Ben Van Der Linde of the Medicine Hat U15AAA South East Tigers unleashes a shot in the third period of the Tigers' 3-3 tie with the Weyburn Redwings in the fifth-place game Sunday of the 52nd Hockey Hounds tournament.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat U15AAA South East Tigers leave the 52nd annual Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds tournament with some bright spots for the rest of the season ahead.
The Tigers entered the illustrious U15AAA tournament with an 0-11 record before dropping the first two games of the 10-team tournament. They picked up their first win with a 9-0 drubbing of the Notre Dame Hounds on Friday night.
The Tigers wrapped the weekend up with a 3-3 draw Sunday against the Weyburn Red Wings, a game filled with bright spots, head coach Garry Kimmen says.
“I liked our first period, our second period I’d like to forget that one, but our third period, the kids really battled back,” We came back and ended up winning that period to battle back for a tie, so I think we’re going in the right direction.”
Medicine Hat trailed Weyburn 3-2 after 40 minutes but tied the game in the third.
The Tigers lost 7-0 on Saturday to the Pilot Mound Buffaloes who went on to win the 52nd Hounds tournament, beating the SSAC Lions 9-2. Medicine Hat came into the tournament as the defending champions, the 2024 title their first since 1999.
“It’s a very well run tournament and the prestige that goes behind it is second to none,” Kimmen said. “The kids felt really honoured to be in the tournament, so that’s good to be a coach in a group that has some respect for the tournament that we were in.”
Sam Boyko led the Tigers in scoring in the tournament with two goals and six points. Ryden Perrault scored four goals and had an assist, Beckam Sprunger had two goals and five points, and Teddy Maser had a pair of each. Raylan Johnson scored three goals over the weekend.
Goaltender Hunter Munro recorded the Tigers’ lone win of the weekend. He was also named the South East Tigers recipient of the Maser family and Medicine Hat Tigers’ $2,500 scholarship as the top Medicine Hat player in the tournament.
Coming out of the weekend, Kimmen says the experience will be a benefit for the group as they look to build and establish consistency though the season.
“Even in the locker room right now, we had a lot of affiliates come up, we’re kind of walking wounded right now, but just in the locker room the positive vibe that’s in there is huge,” Kimmen said. “This tournament has done a lot of good for us to move forward with some positivity.”
The South East Tigers will have two home games this weekend, hosting the LJAC Oil Kings on Saturday at the Kinplex (3:45 p.m.) and the Calgary Northstars on Sunday at the Hockey Hounds arena (4:15 p.m.).
