Erik Garber shone with the Cochrane Generals and has just wrapped up four seasons between the pipes for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Garber, 25, played for the Gens for three full seasons and the one-game Covid year. He had several HJHL weekly player of the week honours along the way and was named to the HJHL South all-star team.
The Kirkland, WA goalie initially came to Canada to join the Banff Hockey Academy. We were fortunate to have him come to Cochrane in 2017 after Gens coach Derek Donald recruited him when the Banff Bears pulled out of the HJHL.
Erik backstopped the Gens for 69 games before joining the Sun Devils in the 2021-22 season. He appeared in 45 games for the American university team that competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
We caught up with Erik to talk about his time with the Sun Devils, his new life in Arizona, and to reminisce a bit about his time in Cochrane.
Q. What was it like playing for Arizona State?
It was definitely special. I had a great four years here and getting to play college hockey was always a goal of mind.
Thinking back on the last four years, it was definitely an honor to be able to put on the Sun Devil jersey.
There's been some great rivalries here. We play a 7-8 game series against the University of Arizona every year. It's like a Gens-Okotoks rivalry, so I got to play in a bunch of those games, which was pretty awesome. I played in front of some pretty big crowds, and getting to travel across southwestern US and play a bunch of different universities was definitely an amazing experience.
RELATED STORIES
Q. What were some of the highlights over those four years?
I would have to say my freshman year when we played against the University of Arizona in their rink. They bring a good crowd every game when we play there, about 3 to 5,000 people.
We played an eight-game series that year, and they were leading 4-3. I played the last game that went to a shootout. I ended up making a glove save for the game to tie the series. That was pretty cool.
My sophomore year was when Mullet (where the NHL's Arizona Coyotes played) first opened up, and I ended up getting the first program win in Mullet Arena. It's a really cool experience to say that I did that.
Other than hockey, it was all the amazing people I got to meet throughout the years and the friendships I'll have for the rest of my life. I think those stick out just as much, if not more, than the hockey moments that I had.
Q. How'd you find playing in the warmer weather of Arizona compared to Washington, your home state, and Cochrane?
It's much warmer than both. I've been living here in the summers, too, and it hits plus 40, which is insane. But right now, it's pretty nice. There are not too many places where you can walk into the rink with flip-flops and shorts in December. Wintertime has been pretty nice, being away from the snow that Cochrane had and then all the cold, cloudy, rainy days that Seattle has.
It's an adjustment for the summertime, but in the winter it's pretty tough to beat.
Q. I'm trying to remember, who was your first coach in Cochrane?
When I came to the Gens, it was Derek Donald for my first year. I had known Derek from hockey in Seattle. I grew up with his son, so he had coached me before.
After playing for the Bears--I was 16-17--I was looking for places to play. I saw Derek had become the head coach of the Gens. The Gens had just come off of being a runner-up in both the HJHL finals and provincials, so it was a team that I was interested in playing for. I came to tryouts and made the team.
The next year Travis McMillan took over and I played for him for a year and then my last coach was Kurtis Jones.
Q. Do you keep in touch with some of the boys from back then?
I'm in pretty regular contact with Braden Bain, Brandon Abb, Jordan Fisher, and Will Gratton, so some of the guys from a bunch of different years. But there have also been some other guys who have come down to see me here in Arizona. And then just guys I can catch up with randomly.
I have a lot of friends from those years-- teammates, coaches, even some of the parents that I got to meet. Everyone was just amazing.
The hockey moments are great, but it's the same thing I said about ASU goes for Cochrane. It's the moment you have off the ice with all the guys on the team. Those are the things you remember the most. as time goes by. I have a lot of great memories playing in Cochrane and without those guys, it would have been a lot different. Yeah, a lot of great guys.
Q. Do you follow the Gens?
I haven't really watched any games, because I've had all my own games, but I do follow them on social media, see them on Twitter, Instagram, and whatnot. So I follow them as much as I can.
Q. What happens after graduation?
I'm graduating in May with a degree in meeting and event management and a minor in community sports management, so that's super exciting.
I'm set to work for a company called Encore Global, which is an event technology company. I'm interning there right now and I've signed on with them to go full-time once I graduate. I'll be joining their leadership program in the summer time and I'll either go into operations or sales as a manager.
Also in my spare time, I'm a goalie coaching hockey for Junior Sun Devils, kind of our version of the Bow Valley Timberwolves. I've been doing that this year and I plan to continue coaching with them after I graduate.
It's great to hear your voice because I know we chatted quite a bit when you kept winning all those honours with the Gens.
It was great to catch. You got me thinking of all the great moments we had, like beating Okotoks in 2018-2019 playoffs, beating the Medicine Hat Cubs after being down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series in 2019-2020...
Now that I'm done playing, I definitely would like to try and make it up for one of those alumni games. Maybe I can sneak in a little weekend trip and get to see some of the old gang again and watch the new Gen.
They say, "Once a Gen, always a Gen."
It all rings true in the conversation with Erik.
Several Gens have gone on to play college hockey after aging out in juniors.
News, sports, weather, traffic cam, community events, music, contests... It's all at your fingertips when you download our FREE app here.
News, sports, weather, traffic cam, community events, music, contests... It's all at your fingertips when you download our FREE app here.