NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN Medicine Hat Cubs forward Chandler Aleman moves with the puck through the attacking zone while Zachary Stewart (3) of the Cochrane Generals pressures during a Heritage Junior Hockey League game at the Kinplex on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Cubs will have their work cut out for them after settling for third in the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s Southern Division standings.
Needing a win to clinch a bye through the first round of the playoffs, the Cubs came up short in back-to-back games against the Cochrane Generals, and as a result will host the Strathmore Wheatland Kings to open a best-of-five series on Thursday at the Kinplex.
“It’s definitely not the outcome we wanted to have happen, dropping these two games,” said forward Mason Fischer, whose Cubs fell 2-1 at the Kinplex Saturday and 6-0 on Sunday in Cochrane. “But it opens up our eyes. It’s not going to be a cakewalk.”
The Cubs entered the weekend in a 25-9-2 deadlock with Cochrane for second. With an even season series, Medicine Hat held an advantage of 10 goals scored overall in the tiebreaker between the teams, meaning a victory Saturday would have all but ensured an express trip to the second round, and a win Sunday would have guaranteed it. Instead, the Cubs will need to make it through the first round without starting goaltender Dawsen Savage or captain Tavin Stadnicki.
“We just weren’t ready to play today and they were, that was the difference,” Cubs co-coach JD Gaetan said Sunday, adding he’s hoping for a quick return from Savage and Stadnicki. “I’m thinking it’s by Round 2 we’ll have them back.”
Medicine Hat held Cochrane in a scoreless tie through the better part of Saturday’s contest. However an injury to the referee led to a 20-minute intermission with just less than nine minutes remaining in the second.
The Generals returned to the ice and Dean Olenyk scored to take the lead with 63 seconds left in the two-part middle frame.
Medicine Hat pressured for the equalizer through the third, but Scott Shugg broke through with less than two minutes left to silence the crowd of 965 at the Kinplex.
Refusing to go quietly, Levi Schlosser broke Erik Garber’s shutout with four seconds left, but it was too little too late for the Cubs.
Entering a winner-take-all Sunday, the Generals quickly took over a 2-0 edge on goals from Olenyk and Chris Sambrook. Nick Koch and Patrick Forde doubled the lead in the second, then Justin Giacomin and Shane Benoit put the game away in the third.
Medicine Hat swept their season series with Strathmore and took them out in a best-of-three first round last year. This year the Cubs will have home ice advantage when the puck drops on the playoffs at 8:15 p.m. Thursday.
“I think we match up well against Strathmore,” said Gaetan. “We had a good series with them this year, we swept them 4-0 so we are confident playing a Strathmore team. But that being said, playoffs are a different season.”
If victorious, the Cubs will return to Cochrane to face the Generals in the second round.
“We’ve got to get past Strathmore and work our way back here, then show them that they can’t push us around,” said Fischer. “We have to be confident in ourselves that we can play to their game and not be affected by their physical game.”
Note: This story has been updated to correct the day of the first playoff game. It will be played Thursday, Feb. 13.
