Can the Cochrane General's momentum help solve the Okotoks Bisons?

With a 6-2 record since the beginning of November, the Gens are on a roll, but have yet to notch a win against the Bisons, the top team in the HJHL south division. They'll get another chance to do it this Saturday night in front of a home crowd in Totem One in the Bisons' last appearance here in the regular season. The puck drops at 8 p.m.

It's the second of a three-game weekend for the Gens that starts on the road in High River tonight. 

Gens head coach Derek Bell believes the answer lies in special teams.

"It's trying to create those special teams, take advantage when we do get those opportunities, and making sure that we're strong on the penalty kill. That's what's going to dictate the win. I mean, we can play with them up and down the ice five-on-five, no problem, and we can play on the power play with them. It comes down to trying to win those special team battles against a good team like that."

That includes putting a cork in Bison Sam Callahan, number five in the HJHL scoring race, and a supporting cast of snipers riddling the top 25.

The Bisons can be beaten; it's been proven four times. But they remain the class of the south division and HJHL until someone proves otherwise.  They won the league championship for the last three seasons,  oh, and by the way, were last season's Jr. B provincial champions and a finalist the season before.

Gens captain James Quaife has no doubt the Gens can do it if they play 60 minutes of smart hockey.

"I think we just have to play them exactly the same way we played the Med Hat and Coaldale," says Quaife. "We've got to hit more, we got to be more physical. I know Okotoks doesn't like being hit that often, so by bringing that aspect of the game to them, I think will give us a lot more space on the ice and kind of get them on their toes."

A rematch against the Med Hat Cubs happens just a week after the Gens shoot-out win. The loss will be fresh in the minds of the Cubs, also making their final regular season appearance in Cochrane.

Quaife got to watch the game from a different perspective after being sidelined with one-game suspension for a late-game fight on Nov. 29. He was impressed with what he saw.

"I'm pretty proud of them. They didn't make too many mistakes other than that last five minutes when [the Cubs] scored two, but other than that, they were on the ball."

The Cubs are second in the south by the slimmest of margins. The Wheatland Kings are right behind them with three games in hand and the Gens are in sniffing range, too, also with a pair of games in hand.

It's a 3 p.m. start on Sunday.