Cubs eliminated from HJHL playoffs

By James Tubb on March 15, 2025.

NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB The Medicine Hat Cubs salute the crowd following a 4-1, Game 4 loss to the Okotoks Bisons on Thursday at the Kinplex. With the win, the Bisons win the series 3-1.

Those damned Bisons.

For the third time in four years the Medicine Hat Cubs season came to a close on home ice at the hands of the Okotoks Bisons.

The Cubs dropped Game 4 of the South finals 4-1 Thursday night, falling 3-1 in the best-of-five South finals series, sending Okotoks to the HJHL finals for the fourth year in a row, looking for a fourthstraight championship.

“They’re defending champions for a reason, they’ve got an older team that’s more experienced, been through it, we haven’t got past this stage,” Wong said. “Every time we get to here, it’s kind of a new learning curve for us, we just can’t get over that hump. But I’m proud of the guys overall.

“When I look at the year, we competed hard, we always seem to get that 25-plus wins every year, we’re competitive and we’re holding our own with the rest of the league. We get to this round three and it’s tough. Okotoks is certainly deserving of winning this series and we wish them the best in the final.”

After a 5-4, comeback overtime win to take Game 1 of the South finals, the Cubs did not hold a lead for the remaining three games. Okotoks led 1-0 through 20 minutes Thursday night and scored 1:42 into the second period for a 2-0 lead. The Cubs responded with Nolen Sutherland’s third of the playoffs.

Okotoks added two more goals, one in the second and another in the third, for the 4-1 final. Cubs starter Tyler Wakelman, who was between the pipes to start all eight postseason games, made 44 stops. The Bisons outshot the Cubs 48-24.

Wong says another defeat at the hands of Okotoks further re-establishes the level they have to get to as a team and program and also helps them maybe change their path.

“We only graduate a couple of overagers, we don’t have a lot of 20-year-olds in the program and that keeps the program alive and going year-toyear,” Wong said. “But, we have to look and evaluate, maybe we go with an older group who has that experience. Again, you’re dealing with 20-yearolds, you’re a little bit stronger, more mature, and maybe that’s the recipe that we need.”

The Cubs have just two over-age graduating players in defenceman Josh Aitken and captain Callen Prosofsky.

Aitken played two seasons in the orange and black, tallying nine goals and 29 points in 68 games. Prosofsky spent four years with the Cubs, the last two as captain, with 64 goals and 147 points in 145 games, setting a new franchise record for games played.

Wong says they really liked how Aitken fit their system. As for Prosofsky, Wong says there was no better example of what it meant to be a leader than the 22-year-old.

“He leaves the Cubs as a guy who really left a mark, and he can pass that on to the next guy,” Wong said. “He showed what it really takes. His work ethic is second to none, he’s dedicated to the program, he has a full-time job as he’s trying to compete here. So I think the world of him, and I wish him the best of luck in his future. I know he’s going to be successful just because of how he carries himself here.”

The Cubs will take some time off before they start up again, with Spring Camp around the corner and the next push for getting past the third round of the playoffs. Until then, with disappointment still weighing heavy from a winter’s-long run that melted away as quickly as it came, Wong hopes his group remembers how close this team got to one another.

“Just being a team and getting another year of being around a group of guys playing this great game, those are all big things for us,” Wong said. “It’s not a runaway program, you know, we work hard and practice and lead into games we have structure. That’s important to lead here. So guys that do that, they’re going to be successful in life too.”