NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN - Medicine Hat Cubs foward Austin Klimosko is stopped on a breakaway by Okotoks Bisons goaltender Devin Reagan during a Heritage Junior Hockey League game at the Kinplex Friday.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
For the fourth time this season, the Medicine Hat Cubs fell just short of toppling the No. 1 team in the province.
While the Cubs were left mulling over what might have been after outshooting the juggernaut Okotoks Bisons and settling for a 6-4 loss on Friday night at the Kinplex, co-coach Steve Leipert says their performances against Heritage Junior Hockey League’s best have him feeling confident about their chances as hosts of the Hockey Alberta provincial championship in April.
“When you see our third and fourth line competing and actually putting up points as well, against the top team in the league? It’s fantastic,” said Leipert, whose Cubs slipped to 20-9-2 with the loss. “(The Bisons) are stacked. You look at their roster, four lines deep. But you know what, we’re competing. We’re finding results and we’re very proud of our team.”
It was a big night in particular for Hat rookie Ethan Machan, who scored a goal and added a helper to extend his point streak to four games with four goals and two assists in the span.
“He’s stepping up huge and it’s great,” said Liepert. “It took him a while to find the tempo, find where he’s fitting in, and now he’s finding his stride.”
Machan – a 17-year-old Medicine Hat product – spent Friday night on a line with veteran Mason Fischer and fellow rookie Austin Klimosko. The trio combined for six points.
“Klimosko is great. He’s the hardest working kid on the team most nights, and he’s really quick so playing with him is definitely an asset,” said Machan. “Fischer, just the veteran presence and skill that comes with a guy like him, it’s pretty amazing to get to play in that environment.”
The Cubs found themselves playing from behind early when Bisons Tyson Scott and Dylan Wenzel struck in succession to leave Medicine Hat a two-goal deficit partway through the opening frame.
Medicine Hat responded with one from Desmond Crawford a few minutes later, but Okotoks got a late tally out of Tyler Witzke to escape the period with some breathing room.
Machan narrowed the gap back to one with a shot from the slot midway through the second period, but the Bisons managed to squeak another late tally past Cubs netminder Dawsen Savage – this time from Tyler Alger – to enter the third period with a 4-2 edge.
“We’re right there with them and they’re probably the best team in the province right now,” said Machan. “It speaks volumes to our character and what we’re able to do as a team. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them in provincials, probably.”
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Cubs again battled to within a goal when Cooper Hilworth converted three minutes into the third.
Medicine Hat earned a chance to draw even when Wenzel and Alger were nabbed for a pair of infractions near the halfway point of the period – giving the Cubs a 4-on-3 that led to a short two-man advantage – but Okotoks goaltender Devin Reagan kept them at bay with a slew of big saves.
“He always finds a way to come up when we really need him the most,” Okotoks’ Scott said of Reagan. “Is he going to be perfect every game? No. Is he probably ecstatic he let in four tonight? No. But you know what, he got the job done and there’s a reason he’s the best of the best.”
The pair of successful penalty kills opened the door for Okotoks to take things back the other way, and Wenzel scored on a chance in front to re-establish a two-goal lead in the dying minutes of regulation.
The Cubs kept coming and Chandler Aleman broke through on the doorstep to cut the deficit back down to one with less than four minutes left on the clock – but the Bisons finally pushed the game out of reach with a late empty-netter from Tyson Laduke.
“Every game is harder and harder for us to come out victorious,” Scott said of the growing rivalry with Medicine Hat. “They put in their best effort every game and you have to respect them as an opponent.”
Reagan stopped 30 shots to collect the victory and push Okotoks to 29-2-0 on the campaign. The 21-year-old netminder has lost just one game this season.
Savage settled for the setback with a 36-save performance.
The Cubs hit the road to take on the Lakers (3-26-1) in Lomond on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
“Within this league you can never take anyone lightly,” said Leipert, whose Cubs are in a fierce battle for second in the Southern Division with the Cochrane Generals and Coaldale Copperheads. “That’s basically what we’re competing for right now, is that second-place spot, and we want to have that week off going into the playoffs.”
