The Lacombe Generals put themselves in a position where they would have three chances to put their Alberta Senior ‘AAA’ series against the Stony Plain Eagles away after winning the first three out of four games.
They would only need one after they lit up the score board 6-1 Wednesday night and are going to the Allan Cup.
“I think we are going in pretty confident after two series and having only lost one game,” Dylan Nowakowski said. “We are going to pretty dangerous.”
The Generals were also coming off a blistering weekend, where they outscored their opponent 14-5 over the course of two games.
The first period of Game 5 was a different story, however, as the Eagles managed to keep the Generals boxed in for the majority of the period with physical play.
The added pressure eventually lead to a goal by Eagle Todd Fiddler, after his shot was tipped past General’s goalie Steven Standford with just under five minutes to play in the period.
The Generals went into the dressing room with plenty of work to do, down 1-0 with 40 minutes still to play.
“That one was a wake up call for us and we settled down after that,” Dylan Nowakowski said.
The Generals would come out singing a different tune after some early pressure on the powerplay lead to a beauty goal by Generals Keenan Desmet shortly after the man advantage expired.
Kyle Bailey would later add a goal for Lacombe after non-matching penalties lead to a four-on-four situation, giving the Generals their first lead of the game.
The Generals kept on finding the twine after Nolan Huysmans dug a puck out of the corner to make a beauty feed to Colin Valcourt, who then scored over top Davis Jones to make it a 3-1 game.
The Eagles continued to stay grounded in the second period after Brad Stebner picked up a rebound and put it past a sprawling, out-of-position Jones to give the Generals a domineering 4-1 lead heading into the final period.
The Generals would continue to add to their big lead in the third after Ian Barteaux would extend the lead to 5-1. He would another goal layer in the period, putting the lead to an insurmountable 6-1 with five minutes to play.
Nowakowski said their depth played a huge role in the win.
“It is tough when four lines contribute and they couldn’t keep up with us,” Nowakowski said. “You could tell during the series that they just got tired. We were relentless.”
The Generals punched their ticket to the Allan Cup starting April 8th in Rosetown.
“We had our eyes on a bigger prize all season so it doesn’t feel like we are satisfied yet,” Nowakowski said.
“When we get to Rosetown, maybe it will settle in but right now it feels like just another win.”
todd.vaughan@redddeerexpress.com
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