Medicine Hat Cubs win first HJHL title

The final HJHL game in a Cubs uniform for overage players Kyle Woolridge, Austin Derzaph, Keynan Cairns, and Ethan Burgeson sees them go out on top.

Next up for the Cubs is participating in the Provincial Championship tournament, hosted in Lloydminster from April 1 to 5.

The last time they played in a provincial tournament was in 2005, when they last hosted.

—

Video of Cubs celebrating win. Jesse Gill/CHAT News

During game three, the first period went scoreless as each team fired 12 shots at the goaltenders.

The Cubs were unable to capitalize on an early kneeing penalty to the Vipers and a tripping call late in the period, while also killing off a tripping call midway through the frame.

A Mason Osinski got the offence going for the Cubs at the 9:15 mark of the second period. He buried a cross-crease pass from Carter Allan, who had the puck sent to him by captain Kyle Woolridge.

Blake Girard would end up with an interference from the bench penalty as he attempted to swipe at a Vipers player as they passed by the Cubs’ bench. It included a two-minute minor and a game ejection.

The Vipers would even things up at the 13:57 mark as Mason Hastings scored his sixth of the postseason, with assists going to Mason and Max Hammerback. Cubs goaltender Marlo DeRosa made the initial stop and had the rebound initially covered, but was unsure of where the puck was. It came loose and was jammed home to tie the game at one.

Woolridge would put the Cubs back in the lead on a power play goal with Max Hammerback off for goaltender interference at 18:33. The goal went as unassisted on the scoresheet. A shot by Josiah Jackson from the point left a scramble in front of the net, where Woolridge came up with it and fired it in to make it 2-1 Cubs.

On the next faceoff, Kohen Rea all but sealed the Vipers’ fate after deciding to jump the Cubs’ Jesse Klimosko off the draw. Klimosko could be seen skating away laughing, as Rea would get two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting and a game misconduct at the 18:34 mark.

This put the Cubs on a seven-minute power play. They capitalized on it just 36 seconds in, as Ethan Burgeson found a rebound off a point shot from Austin Derzaph to extend the lead to 3-1 Cubs. Woolridge was credited with the other assist.

In the third period, still on the power play, the Cubs would take a 4-1 lead on a Josiah Jackson shot from the point. The goal went officially unassisted, but was passed over by Derzaph after Woolridge won the draw.

The Vipers would make things interesting late on a goal by Carter Krause, who skated down the left side of the net and snuck a shot past DeRosa to make it 4-2 at the 17:25 mark. Brady Lerox and Brett Leslie were credited with assists.

The scoring in the contest would end the way it began, with Osinski sealing things for the Cubs with an empty net goal with 1:06 remaining in the contest.

A celebration would follow, which included loud cheers from the hundred of Cubs fans who made the trip to Red Deer.

The Cubs captain, Woolridge, would receive the Gerry Arnusch Trophy as HJHL Champions and share in the celebration with the rest of his team.

“I think it came down to depth. We had four strong lines, and you could send anyone out, and you know they’re going to put it on the line, do whatever it takes, and everyone wanted to win,” Woolridge said.

“Everyone bought into the system, and it comes down to that.”

Keeping focused on the task at hand was something Woolridge also looked at to help win the championship.

“You can’t get too ahead of yourself. You come into this game, you’re up 2-0, you can’t take a shift off. You know, you’ve still got to bury, you’ve still got to do the right things, and good things will happen,” Woolridge said.

Head coach Trent Derzaph said the feeling of winning the title was unbelievable.

“It’s sunk in, but it hasn’t sunk in yet. These guys, they laid it on the line,” Derzaph said.

“It’s absolutely huge. It’s huge for the organization. It’s huge for the overagers. And for myself, it’s my first year coaching at this level. It’s amazing. It’s absolutely amazing.”

Derzaph was happy with his team’s discipline throughout the contest.

“We knew we could beat them 5-on-5 hands down. We have the depth, and we just needed to stay out of the box. And, our power play went to work too,” Derzaph said.

The Cubs scored three of five goals on the power play in the win.

The head coach also spoke fondly of the Cubs’ goaltender DeRosa, who stopped 40 of 42 shots.

“He was there. He made that first save for us, our D came in and cleared the puck, and we were going north again. Marlo played an amazing playoff series for us here,” Derzaph said.

The head coach said it meant a lot to him to be able to share a championship with his son, Austin, during his final season of junior hockey.

A leader from the back end, the head coach was confident with his defensive group overall.

“I am confident that we had the best defensive core in the league, hands down,” Derzaph said.

Cubs assistant coach Johnny Stehr has been behind the bench with the team for the past five years and said the title means a lot.

“The team has been through a lot since we joined. We got close, but could never get into the hunt. I’m proud of the guys, and we’re celebrating today,” Stehr said.

“Right at training camp, we knew we had something special, and I think that came through to the boys just how close we are,” Stehr said.

“The Okotoks series was a big mental hurdle for sure. More so than the actual series itself.”

Cubs general manager Randy Wong, who stepped back from the coaching role in the fall, said that the players believed in what the head coach was trying to do this year.

“I think they bought into the program, the process. And that’s what we’ve always kind of said, is that the process has to be done. And I think when you get guys to believe in that, and the leader in Trent has to preach that, and the guys have to buy in,” Wong said.

“Kudos to him and Johnny, and just everybody in our organization that has stuck through it. We have a great board. Everybody involved has been [of] championship quality.”

Wong was appreciative of the crowd that had shown up for the team.

“We can’t speak enough about them. To have 100-plus fans in this rink to win a championship, they took the time to come, and I think we all had a feeling. So, glad that the Orange showed up in solid colours,” Wong said.

“We built a program, I think, that people can be proud of, and I think this shows the support that we’ve gotten all year. And we’re going to carry this through the provincial tournament.”

Wong said that he’s proud of how far the program has come.

“When I look at this team, I look at this program, we don’t have an old team here. We’ve built a program that we think that skill can win. The Junior B mentality is gone, and I think we can be proud that we offer a high-skilled brand of hockey,” Wong said.

“We’ve brought in guys that can play that style. We think that by having young guys that are skilled and hungry coming out of Triple-A hockey, they can play at this level, and they’ve shown it. We’ve got some AP players in this year, and they’re playing tonight,” he added.

“It’s a solid program that we can offer, and the skill level that we’re playing at. This league has come a long way. And so, yeah, that mentality of Jungle B is gone, and I think this should attract some players to our program and to our league.”

Wong adds that getting past Okotoks this year was a change from the past years.

“I think now it’s our time. I think we’ve shown that we can play that style and play the game the right way. That’s what the program is about. Build a program that will play the way that we want at a high level, and I think we’ve shown that,” Wong said.

“I’m glad that the guys get rewarded with this championship and to be able to go and play for a provincial title,” he added.

“You don’t get many chances at it, so this group gets to live that this year, and I can’t be more than happy for them.”

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat Cubs win first HJHL title

What's Trending