Medicine Hat Cubs forward Connor Chapman unleashes a shot in the third period of a 3-0 win Sunday at the Kinplex over the Sylvan Lake Wranglers.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs are taking anything thrown their way and turning it into wins.
The local HJHL club rounded out November with a seventh straight win, shutting out the North division-leading Sylvan Lake Wranglers 3-0 Sunday at the Kinplex.
They beat the Strathmore Wheatland Kings 7-4 Friday at home for a fourth straight undefeated weekend as they end the month with a 7-1 record and sit tied for first in the South with a game in hand on the Coaldale Copperheads.
“We’re the top team in the South in my opinion,” head coach Trent Derzaph said. “Next weekend we go head-to-head with Coaldale and we’ve beat them up pretty bad the last few games and they’re just hanging in there. But definitely, we’ve got what it’s going to take.”
Josiah Jackson scored twice Friday, one coming shorthanded, while all three of Carson Kraft, Randen Collier and Slade McFadzen had a goal and an assist. Mason Osinski and captain Kyle Woolridge added solo tallies and Kayne Wright made 31 saves.
On Sunday, Marlo DeRosa stopped all 25 shots he faced in the Cubs’ second 3-0 shutout- win over Sylvan Lake this season. Cole Fisher and Osinski scored for the Cubs in the win. Austin Derzaph also scored, finding the back of the net while down a man.
The special teams success has propelled the Cubs this season, sitting second in power play percentage at 26.3 per cent. Sylvan leads the league at 32 per cent. Medicine Hat’s penalty kill is running atop the league at 91.5 per cent.
“The guys are doing the right things, just playing the game,” Derzaph said. “So do we have things that we can work on? One-hundred per cent, but the guys are battling for each other every night.”
The Cubs faced six divisional opponents in November, with the lone loss coming at the hands of the Cochrane Generals who shut them out on Nov. 1 before the streak began. They also faced the top of the North in Sylvan Lake and the Red Deer Vipers.
It’s an encouraging sign with just 17 games left on the calendar before playoffs. They have just one game this week, facing Coaldale on the road Sunday. It’s the first of three straight road games before they end the month with a pair at home.
They’ll also have the HJHL all-star game Dec. 6 in Strathmore with DeRosa, five skaters and the coaching staff representing the South.
Derzaph says no one is talking to players about playoffs yet, but they are starting to think of it as a coaching staff. Before then and before the Holiday break starts Dec. 21, he says they’ll continue approaching the schedule one game at a time.
“We just have to be strong and play our game and get into Christmas,” Derzaph said. “Then after that, we’ll start thinking about the remainder of the season. But we’re playing well right now.”
