Cubs drop a heartbreaker

By Ryan McCracken on October 15, 2018.

NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Cubs forward Tristan Stensrud shoots on Ponoka Stampeders goaltender Brandon Clark during a breakaway in a Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018 Heritage Junior Hockey League game at the Kinplex.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The Medicine Hat Travelodge Cubs watched a two-goal lead vanish in the final six minutes of Sunday’s Heritage Junior Hockey League game against the Ponoka Stampeders at the Kinplex before falling 4-3 in overtime.

Cubs head coach JD Gaetan says he was happy with his team’s initial push — which allowed Medicine Hat to take a 3-1 lead late into the third — but added they ultimately fell into Ponoka’s trap, allowing Stampeders forward Devin Anderson to steal away the victory on a power play in overtime.

“Unfortunately we were playing to their level most of the game today,” said Gaetan. “We’re a better team than that, but we just seemed to play to their level and that hurt us.”

While Ponoka’s Isaiah Deschamps-Cross opened the scoring just less than two minutes into the game, the Cubs came back with tallies from Chandler Aleman and Cooper Hilworth to carry a narrow lead into the first intermission.

Tavin Straub extended Medicine Hat’s lead to a pair late in the second, but the Stampeders came surging back in the third.

Brandon Brockerville cut Medicine Hat’s lead to one with less than six minutes to play, then Pierce Sorensen drew even less than a minute later to force overtime and set up Anderson’s game-winner.

“We got off to the start we wanted but we got into penalty trouble,” said Gaetan. “It just takes the momentum out of our game. We’re outplaying them and penalties just stop that momentum, so there was no flow and that hurt us in the end.”

Brandon Clark collected the win with 45 saves between Ponoka’s pipes — lifting the Stampeders to 2-3-1 on the season.

Cubs goaltender Brett Vanderveer stopped 34 shots in the loss.

“He’s keeping us in games,” Gaetan said of Vanderveer.

“We just have to give him more support.”

The overtime loss follows up Saturday’s 6-1 setback at the hands of the Airdrie Thunder.

Fletcher Aleman scored Medicine Hat’s lone goal in the loss to knot up the game early in the second, but Airdrie responded with five unanswered goals — led by four points from Rylan Plante-Crough and three from Jordan McConnell — to seal the victory and lift the Thunder to 9-0-0.

Medicine Hat fell to 1-4-2 with the losses.

The Cubs return to the Kinplex Friday to host the Cochrane Generals (2-3-0)