Bring on the Cubs! Forde leads Gens to series win

Flyers goalie Kaiden Fulton looks over his shoulder to see if Gens sniper Patrick Forde put another one past him. Forde has seven goals and nine points in the first two games of playoffs.

Seven goals in two games, nine points when you count assists,

Gens captain Patrick Forde is a man on a mission and has led Cochrane to a first-round win over the High River Flyers last night.

It took just 28 seconds of play for Tristan Ripplinger to feed the puck to Forde to put the Gens on the scoreboard. In all, the long-time linemates connect to score four goals, one of them by Ripplinger, in the 6-2 road win.

"We've got Forde back," says Gens head coach Kurtis Jones. "That's what we kept saying, he's back."

Still, Jones points out it was a total team win.

"Our guys stepped up," says Jones. "I think High River played a very strong game, and being last in our division didn't mean anything. They're a good team and our guys just wanted it more and came out and played like we're supposed to."

Brandon Smith scored his first playoff goal as a Gen in game two.

The night also marked Brendan Smith's first playoff goal with the club, and his second of the season.

Expect the action to notch up in the south semifinal against the Medicine Hat Cubs that kicks off on Tuesday night (Feb. 21) at Med Hat's Kinplex. We get our first taste of the series in Game Three on Feb. 25.

"We've got another gear for sure, but our guys played very well against the Flyers and we took one step in the right direction. Now, we have to take another step and elevate the game a little bit more."

The team rests today before returning to the ice Monday to prepare for Tuesday's game.

After frustration boiled over late in the first game between the Gens and Flyers, a mere 14 minutes in penalties were awarded in combination to the two teams on Saturday night.

Gen Caden Stephenson returns to the lineup after serving a suspension and Jamal Kalaf won't see the ice until Game Two of the series.

In the regular season meet-ups, the Cubs won three and the Gens had two wins and an overtime loss.