Cubs clinch spot in Jr. B Provincial gold medal final

By JAMES TUBB on April 4, 2026.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat Cubs will get their shot at provincial gold.

The Cubs skated to a 3-0 record through the first three days at the Jr. B Provincials hosted in Lloydminster, clinching their spot in Sunday’s gold medal final.

They opened the tournament with a 4-2 win Wednesday over the host Lloydminster Bandits before blanking the Calgary Northstars 2-0 Thursday.

Friday’s, 4-2 win over the Sherwood Park Knights put the Cubs atop the six-team table, slated to finish first or second entering finals Sunday.

Looking at a shot at provincial gold is the potential head coach Trent Derzaph saw from his team in training camp.

“I thought we had a championship team, with the depth and the speed that we’ve had from camp, and we grew from there, it’s not shocking,” Derzaph said. “Don’t get me wrong, we had some bumps along the way as well, but it’s not shocking to me and I owe it to the guys. They believed in me and bought in and now here we are today.”

Nolen Sutherland had a pair of goals in Wednesday’s win, Jesse Klimosko and Parker Kienzle each found the back of the net. On Thursday, captain Kyle Woolridge and defenceman Blake Girard each scored. Girard potted a pair in Friday’s comeback win, as the Cubs beat out a 2-0 first period deficit. Mason Osinski had a goal and two assists and Woolridge found the back of the net as well.

With the compacted schedule, five games in five days, the Cubs have tested their depth throughout the lineup. Entering Saturday’s final round-robin game, facing the Vermilion Tigers, the Cubs used three different goaltenders for three wins.

Marlo DeRosa, who was in net for the Cubs when they captured their first franchise Heritage Junior Hockey League championship, made 25 saves against Lloydminster. Backup Kayne Wright stopped all 32 shots he faced Thursday in the shutout win over Calgary, and affiliate goaltender Kayden Van Ham made 29 saves Friday for the win.

“Kayden is something special for sure, heck of a young guy, and for us to be able to put an AP in during provincials and run three goalies in three games, you just see the confidence in the guys,” Derzaph said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of fans who were questioning my decision, but I knew what we had, how we have the depth all over the ice and in net as well.”

The Cubs have had 14 skaters play all three games, with their spot in the finals clinched, they’re able to rest players Saturday before the finals on Sunday.

The Cubs will face the La Crete Lumber Barons in the final. La Crete clinched a top-2 finish with a 6-0 win Friday over the Vermilion Tigers. It will be the first meeting of the tournament between the two clubs.

They’ve had a fan presence all week, Derzaph estimating around 50 fans painting the crowd in orange.

He says they’re expecting more for Sunday as they look to capture the franchise’s first Jr. B Provincial championship.

“It’s been great to see it, we walk out in the lobby after games and you can hear them, you can see fans in our third jerseys all over the rink, it’s pretty special,” Derzaph said.

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