NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Cubs goaltender Marlo DeRosa makes a stick save on an Okotoks forward in the first period of the Game 1 of the Cubs’ second-round series with the Bisons. The Cubs were shutout 4-0 to trail the best-of-five series 1-0.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
Those pesky Bisons.
The Medicine Hat Cubs were shutout 4-0 Friday night at the Kinplex, losing Game 1 of their second-round series with the Bisons.
Okotoks goaltender stopped all 31 shots he faced as the Bisons carried the momentum from their 2-0, first-round series win over the Coaldale Copperheads into the second round.
Cubs head coach Trent Derzaph says they didn’t stick with the Bisons long enough.
“It wasn’t that they had played a series and have been banging and playing at that speed, we didn’t stick to that right from the beginning,” Derzaph said. “I thought we got better as the game went on, but too little, too late.”
Medicine Hat had a first-round bye after clinching their first South division title since the 2001-02 season. Derzaph doesn’t believe rust held them back, they just weren’t ready for the pace, he says.
“They were coming down on us hard and I think the guys weren’t quite ready for that playoff style hockey,” Derzaph said.
Okotoks opened the scoring late in the first period, with a goal from Zepher Laplante with 2:28 left on the clock. They outshot the Cubs 17-12 in the frame.
The Bisons added to their lead in the second period. Dryden Harding scored a shorthanded marker at 8:53 and Jakob Semeniuk found the back of the net with 3:54 left in the frame. Medicine Hat led the frame in chances, 10-8.
They rounded out the scoring in the third with a goal from Seamus Garagan with 2:50 left on the clock.
With less than 1 minute left in the game, Cubs’ forward Nolan Sutherland hit an Okotoks player into the boards in the Medicine Hat end and was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding.
The Bisons outshot the Cubs 37-31. Neither team scored on their three power plays. Medicine Hat goaltender Marlo DeRosa finished with 33 saves in the loss.
Game 2 of the series is Sunday in Okotoks and Game 3 returns to the Kinplex on Feb. 20 with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Derzaph says they’ll need to flip the script of Game 1 and play like the Bisons did Friday when they head to Okotoks.
“It’s gonna be huge, we’ve been there, beginning of the year we scored nine on them, on the same goaltender,” Derzaph said. “So it’ll be huge for us to get jacked up and be ready for Sunday.”
