The bad news is the Gens were running on flat tires over the weekend and missed a chance to grab first place in the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) south division.

The good news is it could have been worse had the Okotok Bisons won both of their games.

The Bisons took advantage of the lacklustre play of the home ice Gens, Dec. 15. It took until the third for Cochrane to get their lone marker of the night in the 6-1 loss.

The Gens had a better outing in their first matchup of the season against the High River Flyers, Dec. 16, but still spotted the Flyers a two-goal lead by the end of the first and spent the balance of the game trying to stage a comeback. They came within one but the Flyers sealed the deal with an empty-netter for the 5-3 win.

Talus Hume scored the lone goal against the Bisons, assisted by Slater Ransom and Colton Wong. Ransom scored two on Saturday night, one unassisted, the other with helpers going to Hume and Austin Keller. Christan Dees scored the third from Jarod Domingo and River Ross.

Brandon Aabs, the regular linemate of Hume and Ransom, had the weekend off, thanks to a suspension.

It was the Flyers who gained ground in the standings, beating the Bisons the following evening to take command of second and climb within one of the first place Bisons. The Gens and Bisons both, however, have two games in hand on the Flyer.

The Gens have one game left before the Christmas break, a Dec. 22 road trip to try and avenge their loss against the Flyers.

They open 2018 with a two home games on Jan. 5 and 6. The Coaldale Copperheads are in town on the 5th and Medicine Hat comes knocking the next night.

The HJHL all-star game is on Jan. 7 in Okotoks. Talus Hume, Austin Keller and Slater Ransom represent the Gens on the south division team.