No Allan Cup, but much comraderie

Times Reporter     

 

The Bentley Generals wished to repeat their Allan Cup success this year in Dundas, Ont., but unfortunately fell short, losing in the semifinals. Strathmore natives Brett Thurston, Keenan Desmet, and Kyle Sheen all noted how different it was from playing last year’s final at home in Red Deer.

“They knew how to play in their rink, and we could just never get the grasp on how to play that kind of style of hockey,” Desmet said. The Dundas rink was very small, and allowed the Dundas Real McCoys to capitalize, winning the 2014 Allan Cup.

“We’re a puck possession team,” Sheen said. “Going into the quarter-final, our coach made a bunch of adjustments that really helped us getting that win. Trying to adjust to that small rink when we’re used to controlling a lot of the play, it was really hard for us. It’s always disappointing to end a season like that after you have such a really good playoff run.”

The Bentley Generals were 21-3-0 during the season, with Sheen tied for second in points with 24 in 21 games. The Generals defeated Stony Plain and Innisfail to get to the Mackenzie Cup, where they defeated Power River to advance to the Allan. The Generals lost their two round-robin matchups (6-2 to Dundas on April 15, and 3-1 to South East on April 16), but defeated Brantford on April 17 by a score of 3-2 to win a spot in the semifinals. The next day against Clarenville, though Bentley opened the scoring, they dropped 5-1.

“Last year in the Allan Cup when we were playing in front of 2,300 people a night. There are some junior teams in Alberta that don’t even get to play in front of that. To us, that’s huge. As a hockey player, you thrive on that,” Sheen said, of not playing at home this time around. “The way Bentley is followed through central Alberta, they have so much support.”

“All year, we didn’t have any trouble scoring goals, but in Dundas, we couldn’t put the puck in the net. It was the theme of our whole tournament. You can’t win many hockey games if you can’t score on your powerplays,” Brett Thurston said. “The competition was very good in both years. But I guess we’re pretty comfortable at home in Red Deer.”

Thurston was the first of the three to join the Bentley Generals in 2009, and recalls fondly the finish to last year’s season.

“It was pretty special. We had a great team,” he said. “It was just good to win it in front of the fans. Tickets were sold out, and it was a great atmosphere. I’m pretty proud of what we did.”

Thurston, Desmet, and Sheen mentioned they were all grateful for their AA hockey start in Strathmore. Desmet and Sheen also played for the UFA Bisons; Thurston was affiliated for a short time before jumping to the WHL at age 16, later playing for the University of Calgary Dinos.

“When I was younger, they started the AA program, which was huge for our community. It’s just better hockey. I always had a good team to play on with great coaches,” Thurston said.

Desmet wanted to give back to the group that played such a large role in his development as well. After playing Junior A in Salmon Arm and Victoria, and Division 2 hockey in France, Desmet coaches the Wheatland midget Chiefs part-time.

“The Wheatland AA is such a good association. I was pretty thankful to have been from Strathmore and to have their coaching,” Desmet said. “It’s ran very smoothly, and there’s lots of volunteers that do plenty of work in the community. The players, they want to play here. Each year, the peewees, the bantams, and the midgets all have strong teams.”

Sheen said his family’s move to Strathmore made a huge impact on his development, before he went on to play in Kootenay, Kamloops, and eventually minor pro leagues in the United States.

“You play more in a smaller town, and you get a lot more ice time,” Sheen said. “Small community hockey is kind of the same thing we have in Bentley. You grow up playing with the same people, and you become a family – familiar with each other. We were extremely successful as kids growing up, and that made hockey fun. Some of the coaches that I was able to play for, there’s some really smart hockey minds out there.”

After Thurston recruited Sheen and Desmet to join him in Bentley with the Chinook Hockey League, Sheen said: “Being back around the boys and in the dressing room, with that comraderie, to be honest I felt like a kid in a candy shop.”