NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
The Medicine Hat Cubs celebrate Jacob Hazzard's third period goal in a 7-4 Game 2 win in the HJHL Finals on March 15 at the Kinplex.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs have a chance at making franchise history this weekend.
The Cubs hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the HJHL Finals over the Red Deer Vipers, and hit the road Saturday for Game 3 of the best-of-five series with a chance to capture their first HJHL title.
Medicine Hat opened the series with a 6-2 Game 1 win in Red Deer on March 14 before winning 6-4 at the Kinplex the next day for their two-win lead.
There’s a lot to be excited about for the Cubs, looking for their first championship since they won the IJHL in 2001, their last season before joining the HJHL. To be one win away from that title meant a lot after Game 2, captain Kyle Woolridge says, but doesn’t mean they’re there yet, he adds.
“You can’t get too excited yet, you still have to get that one game and it’s a five-game series, anything can happen,” Woolridge said. “So you really have to bear down on your chances, bear down and bury the team.”
As they’ve skated out to the 2-0 series lead, head coach Trent Derzaph has been impressed by the Cubs’ veterans and first-year players.
“It’s not just the old guys, we’ve got those young guys, the first years and they’re all-in now, too,” Derzaph said. “We’ve got a wicked team in there.”
Medicine Hat swept the South Division Finals, taking down the Cochrane Generals in three games after taking five games to beat the Okotoks Bisons. The final win of this series will be the hardest to get, Derzaph says. It’s a simple game plan for them come Saturday.
“Dig deep, that’s all I’ve got,” Derzaph said.
The last sweep in the HJHL finals came in 2023 when Okotoks, after beating the Cubs in four games, swept the Wranglers for a second straight title.
In the 2025 HJHL playoffs, the Sylvan Lake Wranglers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Bisons. Okotoks won Game 3 by one goal, 6-5, before Sylvan Lake ended their run of three-straight championships with a 2-1 Game 4 win.
The year before, with Okotoks and Sylvan Lake meeting for the second time, the two teams traded wins through the first four games of what was then a best-of-seven series. Okotoks won Game 5 and then Game 6 to ice the series and capture their third straight title.
If needed, Game 4 of the series would return to the Kinplex on Sunday for a 4 p.m. contest. A decisive Game 5 would be March 28 back in Red Deer with a spot at provincials, April 1-5 in Lloydminster, on the line.
