The Lacombe Generals will start the Allan Cup Hockey West season Friday, on the same ice they are guaranteed to skate on next April.
Lacombe will play host to the 2019 Allan Cup in April and Friday at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex, they will start their regular season pursuit of excellence against the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs.
“It’s a season that everyone is expecting us to be strong so you feel that external pressure. I think if anything can be said of our past, you always try to be strong,” Generals GM Jeff McInnis said.
“It won’t be easy, but we look forward to the challenge of it.”
The Generals did skate in the ACHW preseason tournament on home ice before Thanksgiving and that didn’t go exactly as planned.
They struggled to get players out to their opening contest against the RDC Kings and were handed an 8-1 drubbing.
McInnis said a much better indication of the talent they have was on display Sept. 29 when they knocked off the Rosetown Red Wings 3-2. For many of the Generals, it was their first competitive skate of the season and there is still plenty of rust to knock off.
“We were mopped up on (Sept. 26)… We couldn’t get anyone there, it was tough. Players hadn’t been to enough skates, so there were some guys who it was their first or second skate,” McInnis said.
“Saturday we assembled a roster against Rosetown and I thought we played quite well… the guys, for the most part, come to camp to get back in shape. That’s what our hockey is, guys trying to knock the rust off again.”
In net, the Generals will have both Steven Stanford and Jacob Deserres back.
On defence, stalwarts Ian Barteaux and Brennan Evans are back in the mix. Doug Jessey, Billy Marshall, Jeese Todd and Dylan Nowakowski also re-enter the fold. Todd had 27 points in 22 games last year and Nowakowski led the league with 16 goals in 21 games.
“You’ve got some men who can be real difference makers. Evans and Todd really drive it, Doug Jessey as well,” McInnis said.
Nathan Deck, Collin Valcourt and Adam Huxley are also back up front.
Although McInnis said it still wasn’t easy to recruit despite hosting the Allan Cup this year, they were able to add a few names up from. Forwards Keegan Iverson, Steven Phee, Darren Kramer and Jeremy Beirnes all are new faces for the Generals.
“We’ve got a good core and then you supplement from the core. I’m really excited. We’ve added some new guys in Levi Nelson, he’s a dynamic player. We’ve added a powerful forward in Keegan Iverson,” the Generals GM said.
The Generals will drop the puck on the ACHW season Friday in Lacombe at 8 p.m.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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