Staff
With the 2009-10 regular season winding down in both the Heritage Junior B Hockey League and the Chinook Hockey League, just a little bit of luck and a final thrust to the finish line should see the Rimbey Rock advancing to the playoffs while the Bentley Generals can coast in, secure with the knowledge that they’ve already clinched first place. Although as any of their many fans already know, “coasting” isn’t a word in their vocabulary.
With just two games remaining in the regular season for the Generals – a home and home series with the Lloydminster Border Kings including the season-finale at the Red Deer Arena on Feb. 13 – Bentley has opened a 10-point lead over the second place Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs at the top of the Chinook League’s standings.
Winners of their last 10 games in a row, the Generals have not only dominated the standings this season, as usual, but they’ve also dominated the scoring race with Curtis Austring leading the way with 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. Holding down second place is teammate Sean Robertson with 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points.
Between the pipes the tandem of Scott Galenza and Jordan Alford have recorded stellar seasons with goals-against averages of 1.77 and 2.16 respectively with Galenza winning all nine of his starts and Alford going 6-0. Also seeing time in the General’s crease during the regular season was Darryl Ruff who appears in four games while absorbing Bentley’s only loss thus far.
Over in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League, the Rimbey Rock find themselves in fourth place in the North Division with five games remaining seven points behind the Stettler Lightning.
In order to advance to the playoff round, all the Rock have to do is hold off the woeful Ponoka Stampeders – the league’s worst team with just four wins and 20 losses prior to this past weekend’s action – who find themselves trailing the Rock by four points.
The two teams will face each other in Rimbey this coming Wednesday, Feb. 10 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Centre in a tilt that could very well seal the fate of the Stampeders and send the Rock to the playoffs.
Following that game, the Rock head to Stettler on Feb. 12 to face the Lightning and will host the Red Deer Vipers two nights later to end the regular season.