The Allan Cup was celebrated at the City of Lacombe Council meeting on April 23rd. The shining trophy was in some ways a victory in terms of the council and the City of Lacombe’s involvement in hosting the Allan Cup.

Jeff McInnis, general manager of the Lacombe Generals remarked on returning to the council in celebration saying, “When I was in the council chambers, I couldn’t help but think about the Field of Dreams because we came in here with a dream like four years ago and here, we are being kind of celebrated.”

He and other Generals representatives remarked on the pride there was in seeing Allan Cup banners down the streets of downtown Lacombe near the flat iron building in council. Overall, the team was proud to call their home Lacombe and grateful for their growing fan base, and groups of volunteers.

“Every senior hockey team would be envious of what I keep referring to as a love affair between the city and the team. People are getting it here, they understand it. We kept trying to get someone to believe in us all those years and then we started to get some traction in Lacombe that bought in. I am seeing councilors that are fans. I think they were skeptical when we first came here. For those that weren’t a hockey fan or an amateur fan we’ve shown them that it is worth it,” said McInnis.

Of course, winning the Allan Cup didn’t come without its trials and tribulations.

“It was hard. There were times this winter where we were dressing little thin lineups. We lost three games in a row and everyone thought we were over. It’s doomed. We’re hooped. We can’t do this it’s too much and we dug ourselves out of those little low points.”

Through the support of the City of Lacombe and its people, the Lacombe Generals were able to fully realize a dream, and make a bit of history in this small city.