For more great local sports content, visit medicinehatnews.com.jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubbThe Medicine Hat Cubs turn to home ice looking to avoid a Sunday in Strathmore.
The Cubs will host the Strathmore Wheatland Kings tonight at the Kinplex for Game 4 of the second-round series after a 6-4 loss Tuesday, the first chance the Cubs had to eliminate the South division opponent.
“That’s a team who did enough to try to make a Game 4 and so we just talked to our guys about, did we do enough,” head coach Randy Wong said. “There was a lot of errors in our end, we made some miscues and missed assignments, and that’s on us. So we can’t pout, and I don’t believe they’re a better team. We gave them way too many opportunities and they made good with them.”
The Cubs allowed a pair of goals in the third period before an empty netter secured a 6-4 win for Strathmore, bringing them within one game of the Cubs who lead the best-of-five series 2-1.
Medicine Hat won Game 1 of the series in Strathmore, beating the Kings 5-2 on Feb. 22 before winning Game 2 at home the next night, 3-2. The Strathmore crowd Wednesday continued to reignite the Kings, as the back-and-forth game saw the home team lead first before trailing after 40 minutes.
Jesse Klimosko scored for the Cubs in the first period, and Caleb Garrecht scored twice in the second for a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. Kyle Woolridge scored his HJHL-leading sixth goal of the playoffs for a third-period lead, before Strathmore scored three unanswered goals for the win. Tyler Wakelam made 24 saves in net for the Cubs.
“Each team has played well through the regular season on their ice, so we’ve got Game 4 now and we have to make sure we don’t want go back to Strathmore again for Game 5,” Wong said. “So I’m hopeful our crowd will be there for us and support us. I think the players will be rested and ready to go, and they’ve gone through another process of what it takes to win the playoff games.
“When you get a chance to close it out, and now get a second chance, they don’t have a second chance, so that’s where they are, on life support a little bit. It’s a learning lesson for some guys who haven’t been through that and we’ll take it as a positive and say we lived it, we didn’t get the result we wanted but we have a second chance to do it over again.”
As the series returns to Medicine Hat, Wong says they have to shore up defensively if they want to avoid a trip to Strathmore. If needed, a Game 5 would be Sunday at 3 p.m. in Strathmore.
“We’ve always said, we have to win one here (in Strathmore) and we have to win our home games,” Wong said. “We know that, so our game plan hasn’t been faulted and it’s still in touch. So we just have to come out for the next one.”
Puck drop tonight is at 7:45 p.m. at the Kinplex.
