Stensrud, Cubs stumble in late stages against Vipers

Commentator/Courier File Photo Medicine Hat Cubs' forward Tristan Stensrud returned to the ice for his first game on Nov. 30.

You know what they say in sports, never take your foot off the pedal. But that is what the Medicine Hat Cubs junior B hockey team did on Friday night and lost to the Red Deer Vipers 4-2 at home.
The Cubs capitalized early in the contest as MacKenzie Fritzler scored a goal at 13 minute mark of the opening frame and after that it became a back-and-forth game with both teams trading chances.
“We came out in the first and we were flying out there,” said forward Tristan Stensrud, who hails from Bow Island.
“As soon we got that first goal, you could tell they bounced back right away. We tried to match their momentum and came out super flat.
“Then came the second and it seemed like we just slowed down and weren’t going as hard as we could. We pushed back in the third a little bit but not enough.”
The game would stay 1-0 Cubs until the third period, where the Vipers were able to get on the scoreboard as Mack Differenz got the visitors on the board to tie up the game at the 9:04 mark of the final frame.
The Cubs restored their lead just over a minute later with a Cooper Hilworth goal, which is all the offence the home side would muster up before Red Deer reeled off three straight goals to end the night.
“You give up that lead, you’ve got to keep pushing back really hard as soon as you score. They got one back and then they got another,” he said.
“That fourth empty netter put a damper on things. But one we got one, we got to keep driving.”
He had one assist on the night.
The Cubs were able to comeback from three goals down in the third period on Sunday afternoon at the Kinplex to defeat the Okotoks Bisons 5-4 in a shootout.
Stensrud was held scoreless in the game.
Medicine Hat sits sixth in the seven team Southern Division with a record of 5-7-2.