The Medicine Hat Cubs captured their first HJHL championship Saturday, with a 5-2 win in Red Deer over the Vipers to sweep the best-of-five finals 3-0.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For the first time in 25 years, the Medicine Hat Cubs will hang a championship banner.
The Cubs captured their first HJHL championship on Saturday, winning 5-2 in Red Deer to sweep the HJHL Finals series with the Vipers. It’s their first title in their 24th season in the Heritage Junior Hockey League, with the franchise’s last championship coming in 2001 while playing in the IJHL.
First-year head coach Trent Derzaph says the win hadn’t fully sunk in as he stood drenched from a water-bottle shower.
“It’s huge for the organization, huge for the overagers and for myself, it’s my first year coaching at this level and it’s absolutely amazing,” Derzaph said.
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. Associate coach Johnny Stehr says the Okotoks series was a hurdle they had to overcome to find the success they believed was possible.
“Right at training camp, we knew we had something real special and we kept preaching how close we were,” Stehr said. “The Okotoks series was a big mental hurdle, more so than the actual fight itself. Just to get over the mental aspect of it.”
Medicine Hat swept the Cochrane Generals in the South finals to earn their spot in the league championship series, 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 just GM after stepping back from the head coaching role he served for five years.
“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.”
Cubs starting goaltender 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.”
Mason Osinski scored twice in the Game 3 win, icing the game with an empty netter. Ethan Burgeson scored the series winner, capitalizing early on a seven-minute power play. Josiah Jackson scored early in the third on the same man advantage.
Captain Kyle Woolridge had a goal and two assists Saturday to lead the HJHL playoffs with 12 goals and 17 points in 11 games. The Cubs captain was all smiles recounting the win.
“Even getting 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.
In his fourth season with the Cubs, first as captain, Woolridge says he’s been thinking of the overagers from previous seasons as they made the championship push.
“Some great players who don’t get the chance and you just have to be very thankful everyone buys in at the right time,” Woolridge said. “It’s not just one player, it’s a whole team.
“You play two or three years, you have great leaders around you. You figure out the game and I’m just very thankful for the guys who helped me throughout the program.”
Woolridge is one of four Cubs overagers whose HJHL careers continue as they head to Jr. B Provincials from Apr. 1-5 in Lloydminster. Burgeson and defencemen Keynan Cairns and Austin Derzaph all finish their Jr. B careers as league champions, a story four years in the making, Cairns says.
“It feels unreal, we’ve been working for this for four years now,” Cairns said. “To do it with this group is really, really special.”
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.”
