NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Cubs forward Caleb Garrecht split a pair of Airdrie defenders in the first period of a 9-3 win Friday at the Kinplex over the Thunder.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Cubs made the HJHL holiday break a little sweeter.
The Cubs won their final game before the holidays, beating the Airdrie Thunder 9-3 Friday at the Kinplex. It’s a win that keeps the 18-7-2 Cubs in the running for second in the Southern division, a spot that would grant them a first-round playoff bye.
They trail the second-place Strathmore Wheatland Kings (19-5-1) by one point and the first-place Okotoks Bisons (21-3-1) by five points,
“That’s going to go down to the end,” head coach Randy Wong said. “Both teams are good and they’ve got a couple games in hand, so we have to make sure we get games like this, you can’t just let those ones slide because you’re not ready to be prepared. You have to get the ones you can.
“We’ll fight for that second spot in the second half but it gets you playoff ready, too, playing every game and how important it is that you don’t want to lose those two points because you want to try and get that first round bye. Those are important things that you can kind of set yourselves up for, have a goal in mind and make sure that you can reach that, then it kind of gives you a little bit momentum.”
Kyle Woolridge led the Cubs in the win, tallying three goals with two assists. Nolan Sutherland and Caleb Garrecht each had a goal and three assists, Callan Prosofsky had a goal and two assist and Mason Osinksi had a pair of goals. Makhi Carrie rounded out the offence with a goal, Tyler Wakelam made 15 saves for the win.
Woolridge and Garrecht enter the holiday break atop the HJHL scoring race, with Woolridge’s 32 goal and 47 points and Garrecht’s 16 goals and 45 points leading the way. Sutherland leads all HJHL rookies in scoring, with 17 goals and 34 points.
Wong likes the look of his group heading into the second half, and says they have players still looking to find the right spot for them in the lineup.
“There’s still some guys trying to identify where they fit in and I’m hopeful they can get to that early in the new year, because that’s how we’ll coach through the rest of the games,” Wong said. “For players, you have to do something good for the team and it’s not always about scoring goals. If it’s just that simple defensive game, but it’s effective you’re going to play ahead of some guys who are maybe not ready to settle in and play a specific way. So it’s important for some guys to make sure that they’re playing the right way in the second half.”
The Cubs are off until Jan. 4, when they head to Mountainview to face the Colts. They’re on the road again, Jan. 10 at High River against the Flyers, before hosting the Cochrane Generals on Jan. 11 at the Kinplex.
