Cubs look for bounce-back after split weekend

The Cubs pulled out a 6-5 overtime win over the High River Flyers on Friday before falling 4-1 to the Okotoks Bisons, putting them in a tie with the Bisons for first in the South division.

It was a weekend head coach and general manager Randy Wong says wasn’t what he expects from Cubs hockey.

“It’s nice to get at least two points out of the weekend but the win (Friday) wasn’t a great win for us that carried on into the next game where we lost,” Wong said. “Our level of play just dipped a little bit. It’s not back to the drawing board, but certainly there’s a lot of areas for improvement and we have to figure out the consistency of trying to win each night, that’s at the forefront.”

The Cubs led High River 5-3 with 12:41 seconds left in the game Friday before the Flyers scored a pair of goals in the second half of the third period to force overtime.

Callen Prosofsky and Kyle Woolridge each had a goal and an assist in the win and all three off Denyn Smith, Jacob Hazzard and Nolan Sutherland scored. Caleb Garrecht tallied the overtime winner and Adam Ranger made 26 saves.

Wong described the victory as an ugly win, one that good teams can find a way to win. He looked for his club to rebound from the effort and turn it up a notch against the rivals Bison the next night.

Okotoks had a different plan, outshooting the Cubs 33-18 en route to the 4-1 win. Medicine Hat beat the Bisons in the first matchup of the season, a 3-2 win on Sept. 21. Wong says Okotoks showed more intensity in the game Saturday.

“They were a bit more focused and they made fewer errors and really that’s what it comes down to, fewer turnovers, fewer errors,” Wong said. “We had a few chances to capitalize on some opportunities and we didn’t. Our special teams, in particular our power play, was not effective. We got the one goal but there was a lot of other looks that we missed on because of our poor execution. So we have to be better when we play them again.”

Garrett scored the Cubs’ lone goal in the loss, Tyler Wakelam made 29 saves.

The Cubs (8-2) look for the quick rebound with a pair of games this weekend, heading to Strathmore on Saturday to face the Wheatland Kings (6-3) before hosting the Red Deer Vipers on Sunday (7-3). Strathmore has won two games in a row and the Vipers enter the weekend as the hottest team in the HJHL, with a six-game winning streak.

Wong says both teams will provide a challenge, Strathmore with a bigger ice surface and the Vipers with recent success. He’s looking for his team to stick with who they are and what they’ve done so far to get back onto the desired path.

“We just need to be ready to play the way we need to play,” Wong said. “Let our opponents worry about themselves. That’s kind of been the message all year and that’ll continue into the weekend.”