NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
The Medicine Hat Cubs celebrate after winning Game 3 5-2 Saturday in Red Deer, sweeping the Vipers 3-0 in the best-of-five HJHL Finals. The win is the Cubs first HJHL championship.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
For the first time in franchise history, the Medicine Hat Cubs are HJHL champions.
The Cubs won Game 3 5-2 Saturday in Red Deer over the Vipers, sweeping the best-of-five league Finals 3-0 to capture their first league title in their 24th year in the HJHL. Medicine Hat captured an IJHL championship in 2001, their last year before joining the HJHL.
“It’s sunk in but it hasn’t sunk in yet, it feels amazing,” head coach Trent Derzaph said, hair dripping from a water bottle shower. “The support these guys, they laid it on the line tonight.”
The Cubs captured the regular season South Division title this season for the first time since 2001-02, their first year in the league. They beat the Okotoks Bisons 3-2 in the second round, finally getting past the divisional foe after losing to the Bisons in three of the last four playoffs. Medicine Hat swept the Cochrane Generals in the South finals to earn their spot in the league finals, getting past the HJHL’s top regular season team in Red Deer in three games.
It was a long road to the championship for general manager Randy Wong, his first season as the GM after stepping back from the head coaching role after five years, in the off season.
“It’s taken six years to get there, but I couldn’t be happier for our for our guys,” Wong said. “I look at all the guys I’ve had to start the whole process, that’s where my mind went, I’ve had some really good leaders. I started the program, there was Tavin Stadnicki and then it went over to Levi Schlosser, he passed it over to Callen Prosofsky and then Kyle Woolridge took it over from there.
“Those guys in the past, they’re just as big a part of this as everyone that’s here present day. So I couldn’t be happier for where the program has gone in the six years.”
A goal-less first period led into a four-goal second period as the Cubs grabbed a pair of leads.
Just before the halfway mark of the game, Mason Osinski scored on a cross-crease pass from Carter Allan to open the scoring 9:15 into the frame. Captain Kyle Woolridge had the second assist on Osinski’s first of the night.
Red Deer tied the game up a little over four minutes later, Mason Hastings scoring at the Medicine Hat net front.
The Cubs rattled off a pair of power play goals to end the period with a 3-1 lead.
Woolridge jammed in a loose puck with 1:27 left in the period for the 2-1 lead, scoring his 12th of the playoffs. The Cubs captain was all smiles post game recounting the win.
“Even get to this point, to get a chance, get a sniff and to be able to be a champion of the whole league, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Woolridge said.
The Cubs earned a seven-minute power play after Red Deer’s Kohen Rea tried to jump Cubs forward Jesse Klimosko off the ensuing goal. Medicine Hat struck on the man advantage in the frame, Ethan Burgeson scoring his fourth. Woolridge and Austin Derzaph had the assists.
The Cubs scored early in the third on the same power play. Josiah Jackson found the back of the net with a shot from the point to make it a 4-1 lead with his fifth, coming 2:29 into the third.
Red Deer scored with 2:35 left in the game to draw within two but couldn’t mount the full comeback. Osinski scored on the empty Red Deer net to ice the win.
Cubs starter Marlo DeRosa picked up the win with 40 saves. He was in net for the Cubs last seven wins, finishing with eight wins in the playoffs. DeRosa says it was his goal from the start of the season, his first year in the HJHL, to win a championship.
“I didn’t know really what the landscape was but I knew that was my goal from the beginning, from the first day I was here, I wanted to be in this spot,” DeRosa said. “I wanted to keep going, so we’re going to keep going.”
With the win, the Cubs will compete in the Jr. B Provincials April 1-5 in Lloydminster.
Two buses of fans were in attendance in Red Deer to cheer on the Cubs, their presence felt on the ice, Woolridge says.
“We have the best fans in the whole league, I truly believe that,” Woolridge said. “Whether it’s an away game, like tonight, it’s an away game and our fans were way louder. Our fans are there cheering us the whole time, it’s just a great feeling.”
See Tuesday’s News for more on the Cubs’ championship win.
