NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Cubs forward Jesse Klimosko fires a shot on net in the third period of an 8-2 win Sunday at the Kinplex over the Coaldale Copperheads.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs ended their regular season on a high note.
The Cubs won the final game of the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s regular season campaign, beating the Coaldale Copperheads 8-2 on Sunday.
Kyle Woolridge had a goal and five points, Randen Collier had two goals with an assist and Callan Prosofsky had a pair of goals. Hayden Gebhart had a goal and an assist, both Barrett Quayle and Everett Liefso had a goal and Tyler Wakelam made 16 saves.
The win Sunday came in the game made moot by the Cubs’ loss on Friday, a 7-3 defeat at Strathmore to the Wheatland Kings. That contest, as well as a 5-2 win over Coaldale on Saturday, secured second place for Strathmore in the Southern division, putting Medicine Hat in third. It also ensured the two teams, who receive a first-round bye, will meet in the second round with the Wheatland Kings holding home-ice advantage.
“Friday night was disappointing,” head coach Randy Wong said. “We took that as a playoff game, almost like a must-win attitude, go in there and get a win, secure home ice in this in the second round, and we failed. We didn’t do what we needed to do.
“So now, uphill battle we start in Strathmore. We did talk as a team that it’s not the end of the world of the world. We have life, we’re in the playoffs, we have our bye and there’s lots of pluses. We’ve had a good year, 26 wins. All that goes out the door now and we get ready for Strathmore, back in Strathmore, so we’ll get you guys prepped and ready to go.”
The Cubs finish the season with a 26-10-2 record, with the top two leading scorers in the HJHL. Woolridge led the league in scoring with 49 goals and 79 points in 38 games, with Garrecht coming in at No. 2 with 22 goals and 71 points in 38 games.
Woolridge scored twice in the loss Friday, Jesse Klimosko scored a solo tally. Captain Callen Prosofsky had a pair of assists and Adam Ranger made 33 saves. Both Woolridge and Prosofsky reached a pair of milestones in Friday’s game, with Woolridge reaching 100 career goals. Prosofsky broke the Cubs’ modern era record for career regular season games played, surpassing Cooper Hilworth and setting the new record at 145 games.
The Cubs, with the first-round bye, are off until Feb. 22 when they’ll head to Strathmore for Game 1 of the best-of-five series. They’ll host the Wheatland Kings on Feb. 23 for a 3 p.m. game before the series turns back to Strathmore on Feb. 26. If needed, a Game 4 would be in Medicine Hat on Feb. 28 and a Game 5 would be March 2.
Wong says the break gives them some time to get healthy from injury and illness, as well as get the focus in the right spot for the playoffs.
“We talked about still having to focus, battle hard and make the right plays at the right time, so that was accomplished (Sunday),” Wong said. “We did what we needed to do to get our last win at home here, and we’re set up and ready to go for the playoffs.”
