Tigers score three third period goals in come-back win Sunday over Oil Kings

By James Tubb on February 23, 2025.

After falling short of a comeback Friday, the Medicine Hat Tigers made good Sunday evening in Edmonton.

The Tigers scored four unanswered goals, three in the third period to come back and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-3, picking up four of a possible six points in a three-game weekend. Medicine Hat blanked the Kamloops Blazers 5-0 on Saturday after falling 5-4 to Edmonton at Co-op Place on Friday.

Associate coach Joe Frazer described Sunday’s win as a team effort and a character victory. Comparing Friday’s loss and Sunday’s win, he saw more pressure applied on the Oil Kings through the 60 minutes.

“Our fore check got better as the game went on and the energy on the bench was great,” Frazer said. “The guys were cheering each other on all night and we did a really good job limiting the outnumbered rushes. They’re a quick team, they transition well. We did a really good job making the right reads on pinches and our F3 was really good tonight.”

Edmonton opened the scoring with a pair of special teams markers.

Just over the 10-minute mark of the first period, in the middle of a power play, Roan Woodward sent a puck to Landon Hanson in front of the net and he tipped the puck past Harrison Meneghin for the 1-0 lead at 10:08. Gracyn Sawchyn had the second assist.

The Oil Kings capitalized on a second power play in the frame, scoring 33 seconds later.

Fresh off the face off, the puck went behind the Tiger net with Sawchyn who fed St. Louis Blues’ prospect Adam Jecho in the slot and he scored his first of the game for the 2-0 lead.

The Tigers got on the board later in the frame with a goal from their newest defenceman.

Marcus Pacheco had the puck at the point in the Edmonton end and skated in to the face-off dot before firing a shot past starter Alex Worthington to make it a 2-1 game at 13:35. Pacheco, a forward since his minor hockey days, has filled in on the blue line on Saturday and Sunday due to the Tigers’ injuries. Josh Van Mulligen and Misha Volotovskii had the assists on his 11th of the season.

The Oil Kings scored in the middle of the second period, capitalizing on a turnover. After some miscommunication in the neutral zone, Jecho picked up a loose puck and he flew into the Tiger end, chipping a puck past Meneghin for his second of the night and 21st of the season, making it a 3-1 Oil King lead at 12:25.

Medicine Hat was finally able to take advantage of a power play, scoring later in the middle stanza to make it a one-goal game after 40 minutes.

With 11 seconds left on a power play, Gavin McKenna picked up a rebound at the hash marks to the right of Worthington, and the Tigers forward wired home his 31st of the season. Van Mulligen and Hunter St. Martin had the assists on McKenna’s goal, a marker that extends his point streak to 35 games, tying Connor Bedard (Regina Pats) and Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers), both reaching that total in the 2022-23 season.

The Tigers cashed in the comeback bid in the third period with three unanswered goals.

Exactly seven minutes into the final frame, St. Martin knocked in a rebound from a Niilopekka Muhonen shot to tie the game up at 3-3. McKenna had the second assist on St. Martin’s 36th. The play started off a back check by Tanner Molendyk, lifting the stick of an Oil King to prevent a goal before sending the puck up ice.

They grabbed a lead 3:31 later, with McKenna finding the back of the net for the second time.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had the puck just inside the Edmonton end and he sent a pass across the blue to Molendyk and he skated toward the net before sending a floater of a pass to the front of the net where McKenna knocked it past Worthington for the first Medicine Hat lead and his 32nd of the season.

They added insurance later in the frame, with Mat Ward scoring on a backhand from the slot for the 5-3 score at 12:47.

Before the Tigers shutdown the game, McKenna’s night was ended early. After eating a couple of cross checks to the head at the Edmonton bench, McKenna slashed Edmonton defender Josh Mori across the leg, earning a five-minute major and a game misconduct with 4:39 left in the game.

The Tigers killed off the remaining power play for the Oil Kings, preserving the 5-3 win and picking up the last four points on the three-game weekend.

“It’s great to get the last two, especially with how Friday’s game ended up,” Frazer said. “To get the win Saturday and tonight, every point is so crucial so
to get these last two that was big.”

Medicine Hat outshot the Oil Kings 39-28, Edmonton won the face-off battle 36-25. The Oil Kings were 2-3 on the power play, Tigers 1-3.

Meneghin finished his night with 25 saves, recording his 17th win on the season. Across the ice from him, Worthington made 34 stops.

The Tigers (39-17-3-1) are off until Friday when they head to Regina to face the Pats before facing the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday, March 1.