Medicine Hat Cubs host Cochrane Generals in game one of HJHL South Finals on Friday

Coming off a back-and-forth series against the Carstar Okotoks Bisons that went the distance, the Cubs are up against another strong opponent in the Generals.

A team that finished third in the South’s regular season standings with 44 points, the Generals defeated the second-seeded Agra Risk Wheatland Kings in four contests.

The Cubs, the top regular-season team in the South with 51 points, took on the Generals five times during the season with two wins, two losses, and a shootout loss. Each team lost all of their home games.

Special teams could be key in the series, with the Cubs’ power play clicking at 26.1 per cent against the Generals’ rate of 9.7 per cent during their five regular-season games.

Six of the Cubs’ 16 goals against the Generals were scored on the power play, with Cochrane scoring three of their 12 goals with the man advantage.

Cubs head coach Trent Derzaph says the Generals may not have quite as much depth as the Bisons, but they are a very hard-working team.

“I expect they won’t go away easily. All the teams that made the playoffs, we were all so close on any given day, any team can win, but we’ve beaten every team in the South, where we’ve got up on them by quite a few,” Derzaph said.

“I know I’ve got the horsepower, I know I’ve got scoring power, and I expect Cochrane to come out hard and work their tails off, and if we do the right things, I’m confident we can wear them down and take it to them,” he added.

“We just have to play our game and outwork them.”

Derzaph says the Generals have a couple of guys who win draws.

“They’ve got a couple of set plays off the draw that I’ve noticed, but probably the biggest thing is their work ethic. They’ll come at our defencemen hard,” Derzaph said.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure what they’re gonna do against us, but watching from their last series and the way they played is they’re gonna try to play a dump and chase game, and go that way.”

Suspended for the Cubs and missing the first two games of the series is defenceman Hayden King, who took part in a second fight during a stoppage in play, and had an aggressor penalty in game five against Okotoks.

Cubs forward Nolen Sutherland has one game remaining on his five-game suspension from game one of the series against Okotoks, where he received a match penalty for boarding late in the contest.

Derzaph has been happy with the production he’s receiving throughout the lineup.

“When we see not just our top line or top two line scoring, and we’re getting scoring from all four lines, good things will happen,” Derzaph said.

“If they’re trying to match our top two lines and our third and fourth line are going and putting pucks in the net, then that’s all it’s going to take,” he added.

“That’s exactly what we’ve seen on Friday night, and we’ve seen it again on Sunday. We’re getting scoring from all four lines, and everybody’s contributing.”

With the Cubs struggling to beat Okotoks in past years, Derzaph thinks that added a level of stress for the team, knowing it was going to be tough.

“We got through the series, and I think they can forget about it now. We got past Okotoks, so that mental block that they potentially had some of the players, we can move past there and just play hockey,” Derzaph said.

The team is hoping for strong fan support to help them continue their playoff push, and Derzaph says the players feed off of the crowd’s energy.

“We need fans. We’ve got home ice advantage. It’s huge for us, and the sooner we can get the fans into the game, the better off we make out in the end,” Derzaph said.

“Let’s pack the place and cheer on the boys.”

The full series schedule has been released.

Game one at the Kinplex on Friday, Feb 27 has a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.

Game two is on Sunday, March 1, at 3 p.m. in Cochrane.

Game three is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, at 8:30 p.m. at the Kinplex.

If necessary, a fourth game would be back in Cochrane on Saturday, March 7, at 4:45 p.m.

A potential game five would be at the Kinplex on Sunday, March 8, at 3 p.m.

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat Cubs host Cochrane Generals in game one of HJHL South Finals on Friday

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