Gen Evan Judge gave his dad a memorable birthday gift when he lifted Cochrane to an important rematch win against the Coaldale Copperheads,
The game was deadlocked at 2-2 and looked to be heading into overtime when Judge took a feed from Caden Stephenson to score the game winner with 1:27 remaining in regulation.
Shorthanded for the final 17 seconds, the Gens held off a six-man attack to even their season series to 1-1, and leapfrog ahead of the Copperheads in the HJHL south standings.
Gens head coach Derek Bell says it came down to a total team effort.
"At tonight's game you definitely heard the home fans going at us, and they deserved it tonight," says Bell. "I think it was a complete team effort. I don't think there was one individual out there that stood out. I would say it was all 20 guys out there. Maddi (goalie Isaias Maddigan) from the back end out, it was solid."
"It's tight in the standing with them, we were tied, so it was a big two points," says Judge. "I'm glad we pulled through."
In Medicine Hat on Saturday night, lifted the Cubs to a 3-1 over the Gens. The score was tied 1-1 after the first with Nathan Sheriffs scoring his fifth goal of the season from Evan Malcolm.
Despite the loss, the Gens did leapfrog over the Copperheads in the standings and are now in fourth with seven wins in 14 games.
The Gens are heading into a rare three-game weekend.
Thursday and Friday they are in High River for a pair of games against the Flyers.
Saturday, the Gens host the Rocky Rams at Totem One. The puck drops at 8:15 p.m.
