By Sheldon Spackman

Lacombe Generals advance to provincial final with series sweep over Fort Sask

Feb 26, 2018 | 10:56 AM

The Lacombe Generals are off to the Senior AAA Provincial Final thanks to a four-game sweep of the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs.

The Generals secured the birth following a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Fort Saskatchewan Sunday afternoon.

Head Coach Sean Robertson says it’s a good feeling to be advancing to the next round of provincial playoffs.

“That was our goal and we accomplished it,” he explains. “So move on from it, remember the things we did well and we’ll look at the things we didn’t do so well and try and hopefully have a couple weeks here to fine tune some things and then get going again.”

Robertson credits the players’ attitude and mindset in helping them get past the Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs.

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“I was happy with the way that we approached our opponents,” says Robertson. “It would have been easy for us to disrespect them, but going into it in a playoff series momentum is a big factor and if you take your foot off the gas and you lose your momentum and teams start getting traction against you, it’s hard to get back, so we stayed with the pedal down the whole time.”

Robertson also gives credit to the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs for putting in a strong effort during the series.

“They were quite different from what we’ve seen throughout the year. So for us to approach it the right way was huge for us.”

As the Generals rest up and prepare for either Stony Plain or Innisfail in the provincial final, Robertson says their focus will be on the need to be disciplined moving forward.

“Both those teams, there’s no love lost, guaranteed, everybody knows that,” states Robertson. “I’ve been around this provincial senior circuit for probably 10 years and I’m fully aware of how discipline can help you or kill you.”

Once an opponent has been determined from the Innisfail – Stony Plain series, Robertson says they’ll ramp up preparations for their next series of battles.

“We’ll look at some of the other team’s tendencies and try and make sure that we’re putting our best foot forward and we’ve done our homework and research and prepare that way,” adds Robertson.

He encourages fans of the Generals to keep up the strong support as they make their way deeper into the playoffs.

“The atmosphere is going to get that much better in our building and the other team’s building,” explains Robertson. “It is an exciting brand of hockey and we’re very fortunate that we have good character people that play for the love of the game and for no other reason, I think it’s important for our fans to realize these guys aren’t getting paid. They’re here because they love our organization, they love the game of hockey and they love what they’re doing.”

The other provincial semi-final currently has Stony Plain leading their best-of-seven series over Innisfail 3-1.