NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer swipes at a loose puck in his crease in the first period of a 3-2 win Tuesday at Co-op Place over the Spokane Chiefs.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers hit the road with some easy luggage, stringing together a pair of wins ahead of the trip.
The Tigers beat the Spokane Chiefs 3-2 on Tuesday night at Co-op Place in a rematch of the 2025 WHL Championship series. It didn’t come easy, trailing Spokane 2-0 through 23 minutes before scoring three unanswered goals.
Yaroslav Bryzgalov had a goal and two assists, Kyle Heger scored his first in the WHL and Gavin Kor, making his WHL debut, scored the game winner. The standout was between the pipes, Jordan Switzer making 27 saves none bigger than late in the game as the Tigers faced a six-on-four Chiefs’ power play for the last 1:29 of action.
“We got down early but it was such a big game for us that we rallied behind it,” Switzer said. “Beating those guys in the finals last year, we didn’t want to lose to them to give them that pep in their step, we battled back pretty good.”
The win showcased an early strength of the Tigers this season, players throwing everything toward a win. Blocked shots, hits and stick checks, especially on the penalty kill have carried the Tigers to a 7-2 record heading on the road.
“That’s how we’re going to have to win, we’re not going to score maybe quite as many, so we’re gonna have to play good defence,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “But we have a good group, it’ll be nice to see our group once we’re healthy, so we’re looking forward to that.”
Entering play Wednesday the Tigers do lead the WHL in scoring with 38 goals, surrendering the fifth fewest in 20 against. Their penalty kill is second in the WHL, running at 89.2 per cent, a highlight on the year for Desjardins.
“Our penalty kill has been outstanding all year, it’s been unbelievable,” Desjardins said. “You look at all the games, that’s the third or fourth game now, late in the game, we’ve been six-on-four and we’ve gotten out of it. There have been lots of chances. Our kill in Calgary gave us a chance on that five-minute major, so our kill has been outstanding. Lots of good guys, your goaltender has to be your best guy and Switz, he was really good.”
Tuesday’s game was the second of an eight-game stretch against Western conference teams, started with the 5-0 win over the Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 11. They’ll face all six B.C. division teams, starting Saturday in Victoria against the Royals before taking on the Vancouver Giants on Sunday.
They have two days off before facing the Prince George Cougars on Oct. 22 before they face the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets on Oct. 24 and 25. The 11-day trip wraps up on Oct. 27 against the WHL’s newest club, the Penticton Vees.
“That’s a tough trip, there’s lots of travel in there, lots of good teams and guys are gonna have to be ready every night,” Desjardins said. “It’ll be a tough one. It’ll be a good test for us.”
Facing teams they only see once a year provides its own challenge, with most of the work to be done via video scouting. Associate coach Joe Frazer enjoys going through the video, finding team’s tendencies and seeing how the Tigers can beat them while sticking to their game.
“Dig into the pre-scouts and see what you can learn from teams from the past games they’ve played, every team plays a little differently,” Frazer said. “It’s fun to kind of see how they play in their play style, but most importantly, it’s just making sure we’re fine tuning our game and playing Tigers hockey.”
Christie named to Canada’s U17 roster
Tigers’ prospect goaltender Cash Christie was one of 19 WHLers named to Canada’s rosters for the U17 Hockey Challenge.
The 16-year-old will represent Team Canada White at the tournament held in Truro, N.S. from Nov. 2-8.
“He was really good at summer camp, one of the best goalies at the summer camp and he’s had a great start this season with SAHA, played really well in the exhibition for us,” Frazer said. “Anytime you can play for your country, it’s a great experience and we’re all really excited for him.”
Christie has a 2-0 record with the South Alberta Hockey Academy’s U18 team, with a 2.59 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in three games.
It’s the third straight tournament the Tigers have been represented at the U17s, with Markus and Liam Ruck’s golden efforts last year the latest representation. Frazer says it’s a reflection of the talent they have and the scouting efforts of assistant general manager Bobby Fox and his staff.
“Bobby does an unbelievable job scouting, him and his staff work tirelessly, they’re always on the road watching guys and they just do a tremendous job.”
