Evan Judge scored a pair of goals in the Gens 5-4 win over the Wheatland Kings yesterday. The Oct. 11 home opener for the Gens kicks off with a tailgate barbecue Friday at 6 p.m. in the curling centre parking lot of the SLS Centre.

Two games in the win column have set the stage for the Cochrane Generals home opener on Oct. 11.

Friday night's win in Three Hills came down to a shootout in a low-scoring match. The Gens lone goal in regulation came in the second from Nathan Sherriffs with his first of the regular season from Marco Rossi and Christopher Ugbaja. Just 90 seconds later, Kaden Raniseth scored for the Thrashers to tie the game.

When overtime proved nothing, Diago Coelho and Brendan Thubron scored in the shootout, and goalie Braydon Yonin foiled two Thrashers to secure the win.

Last night, the Gens handed the Strathmore Wheatland Kings their first loss, 5-4. Cochrane scored three in the second to take a 4-2 lead into the third. The Kings bounced back with a pair to tie the game early in the third until Evan Malcolm broke the deadlock at 11:40.

A pair of assists made it a three-point night for Malcolm. Evan Judge had a pair of goals, Brendan Thubron had a goal and assist, Nathan Sheriffs added a single, and assists went to Evan Sine, Conin Housley, Dominic Gelinas, and Alex Devnich.

The wins have tightened the race in the HJHL south division early in the season, with a mere two points separating first from fifth.

Fans will finally see this year's team in their Oct. 11 home opener against the winless High River Flyers, who knocked the Gens out of the playoffs last season. Game time is 8 p.m. at SLS Centre and follows a 6 p.m. tailgate barbecue in the SLS Centre's curling Centre parking lot.