Herald photo by Dale Woodard
Ty Abbott of the Coaldale Copperheads attempts the wraparound on Medicine Hat Cubs goaltender Brett Vanderveer while battling with Medicine Hat's Tavin Stadnicki in Game 7 of the team's Heritage Junior Hockey League second round series Saturday. March 2, 2019 at the Coaldale Sportsplex.
sports@lethbridgeherald.com
Jayden Bexte was looking for a little redemption.
He found it and now the Coaldale Copperheads are headed to the next round of the Heritage Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Bexte scored 1:27 into overtime as the Copperheads downed the Medicine Hat Cubs 4-3 in Game 7 Saturday night at the Coaldale Sportsplex.
But had the Copperheads forward pulled the trigger on an earlier chance, his overtime heroics may not have been needed as the forward was denied on a penalty shot in the third period with Coaldale nursing a 3-2 lead.
Shortly afterwards, Cubs forward Chandler Aleman netted the game-tying goal with 6:38 left in regulation and for the third time in the series, the teams headed to overtime.
It didn’t take long into the extra sesson for Bexte to make up for that missed chance, walking in off the left wing and sending a shot high past Cubs goaltender Brett Vanderveer to help the Copperheads avoid blowing a 3-1 series lead while advancing to the HJHL Southern Division final against the Cochrane Generals.
“I can’t give you the full details, I don’t remember at all. I kind of just blacked out,” said Bexte of the game-winner. “I remember my linemate, Jason Creighton, turned the puck over. I picked it up and came in. I was looking for the pass but I saw the goalie leaning over so I had to shoot.”
Suddenly, that botched penalty shot was a moot point.
“Big redemption,” said Bexte. “I had to make up for that one. But it happened at the end, so it was good.”
The teams traded goals in the first 7:55 as Brandyn Howg handed the Copperheads a 1-0 lead before Medicine Hat’s Grant Forbes tied it.
Jared Bainbridge – on the power play – and Jayden Smith scored in the final 7:13 of the first for a 3-1 Coaldale lead.
The Cubs thought they had pulled within one midway through the second, but the chance was waved off when it was ruled the puck didn’t cross the goal line and the play continued.
Medicine Hat buried their next chance as Cooper Hilworth scored with five seconds left in the second before Aleman forced overtime after Bexte’s missed penalty shot.
After triple overtime in Game 1 and another trip to overtime in Game 3, Game 7’s extra frame was decided quickly.
“Bexte has been huge for us,” said Copperheads head coach Danton Shigemi. “That penalty shot he missed late and then they came back and scored to tie it up, it was nice that he got that one, for sure. He’s been great for us.”
Both goaltenders were kept busy as the Copperheads outshot the Cubs 45-37. Copperheads goaltender Nolan Berner kicked out 34 shots for the win.
“It’s a tough one, for sure,” said Cubs coach J.D. Gaetan. “We threw everything at them and stuck with them the whole way, but you have to be proud of the guys. They were a team that was probably expected to go 0-for-4 in the series and I’m sure a lot of people thought that. We didn’t think that, of course. We knew it was going to be a series and the guys gave it everything they had.
“It’s shown a lot of grit in a lot of heart. They really came together as a team at the right time of the year. Coaldale is a good team, they lost seven games all season. Seven games in 38 and we beat them three times in seven. It’s definitely something to be proud of. The guys really worked hard.”
Now, the Copperheads get ready for the Generals in the South Division final.
“Cochrane is a great team,” said Shigemi. “They work hard and they kind of had our number in the regular season. It was four tight games, but I’m looking forward to a good series with them for sure.”
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