The Medicine Hat Cubs have put themselves in the driver’s seat of the South finals.
The Cubs beat the Cochrane Generals twice over the weekend, winning 4-1 at the Kinplex on Friday and 5-3 Sunday on the road, to grab a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five, South finals series.
Head coach Trent Derzaph says they’re in a good spot heading into the rest of the series.
“Home-ice advantage was huge for us Friday night, follow it up with a road win on Sunday evening, and to be able to come home, and the potential to finish it off Thursday, is massive,” Derzaph said. “We’re in really good spot. The guys are clicking, it was just a big weekend for us.”
In Game 1, the Cubs scored twice in the first period, with goals from Jesse Klimosko and captain Kyle Woolridge, then added a pair of power play markers in the second frame from Jacob Hazzard and Ethan Burgeson.
The special teams success carried into Game 2, with the Cubs notching another three power play goals. Burgeson capitalized on a man advantage in the first and on a five-on-three late in the second, Woolridge and Hazzard scored for a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Woolridge and Klimosko scored in the third, the latter’s coming on an empty net, as the Cubs held off the Generals’ comeback bid.
Goaltender Marlo DeRosa picked up both wins between the pipes, stopping 33 shots in both games. The Cubs come out of the first two games of the series 5-for-11 on the power play and perfect on the penalty kill, nullifying seven Generals power plays.
Derzaph says they played more of a complete game on Sunday, but he still sees more work to be done before Game 3 on Thursday.
“Three power play goals on Sunday was the difference maker and we’re staying disciplined as well, so that’s a big part of winning,” Derzaph said. “Our team’s realizing the damage we can do when we’re on the power play, versus being on the kill. So five-on-five, we’ve been solid and the guys are just working hard.”
The Cubs have been collecting pucks throughout the playoffs, counting down the wins through the second-round victory over the Okotoks Bisons and the first two victories over Cochrane. With a chance to close out the series Thursday night and collect that sixth puck, Derzaph has confidence in his group but recognizes their opponent is playing for their season the rest of the way.
“Ultimately it’s going to come down to the guys in the room, and they need to want it more,” Derzaph said. “I believe we’ve got what it takes to do that, but we’re going to have to play that much better than we even have because Cochrane is going to come hard.”
Derzaph says the home crowd helped in Friday’s win, and the travelling fans Sunday, featuring a U15 girls team who stayed to watch after they played, helped them win on the road. For Game 3, which gets underway at the Kinplex at 8:30 p.m., he’s hoping for more crowd support as they look to reach the HJHL finals.
“You look at our home record through the year and it all goes to thanks to the guys in the room, but ultimately, it’s our fans in the stands who keep those guys up and keep them running for 60 minutes,” Derzaph said.
If needed, Game 4 would be Saturday in Cochrane and a decisive Game 5 would be Sunday back at the Kinplex at 3 p.m.
The Medicine Hat Cubs extend a very gracious thank you to James Tubb and the Medicine Hat News for their excellent coverage all season long.
For more great local sports content, visit medicinehatnews.com
Photo courtesy of Matt Piotrowsky Photography
