NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Cubs forward Brett Stusrud leans into a shot in the first period of the Cubs' 6-2 win Sunday at the Kinplex over the Three Hills Thrashers.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs remain perfect in the standings through the second week of the HJHL season.
The Cubs won both weekend games at the Kinplex, beating the High River Flyers 10-1 Friday night in the team’s home opener, and topped the Three Hills Thrashers 6-2 Sunday afternoon.
Head coach and general manager Randy Wong liked how his team carried momentum from the blowout win and didn’t let off the gas Sunday.
“There’s a different atmosphere and attitude in the dressing room, it’s more business like than I’ve seen it, the guys are really focused,” Wong said. “Some of the older guys are leading the way, like they want to win and they’ve made it known that they want to win. The younger guys, there’s a good group of them, they’re following.
“We’ve got the right recipe right now and things are good. Obviously, the wins do help build more confidence, so everybody’s been able to play and contribute. So that’s been another bonus.”
Wong says they’re going to have even more competitive practices as they rotate younger players into the lineup to build off the success.
“That’s kind of the nature of having a winning team, being able to do that regardless of age,” Wong said. “You have to play the right way. If you have a bad game, you may not be playing the next game.”
The Cubs’ top line led the offence in Friday’s win over High River (0-3-1), with Caleb Garrecht tallying three goals on a six-point night. Both Kyle Woolridge (3G, 2A) and Nolan Sutherland (1G, 4A) had five points.
Captain Callen Prosofsky had a goal and an assist, Barrett Quayle and Denyn Smith each found twine and Jesse Klimosko had two helpers. Tyler Wakelam made 21 saves for the win.
Sutherland carried the offence into Sunday, recording a goal and an assist. Woolridge had a pair of goals and all three of Blake Dosenberger, Makhi Carriere and Prosofksy scored solo markers. Both Hayden King and Jacob Hazzard had two assists. Adam Ranger made 13 saves in the win.
Medicine Hat came into the weekend off a two-game road trip to start the season, beating the Okotoks Bisons (3-1) 3-2 on Sept. 21 and outlasted the Coaldale Copperheads (2-1-1) 3-2 in a shootout on Sept. 22.
The Cubs (4-0) and Strathmore Wheatland Kings (3-0) are the only two undefeated teams in the HJHL. Medicine Hat hosts the Coaldale Copperheads on Friday before heading to Three Hills (2-2) for a rematch on Saturday. Wong says they’ll look to keep their momentum flowing through the week.
“The season is about riding the wave, you get your ups and downs, when you ride that wave, you ride it as long as you can,” Wong said. “The confidence level is good, the puck is bouncing your direction, scoring some goals. You just have to keep that goal and keep it going through hard work and energy intensity level. Those are things that are going to keep things going the way we want it to.”
