NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Cubs forward Jacob Milne (left) collides with Coaldale Copperheads' Dallas Bodnar during a Heritage Junior Hockey League exhibition game on Friday night at the Kinplex.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Cubs have seen a number of changes since they were eliminated by the Coaldale Copperheads in Game 7 of the second round last season – most notably the election of a new board and hiring of Randy Wong as head coach and general manager – but they’ll be greeted by a familiar face when they kick off their Heritage Junior Hockey League campaign this weekend.
Twenty-year-old forward Chandler Aleman – who finished second in Cubs scoring behind Mason Fischer with 27 goals and 20 assists in 35 games last season – returns to the lineup just in time to seek some vengeance against the rival Copperheads when the puck drops on the season Saturday night in Coaldale.
“Right away we’ve got some older guys who can play the game and be real effective on the power play. We have some real good depth at our top end,” said Wong. “I think we’ve got good leadership in the room, and in adding some older guys we’ve got some good experience now to kind of help the younger guys through their first few games – which are going to be, I think, full of intensity and competition.”
After kicking things off on the road Saturday, the Cubs and Copperheads continue a four-game series with Medicine Hat’s home opener at the Kinplex on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. Highlighting Coaldale’s roster will be Tri-City Americans prospects Carson Haynes and Cole Larocque, who have opted to compete at the junior B level while awaiting the chance to return to their major junior club.
“That’ll be a good test with Coaldale,” said Wong. “They’ve always got a good team, they’ve always got good, experienced guys in their lineup.”
The Cubs boast their share of offensive power and veteran presence as well. On top of Aleman – who joins fellow returnees like Cooper Hilworth and brother Fletcher Aleman on this year’s roster – Wong says the Cubs have also added three-year Alberta Junior Hockey League veteran Garin Butler. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound forward recorded nine points and 95 penalty minutes over 52 games with the Whitecourt Wolverines last season, and will provide some added grit up front for the Cubs.
In between the pipes, Medicine Hat will return to the same one-two punch from last season in Dawsen Savage and Logan Leroux. Wong says he was previously balancing the pros and cons of carrying a third goaltender, Peyton Lobe, however the decision was made for him when the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers came calling.
“It made the decision a little easier. I was very comfortable with all three goalies,” said Wong. “I’ve got Dawsen Savage and Logan Leroux in the net, same tandem as last year. Two experienced guys for me, and it makes me more than comfortable in the net knowing I can put anyone in.”
Having two strong goaltenders to lean on will be important moving into the series-based schedule. The scheduling tactic is a result of the pandemic, but should make for a playoff-style atmosphere, albeit with fewer fans.
“We saw it playing two pre-season games back-to-back with Coaldale – the second game got a little bit more emotional, which is expected. That’ll continue in these next four games. We’ll have played six games against the same team and that’s kind of what you look for in a playoff series,” said Wong. “Although there’s going to be some emotion, I think guys just want to play the game.”
Public health guidelines have restricted Sunday’s home opener to invited guests only, however the Cubs have taken to auctioning off some available tickets and Wong says both of this weekend’s games will be streamed on the team’s Facebook page.
“We’re just trying to be creative and find ways to generate money and make people a little excited in the limited number of tickets that we do have,” said Wong. “(Streaming) is one thing we can try and do. Although a lot of people can’t go to the rink and watch. This is the next best thing, I think, we can offer.”
