Cubs can sweep Strathmore Sunday

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on February 15, 2020.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

The Medicine Hat Cubs will be returning to the Kinplex on Sunday with one thing on their mind – a sweep.

Medicine Hat rallied to take a 2-0 stranglehold in their best-of-five Heritage Junior Hockey League series against the Wheatland Kings with a commanding 6-0 victory on Friday night in Strathmore.

“It’s exciting,” said co-coach JD Gaetan, whose Cubs can clinch the series with a win in Game 3 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. “The guys came ready to play tonight and we had all four lines going,”

The victory marks Medicine Hat’s eighth in a row over Strathmore – a streak that includes a season series sweep this season and a two-game run in the first round of playoffs last year.

The last time Strathmore defeated Medicine Hat was on Oct. 28, 2018.

Austin Klimosko kicked off Friday’s scoring by finishing off a play started by Noah Irvine and Chandler Aleman midway through the first period.

Hat netminder Logan Leroux kept the Wheatland Kings at bay with seven stops in the period, then the Cubs took over in the second.

Spencer Chapman converted on a power play chance early in the frame, then Trevor Moore drove another one home late in the frame to give the Cubs a three-goal lead entering the third.

Mason Fischer struck for a pair of power play goals in the third – bringing his playoff total to three while pushing Aleman to three points on the night and Irvine to two. Cooper Hilworth then put the game away with a shorthanded tally in the dying minutes of regulation.

Leroux – called on to serve as starter with Dawsen Savage missing for the next one-to-two weeks with a broken thumb – held on to secure his second shutout in as many nights with a 21-save effort.

“We’ve had confidence in him since Day 1 and to be able to give him this opportunity is awesome,” said Gaetan. “He’s been stepping up. We can rely on him to make the big save and the guys really feed off that.”

If the Cubs manage to close out the series with a victory, they’ll advance to take on the Cochrane Generals in the second round. Cochrane took the last two games of the regular season from Medicine Hat to finish second in the Southern Division standings, earning a first-round bye in the process.

If necessary, Game 4 will be played Monday in Strathmore at 7:45 p.m., followed by a possible Game 5 on Tuesday night at 8:15 p.m. in Medicine Hat.