It was a wild game for the Lacombe AA Generals and the Daysland Northstars on Friday, January 17th at the Gary Moe Autogroup Sportsplex.

The Generals were quick to take the lead thanks to a goal by Arseni Oursov but the Stars were quick to respond, with the period ending with the Stars up 4-1.

Early in the second, Generals’ Dallas Smith slide in another, and the Gens managed to keep the Northstars at bay for the remainder of the period.

However, in the third period, Lacombe came onto the ice with new energy and seemed to be ready to battle their way up the scoreboard bringing out aggression from Daysland. A couple Northstar penalties gave the Generals the opportunity to catch up and goals from Josh Smith, Dallas Smith, and the game-winner from Jared Williams at 5-4.

“They scored those four and answered and we had to come up with a big effort and basically mentally change where we were at to make that happen and we pulled it off,” explained Jared Williams about the sudden change on the ice. 

In frustration, a Dayslander threw his stick earning Lacombe a free penalty shot. Generals’ Josh Smith took the penalty and earned his second goal of the game. Williams noted a great game from Smith who also contributed to his own success. 

“It wasn’t the start we wanted. We came out got the first one but obviously let off the gas there. It was a team effort. Everybody was pulling the rope the same direction and Josh Smith played a great, great, game tonight. Two goals and a big assist on my goal."

In the final minute of the game, the Generals landed in a bit of hot water, defending a 6 on 4 powerplay as the Stars pulled their goalie. Lacombe persevered and even managed a few empty netter shots though none would end up successful.  

The game closed off 6-4 for the AA Generals and shots on net were 34-32 for the Daysland Northstars. 

Williams admitted that the team has been struggling since Christmas but was happy to see some things click and ultimately earn another win. 

“As much as it’s important to get the win, realistically, we just got to start playing good hockey. We haven’t been playing good hockey after Christmas. So, it’s really nice to see something out there on the ice that we can really build off of and take forwards into the playoffs.”

Right now the AA Generals are sitting at sixth in the league as they head into their final regular-season game on the road against the Devon Barons on Saturday, January 18th. The Devon Barons sit just ahead of them in the standings at fifth and Williams is hoping to bring the same energy to the next game. 

“Devon’s a big game. We’ve had our rivalry against them since we were back in Big Valley. There’s a lot of guys on that team that are still playing there and were still playing here. We’ve kind of had that rivalry and had that hate on for many years so it’s a good way to end the season,” said Williams. 

The top eight teams in North Central Hockey League will be eligible to compete in playoffs. The regular season will wrap up for all teams on Sunday, January 19th.