A pair of wins at home this weekend against the Lethbridge Eagles makes it an 8-0 smoking hot start for the Cochrane Chaos.
Saturday, after a scoreless first period, Sarah Gaiser notched one for the Chaos in the second period and teammates added four more in the third in their 5-2 win.
Sunday, the Chaos held a 10-0 leading until 12 minutes into the third and went on an 11-1 win.
Kaylee Stagman scored a hat-trick and had a hand in two others in her five-point night. She's tied for first in scoring with linemate Sarah Gaiser, who has returned to the Chaos after two seasons of Swedish professional women's hockey. The other player is Campbell Bucci, a rookie with the Fort Saskatchewan Fury.
Stagman, in her third sesson with the club, is pleased with how the season has gone so far.
"I think we're gelling well this year," she says. "We're scoring a lot of goals. Everything's been going in the nets for us, so it's been good."
Sarah Gaiser, who is enjoying her return to the Chaos, had a four-point weekend. She cut her teeth in junior hockey with the Chaos in the 2021-22 season, scoring 31 goals and accumulating 48 points before heading to Sweden.
"It's amazing getting to be back and it's such a new experience because I honestly haven't played with a lot of these girls," she says. "From when I played my first year, there's only about four of them left. It's great to be back in Canada and back in the league. It took a while to adjust because of the skill level is a little bit different than in Sweden, but it is still such a strong league and I'm just happy to see the progression being made."
One of those adjustments is easing off on body contact.
In the Swedish female pro leagues, bodychecking is allowed. Gaiser has landed in the sin bin a few times for her physically aggressively play.
"I've got to go a little bit easier on the boards. You can't give them that final push into it, but I'm getting better at it," she chuckles.
New behind the bench, but certainly not with the Chaos, is assistant coach Alyson MacDougall. She was one of the founding players nine years ago and played three seasons with the Chaos.
She believes starting the season with eight straight wins is a good start.
"It gives us a lot of confidence. There's a lot of work to do still, but we're really proud of what the girls have demonstrated so far. We want to keep the foot on the gas and keep playing hard Chaos hockey."
The Chaos are on the road this weekend in Calgary and Lethbridge.
We see them next on Nov. 10 when they host the Foothills Storm.
