apparent goal out. Crossbar? Back bar and out? He asked one linesmen as the cat calls grew louder. Half a dozen players followed him behind the net where he listened to the 80+ year barber, bus driver and local icon who emphatically motioned he had saw the goal go in. Martin's meticulous description of what he had witnessed was wildly entertaining to the fans...but not enough of a case to convince Greenburg to allow the goal. So a few minutes later when Big Smitty's 20 footer found the five hole...it was little surprise to see Marty's goal light blinking like a short circuited strobe light for the full effect. Martin marched defiantly up and down from his chair with amazing vigour. Vindication then came complete with 50 second left. Big Smitty...again...this time; banking a magic shot from a hidden angle to lift the Generals to a memorable win. The goal light was, again, worked with extreme exaggeration and maybe an expletive or two for good measure! The good Lord willing, Marty will pack up his stool into Sylvan Lake for next Friday for the Gens versus Rocky. Game time is 8:30PM. Story by Wade Giesbrecht The Lloydminster Border Kings didn't bring a busload of players to Bentley on Saturday night. Just 13 skaters and 1 goalie...but they had the Generals fighting to stay on the road. Bentley's Darren Cain had the only goal of the opening period. As the mid way junction of the game was approaching the Generals needed a road map to find the net behind Border Kings goalie John Haggis. Darren Cain scored his 2nd on the night...with his team shorthanded... to make it 2-0. Before the end of the 2nd the Gens' shot total went above 40 on the game...but only Kevin Smyth's over powering wrist shot was good enough to add to the lead. Chris Hartman stepped up and answered the Gens' 3rd goal with a wrist shot of his own about a minute later. Before the 3rd period was 3 minutes old, Adam Creasy put LBK right on the back bumper with a rebound goal to make it 3-2. The CHL leading point producer,Curtis Austring, lucked out when he tried to snake a pass through traffic and it went into the Kings net instead. Unbenounced to the officials...LBK actually should have got themselves back to within a goal when a similar bounce seemed to have fooled Scott Galenza at the other end. The puck was invisible at just the right time however. The Generals seemed to be playing without wearing any seatbelts several times during this game but Sean Robertson cleaned up a rebound off one of Big Smittys several quality scoring chances to put Bentley back up by 3. Late in the the game...John Haggis and the rest of his weary road warriors were too tired to maintain pace...but earned a moral victory of sorts. Haggis had tried out with Bentley at the start of the season. His 55 saves on 60 shots nearly allowed Lloydminster to steal a game. Instead of that...the Gens are 14-0 on the year and getting ready for their toughest weekend to date. Bentley will be going all in this Friday night at the River Cree Casino (versus the Warriors). If the chips fall the way they should...we'll be watching the Gens' put an undefeated record on the line at home this coming Saturday against Stony Plain...game time is 7:00. The last time the Generals lost at home...was January 18th of last season. Against...guess who? I'll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count. Story by Wade Giesbrecht After wrapping up the regular season series with the Innisfail Eagles on Friday night with a 10-1 route, the Generals travelled to Stony Plain for a Saturday night special. It was the first meeting of the year for the 2 perennial Provincial powerhouses and they didn't disappoint. Stony Plain defenceman Kyle Rossiter,who played on the 1999 Canadian World Junior team, opened the scoring on a 1st period powerplay. The Generals gained inspiration from some hard working play in the corners and Chirs Martini plugged a rebound past Cody Rudkowsky in the late minutes of the 1st to tie the game 1-1. Rudkowsky's play became the highlight of the game in the 2nd period. His cup of coffee in the NHL looked like it was still fresh in the pot as he made save after save and kept Stony Plain in position to win the game. Adrian Beaudin scored a 2nd period powerplay goal for Stony Plain and as the 3rd period started, the Generals perfect win/loss record was in jeopardy to be sure. Curtis Huppe, on the heals of a hat trick versus Innisfail the previous night had a breakaway turned away early in the final stanza and Kevin Smyth was robbed not once but twice. Then with 7:20 left in the game, Joe Vandermeer pinched in from the point and drilled a perfect shot off the post and in to pull the Gens' even for the 2nd time in the game. A scorelesss 5 minute sudden death overtime preluded a shootut drama. Scott Galenza had played a strong game in the Generals making saves on 37 of 39 shots. Rudkowsky's ratio was equal and so it was not an inviting task to take shootout attempts at either end of the rink. The Stony squad scored on 2 of 3 attemps and the Gens needed Kevin Smyth to keep the shootout going. He did just that,shaving the post with deftly a quick wrister to the stickside. Galenza stared down Blair Hennes on the next attempt to give the leagues top scorer,Curtis Austring a chance to be a hero. He smartly selected the same shot that Big Smitty scored with and it all worked perfectly! The Generals now return to home ice on December 6th to play Lloydminister Border Kings at 7:00 PM. Hoping to boost their record to 14-0. Friday night the Chiefs were in town to face the Generals. It was the first meeting of the season between the two clubs, with the Generals coming out on top 5-3. However with that 5-3 score being said, if not for a number of goal posts the score could have easily been 10-3, 9-3 or 9-4 as Fort Saskatchewan also had hit the iron. The Generals held a 2-0 lead after 2 periods, only to fall behind 3-2 within 10:00 of the 3rd period. However they would finally catch a break and would knot it up, and would eventually roll from there en route to a 5-3 win. Scoring for the Generals were Cain, Hansen, Austring, Ahearn and Morrison. For The Chiefs scoring were Forslund, Hurley and Middleton. Shots on goal were 30-18 for the Generals. Galenza made 15 saves for the W, Ainsworth 25 for the loss. Joe Vandermeer and Mike Hurley were named players of the game. Next action is Saturday night vs. Rocky @ 7:00PM at the Bentley Arena. The Generals won both their games this past weekend in a doubleheader vs. the Border Kings. 6-3 on Saturday night and 5-2 on Sunday afternoon. Scoring on Saturday for the Generals were Hood (2), Austring, Manitowich, Jones and Cain with Galenza making 29 saves for the win. On Sunday it was Martini, Beagle, Manitowich, Austring and Hood with Ondrik making 30 saves for the win. Generals next game is at home this Wednesday against Innisfail Last night in Sylvan Lake, which was a home game for the Rams, the Generals took another 2 points from the Rams in a 6-0 shutout victory. For more info on stats and who scored check out the chinook league site The Generals kicked off their 10th season with an 8-2 win over the Rocky Rams tonight. Generals would lead 2-1 after the 1st, 5-1 after the 2nd. Shots were 58-22 for the Generals. I did not jot down the goal scorers, slacking on my part I know, but I'm sure someone on the message board will post who scored and the box score will be up on the Chinook league site. Generals are at it again tomorrow night in Sylvan Lake against the Rams yet again |