Medicine Hat Cubs look to close out HJHL South Finals on Thursday

“It’s huge for us. It’s only game three, we’re up 2-0. So important to play at home for us.”

The Cubs are expecting to make some adjustments to limit their opponents’ opportunities late in the game.

“I feel we’ve played good, but not great for a full 60 [minutes]. At the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way, and we’ve been working this week on our third period closing out,” Derzaph said.

“Just keep battling for that full 60. Don’t give them any breath, don’t give them any sniff. They’ve got an opportunity, keep going at them for a full 60.”

The Cubs’ special teams have been a huge factor in the series, with their power play just over 45 per cent, and their penalty kill at a perfect 100 per cent.

“It’s huge for us. Number one, we need to be disciplined. We need to stay out of the box, skate away from the stuff after the whistle. Our power play is clicking, we had three on Sunday, we had two on Friday, our kill’s working well, and we just got to continue that,” Derzaph said.

“Play five-on-five, I have confidence in my group that we can finish it.”

Derzaph said he is looking forward to getting things going on Thursday night.

“Looking forward to big fan support. The guys feed off of that, and we’ll do our best to give our fans a great show,” Derzaph said.

“I’ve been telling the guys all year that you know, win every shift, and if we win every shift, we’re gonna win every period, and if we win every period, we’re gonna win every game. Keep it simple.”

Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. at the Kinplex Arena.

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat Cubs look to close out HJHL South Finals on Thursday

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