By Scott Roblin

Cubs fall flat against winless Stampeders on Sunday

Oct 15, 2017 | 9:16 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat Travelodge Cubs came crashing back to Earth on Sunday afternoon, outplayed by the previously winless Ponoka Stampeders at the Kinplex.

It didn’t take long for a major delay in the action, as a pane of glass shattered after a hit 41 seconds into the contest, forcing both teams to wait a bit longer for the opening goal.

That opener came 6:15 into the match on the power play, as Ponoka’s Nate Higgins beat Cubs goaltender T.J. Goldie to make it 1-0 for the Stampeders.

Ponoka held onto that 1-0 lead for over a period of action, doubling it a little over eight minutes into the second period off the stick of Taite Opdendries while shorthanded.

Just past the midway point of the game, Medicine Hat got their first on the board with Riley Florkowski netting his third of the season to cut the Ponoka deficit in half.

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The Stampeders struck back hard and quick however, getting goals from Braden Klessens and Kieran Bulloch within 3:20 of each other to increase their lead to 4-1.

Medicine Hat caught a break before the end of the second thanks to a goal from rookie defenceman Joshua Schafer, scoring with only nine seconds left on the clock to bring the Cubs within a pair of goals at the intermission.

The Cubs began the third the same way they ended the second, as captain Quinten Karg flew down the wing and scored his first of the year to bring the home side within one goal.

Karg said it was a great goal in the moment, but wasn’t able to serve as a catalyst towards finding the equalizer.

“It was my first goal of the year, it felt good,” said Karg. “At the time it put us within one, but it didn’t seem to work out.”

That would be as close as the Cubs would come to tying the game however, as Ponoka responded with a trio of goals shortly after from Nate Higgins, Brandon Brockerville, and Klessens to take the wind out of the sails of Medicine Hat.

Goldie was put back into the game in the third after being pulled in favour of Brendan Patterson to start the period, once Patterson allowed three goals on just six shots.

The Stampeders onslaught continued with power play goals from Kacey Straub and Opdendries, as Ponoka skated to a 9-3 win over the Cubs and their first win of the year.

Both Goldie and Patterson struggled to stop the puck on Sunday, while the Cubs defence wasn’t able to contain and trap Ponoka’s forwards.

Karg said there are problems with the team defensively which could easily be solved by simple chatter on the ice.

“They’re just beating us to spots out front of the net and capitalizing on their chances,” said Karg. “Nobody’s talking out there, just not working as a team.”

Falling to 4-3 on the 2017-18 campaign, the Cubs have dropped to third place in the HJHL’s South Division.

A rare mid-week game for Medicine Hat is set for Thursday night at the Kinplex, as the boys in blue and silver welcome their rivals in the Coaldale Copperheads.

Opening faceoff on Thursday is planned for 8:15 pm.