Medicine Hat Cubs forward Mason Osinski skates up ice with the puck in the first period of a 4-1 win Saturday at the Kinplex over the Cochrane Generals.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs maintained their push for prime playoff positioning.
The Cubs picked up a pair of weekend wins, beating the Three Hills Thrashers 7-2 Saturday on the road before topping the Cochrane Generals 4-1 Sunday at the Kinplex.
The Cubs remain in third place of the Southern division after the weekend, with the two-game sweep bringing them within three points of the second-place Strathmore Wheatland Kings.
The push for first and second in the division remains for the Cubs, looking to get a bye through the first round of HJHL playoffs.
“We talked before the game about needing the points to stay in the same realm as Strathmore and Okotoks,” head coach Randy Wong said. “You do that and you give yourself a chance to hopefully get a first-round bye with those top two spots right. So the division’s pretty tight and the games that you have to win are the ones like Saturday against Cochrane and the game against Three Hills. So we accomplished that.”
The last three seasons with Wong at the helm, the Cubs have come out of the holidays in second place of the division, looking to just ramp up ahead of the playoffs. With eight games left on the calendar and the playoff bye within reach, Wong says they’ve made some changes to make that push in the final sprint of the regular season.
“We modified some things before Saturday night in High River; I liked the execution of what we did and I liked what we did today with some of the guys,” Wong said. “So we’re just trying to tweak the lines a bit as far as how they play and they did a good job of starting to understand the roles required and how each line kind of plays.
“They all play differently, they all have something to offer. We got a little more out of our third and fourth lines this weekend and that’s what we really need.”
Kyle Woolridge led the offence in Saturday’s win, tallying a hat trick with an assist to complete a four-point night. Caleb Garrecht had a goal and two assists, and all three of Everett Lies, Tash Armstrong and Callen Prosofsky found the back of the net. The Cubs also had a trio with a pair of assists in the win, with Nolen Sutherland, Hayden King and Austin Derzaph each recording a pair of helpers.
Adam Ranger made 21 saves in the win.
In Sunday’s win, Mason Osinski had a goal and an assist, both Quade Vanderspruit and Sutherland each scored solo tallies. Tyler Wakelam stopped 28 shots for the win, also recording an assist.
The Cubs (21-7-2) are off until Friday when they host Strathmore (7:30 p.m.) for the first of a pair of divisional games. They also host the Southern division-leading Okotoks Bisons on Sunday (3 p.m). Wong says it’s setting up to be the most important weekend of their season.
“You get a chance to go get within one point of Strathmore if you beat them now,” Wong said. “That’s the biggest game of the year, to make sure you get that one. So we’ll look at that, get ready and prep for them. Then we’ll worry about Okotoks after that.”
