Cubs eliminated from HJHL playoffs with Game 4 loss

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
@ReporterTubb

For the third straight year, the Medicine Hat Cubs playoff run comes to a close in the third round.

The Cubs were eliminated from the Heritage Junior Hockey League playoffs with a 4-2 Game 4 loss Sunday evening to the Sylvan Lake Wranglers, losing their best-of-five series 3-1.

The Cubs forced the Game 4 and avoided a sweep with a two-goal, third period comeback for a 4-3 Game 3 win Saturday night. As players gathered on the ice Sunday, wiping tears and looking back on the season while taking thier last photos, head coach and general manager Randy Wong recalled the series with the Wranglers.

“The whole series was close and just a matter of bounces later,” Wong said. “I said to the guys, our Coaldale series, we look back at that and you’re a bounce or a goal away from maybe not continuing on, so we got good puck luck and they had good intensity level in that series to advance us. You’re in a tough series, with good opponents and who is going to make the least amount of mistakes, who is going to capitalize on their opportunities and they were better than us today.”

The Cubs, after getting a first round bye, swept their second round series against the Coaldale Copperheads that included two games that went to overtime, one into double OT.

Game 1 of the third round went into OT, a 2-1 loss for Medicine Hat. They dropped Game 2 3-2, came back to win Game 3 and lost the series decider with the Wranglers scoring three third period goals.

Having lost in the third round for that third straight year, Wong says it comes down to luck and who is doing the little things right as the year goes on. The Wranglers will face the Okotoks Bisons in the HJHL finals for the second year in a row and the Bisons looking for their third straight championship.

As for their run in the playoffs, Wong says they had the bounces go their way against Coaldale and didn’t find the same luck against the Wranglers. Moving forward, he says it’s about continuing to develop their group.

“We’re a small market team, Okotoks has Calgary and area around them where they can find good hockey players and we have to develop ours and find them from wherever,” Wong said. “We’ve done a good job with that and you just have to hope that you can find some players who can get you over the top and that’s why it’s important for us to be a team.

“We don’t have 20 guys who have the most skill, but we have heart, we have work ethic and that’s what we preach. It all just fell a little bit short.”

The Cubs will gather once more to wrap up the season with their annual awards banquet and lament on their 50th anniversary season before heading into the summer with eyes on the fall. They carry a large group of younger players who are eligible to return and a group Wong says matured on and off the ice.

“They all became the young men they are and they’ll learn from this, this team game is so awesome, it teaches so much,” Wong said. “So that’s all part of it too. It’s not just about the hockey program, it’s about curating some friendships and they can compete in the game of hockey and love the game and move on to other things.

“So we won’t have everybody back and guys will leave the program, but I think they’re leaving the program in a good position and they’ve done us proud. That’s what it’s all about.”

The one guarantee non-returnee for next season is 21-year-old overage forward Darnell Glasgo who scored in the third period Sunday in what was his last game as a Cub after three seasons. Glasgo was the last player on the ice, sharing the moment with friends and family.

As he watched his oldest player celebrate his final moments of junior hockey, Wong says the kid from Redcliff was the heart and soul of the Cubs.

“He hadn’t played at a high high level and was able to kind of keep the position. There were times a few years ago where maybe he was close to not being on the team and I think that shows his character,” Wong said. “He kept battling, kept waiting for opportunity and then in his final year, he became a leader and he worked his butt off.

“That’s what the program is, is guys like that. He leaves us in a good position and I know there’s other guys who look up to him that aren’t on this team. He allows those guys, now he gives them an opportunity to come in. They understand it, watching how he played the game. They know how they need to play to come in and make this team.”