Copperheads fall in game three as season comes to an end against the Cubs

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

The Coaldale Copperheads gave the Medicine Hat Cubs all they could handle in the Heritage Junior Hockey League playoffs.

After heartbreaking overtime losses in game one and game two, last Wednesday’s game was do or die for the Copperheads, as Coaldale looked to extend the series with a win in game three.

Ultimately, it was not meant to be, as Medicine Hat rode the wave of a dominant second period and skated to a 5-2 win.

Coaldale got on the board first in the opening frame, as Koden Lazar converted a Caden Heins feed to give the Copperheads a 1-0 lead. It was the only goal of the first period, as the teams went back and forth in a competitive period that saw the Cubs hold a slight 12-11 advantage on the shot clock.

But the game changed in the middle frame, as the Cubs fired 21 shots on goal. Medicine Hat was rewarded with three second-period goals, which would ultimately be too much for Coaldale to overcome.

Peyton Twigg did his best to help lead the Copperheads back, as he scored a third-period goal to make it 3-2.

But with just over a minute to play, the Cubs iced it with an empty-net goal to make it 4-2. Another goal into the yawning cage, with 37 seconds left, sealed Coaldale’s fate.

Medicine Hat was full marks for the win, as the Cubs outshot the Copperheads 50-28. The Hat was 0/1 with the man advantage, as Coaldale ended the game 1/3 on the powerplay.

In goal, Nixon Ordway did his best to keep the Copperheads in the contest, as the netminder made 45 saves.

The loss ends the season for Coaldale, a team that ended the regular season with a 24-12-2 record, good for second place in the South Division. The 50 points the Copperheads picked up on the season gave the team the fourth-most in the league, behind second-place Medicine Hat (53), South Division leaders Okotoks (69) and North Division leaders Sylvan Lake (68).

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