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Chris Bilder, Public Relations/Marketing, Eugene Generals
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2007

Generals Fall in Season Opener

Beaverton, OR- The Eugene Generals were defeated, for the first time in a season opening game, tonight by the River City Jaguars 2-5 at Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton, OR. This was also the first time the Generals opened the season on the road, and the first time 14 of the Generals laced up their skates at the Junior level.

“We’re a very inexperience team, and that showed a little tonight,” Generals Head Coach Chris Hartly stated. “I feel like we had good effort, for the most part, and should be able to improve on our execution every game. It’s always tough to lose your opening game, but I think we learned some valuable lessons tonight. We’ll try to minimize our mistakes for tomorrow’s game, and get our first win of the season.”

The Generals struggled to get things going early on, and the struggles continued through much of the game. The Generals had their chances to put pucks in the net, but the puck always seemed to bounce to the Jaguars. The Jaguars, on the other hand, were able to capitalize on the Generals mistakes, and come away with the victory.

River City scored the first three goals of the contest, and held the Generals scoreless for two periods of play. Generals veteran defenseman Trent McKee was able to break the scoring drought at 7:31 of the third period when he caught Jaguars goalie Nick Cimity out of position with a blast from the point. Generals veteran forward Steven Slattery made it a one goal game when he picked up a rebound in front of the net at 10:17 of the third period, and slid it between the pads of Cimity.

One goal is as close as the Generals would come, however, as the Jaguars tallied two more late in the third to make it a 5-2 game. Generals goaltender Dylan Woodring had a phenomenal game, despite allowing five goals to the Jaguars. Woodring had 43 saves on the night, including several acrobatic saves in the first and second periods to keep the Generals within striking distance. Woodring will have to have another spectacular game tomorrow if the Generals want to pick up their first win of the season.

The Generals will face the River City Jaguars tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 at Valley Ice Arena, and will travel to Pasco, WA to face the Tri-City Titans on Monday at 7:00 PM. Both games will be broadcast on GiTV. For more information on upcoming games or GiTV pleave visit eugenegenerals.com