I came back here because it ’ s my home town and my grandpa wanted me to come back so my grandpa and grandma could watch all of my home games season . He ’ s also sixth in league scoring with 62 points in just 20 games . Not bad for an 18-year-old who returned to Fisher River this year after two successful seasons with the Peguis Juniors . The Hawks are 8-17-0-0 and an outsider might think that this would have been a difficult adjustment for Cochrane , but nothing could be further from the truth . “ I started playing in Fisher River , my hometown , when I was three or four ,” said Brennan , who was raised by his grandparents at Fisher River Cree Nation . “ I played all my minor hockey in Fisher River and then got into Triple A Bantam with the Interlake Lightning . At 16 , I went to junior hockey with Peguis and was there for two years before coming home . “ I came back here because it ’ s my home town and my grandpa wanted me to come back so my grandpa and grandma could watch all of my home games .” When he ’ s asked what he thinks of himself as a player , he ’ ll hesitate before answering . Unlike , his coach , he ’ s not quite as confident about his gifts . “ I ’ m more of a team player , not really focused on scoring goals ,” he said . “ But this is the best year I ’ ve ever had offensively because of my teammates , especially ( Evan ) Thickfoot and ( Darryl ) Thaddeus . “ We ’ ve always had a really good chemistry since we were little , playing in Fisher River . We grew up together and we ’ ve always played together so we kind of know where we ’ re going to be on the ice .” Cochrane is a Grade 12 student at Fisher River ( K-12 ) School . He hopes to go to university next year , although the Bellingham Blazers of the North Pacific Hockey League has shown some interest in acquiring him . However , he ’ s also had some college interest from NCAA Division III Waldorf University in Forest City , Iowa , and NCAA Division I Maine so college hockey is not out of the question . It didn ’ t hurt that he was named a KJHL All-Star in late January , one of only 12 all-stars from around the league . “ It ’ s not really that big a deal ,” Cochrane said modestly . “ It ’ s OK , I just like to play . It doesn ’ t really matter that much .” Well , it certainly won ’ t hurt to put an all-star selection on the resume , especially if a few more NCAA schools come calling . n
ST . MALO , MB . – When Fisher River Hawks head coach Farron Cochrane talks about 18-year-old Brennan Cochrane , one thing comes to mind quickly – and it ’ s something he says it over and over . “ Speed .” “ Brennan Cochrane is fast ,” said Farron Cochrane ( from the Peguis Cochranes , not the Fisher River Cochranes ). “ He ’ s a good finesse player who is smart and , man does he have speed . He also knows when to use it . When he knows it ’ s time to go , he uses his speed to its full extent . “ He ’ s capable of scoring a lot of goals . In the the last few weeks , he ’ s been averaging three goals a game . He ’ s a really good hockey player . I do believe he should be in Jr . A or in the WHL with all the talent that he has , but he tried out for the ( MJHL ’ s ) Winnipeg Blues and for some reason , didn ’ t make it , but he ’ s a good team player and he ’ s still a young player .” The night we spoke to Farron and Brennan , the slumping Hawks had another tough night . Facing perhaps the best team in the Keystone Junior B Hockey League , the St . Malo Warriors , the Hawks were whipped 16-8 as Fisher River goaltender Austin Spence faced 63 shots . But that didn ’ t seem to matter to Brennan Cochrane , who just went about his business . He had three goals and four assists and ( at press time ) now leads the KJHL in goal-scoring with 40 on the