NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN Medicine Hat Cubs and Southern Division forward Chandler Aleman dishes off the puck during the Heritage Junior Hockey League all-star game against the Northern Division on Sunday at the Kinplex.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
A trio of Medicine Hat Cubs got their chance to shine on Sunday evening at the Kinplex.
Mason Fischer, Chandler Aleman and Fletcher Aleman all suited up to help lead the Southern Division to a 5-2 victory over the Northern Division in the third consecutive instalment of the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s all-star game.
“It means a lot coming out here and being told you’re one of the top in the league,” said Fischer, who captained the Southern Division squad Sunday after picking up a 4-2 win over the Coaldale Copperheads on the road Saturday. “It was fun. There was a good turnout tonight, lots of people came out, and I enjoyed playing with some guys you don’t get to see too often – especially against the North teams, we only play them twice a year. Getting to know some of the other guys on the other teams in the South is always a cool thing too.”
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Fischer added it was a rewarding experience to see the league’s top talent – players who Fischer has spent the past year battling against tooth-and-nail – in a different environment. Enemies from Saturday evening quickly became friends on Sunday afternoon.
“That’s a thing of hockey, there’s a respect factor. Off the ice everyone is a good buddy and on the ice it’s all business,” said Fischer. “I know there are a few guys, that coming in, you don’t even expect them to look at you the right way – going into games you’re battling back and forth – but you come in here and everyone’s a good person.”
Fischer’s Southern Division teammate Kody Hammond – a Strathmore Wheatland Kings forward with 22 points on the season – agreed it was good to sit down with some of his rivals and just have fun for the day.
“It’s really good. We’ve become good buddies now,” said Hammond, who was named player of the game for the South with two assists. “It was good to play with them and get to know them more.”
Goaltending stole the early spotlight as Jackson Little of the Northern Division’s Airdrie Thunder and Devin Reagan of the Southern’s Okotoks Bisons refused to let anything past them until the final minute of the first period.
Fischer got the play going on a pass to Cochrane Generals forward Taylor Girard, who then found Okotoks Bisons forward Tyson Scott – who leads the HJHL in points with 68 in 25 games – on the doorstep to give the Southern Division a 1-0 edge at the break.
“It was nice to get a little assist there,” said Fischer. “It would have been nice to score, either Chandler, Fletcher or I, and get a little hometown hero going. It doesn’t happen that way, but we still all played a good game and having that assist still feels good.”
Stettler Lightning forward Erik Rost knotted the game up just 15 seconds into the middle frame, but the Southern Division came storming back with a trio of quick goals.
First Wheatland Kings forward Garret Vander Ploeg went bar-down to restore the lead, then Cochrane’s Brandon Aab and Lomond Lakers forward Chase Honess tacked on two more to force the Northern Division back onto their heels.
The Southern Division kept coming later in the frame when Bisons forward Mitch Wolfe finished off a centering pass from Hammond to make it 5-1 after 40 minutes.
Both teams earned their chances in the third, but a late goal from Connor Sullivan is all the Northern Division would muster in the frame and the Southern Division escaped to victory.
“It was awesome. It’s good to break up the season as well, have a good time with all the guys in the league,” said Rost, who assisted on the goal to finish with two points and the title of Northern Division player of the game. “There are a lot of good players out here and to get the award is obviously an honour.”
Reagan stopped 15 of 16 shots through the first 30 minutes, then Cochrane’s Erik Garber allowed a goal on 14 shots to secure the win.
Little was beaten four times on 27 shots through the first half of the contest before Red Deer Vipers netminder Dawson Weatherill took over and stopped 19 of 20 down the stretch.
