Medicine Hat Tigers forward Kadon McCann stands at the net front in the Calgary Hitmen end during WHL action Wednesday at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome. The Tigers beat the Hitmen 6-2 to kick-off a four game in five night stretch.
Photo Courtesy Jenn Pierce Calgary Hitmen
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
No better way to start a busy week than on a winning note.
The Tigers kicked off their four-game week with a big 6-2 win Wednesday at Calgary over the Hitmen, the start of four games in five nights and the first of three against the Hitmen this week.
“It was a huge one, going into their barn, it’s a tough rink where we lost a few games there last year and this year we lost one, so we knew it was going to be tough coming in,” forward Markus Ruck said. “They’re ranked high on the CHL rankings, too, so it’s going to be a tough game. But we just played our game and ended up winning.”
Ruck and Kadon McCann each scored a pair of goals and both forward Kade Stengrim and defenceman Josh Van Mulligen found the back of the net. Defenceman Jonas Woo had a pair of assists, Bryce Pickford had one helper. Wednesday’s win was just the ninth game this season neither has found the back of the net, a welcomed sign of balanced scoring from the Tigers.
“It’s great to see all lines contribute and that’s what we need,” associate coach Joe Frazer said. “We’re a four-line team and we need everybody to be great every night. So it was great to see different guys stepping up.”
Stengrim’s goal, and both McCann’s and Rucks’ goals came from around the net, an area Frazer has said in the past the Tigers needed to work harder in. Ruck’s first goal saw him drive from the corner and when the net-front defenceman covered pass, he had the space to score.
“I like to pass more than I shoot but it gives me the opportunity to shoot when the D-men are taking the other guy away,” Ruck said.
Carter Casey made 26 saves in his ninth appearance of the season, recording his fourth win.
“I thought I played well, played confident, obviously the boys in front of me played really well and made my job pretty easy,” Casey said. “It was a good all around team win. I think we all felt good about, so we’re all just trying to build off our own performances and as a team as well.”
The Tigers saw defenceman Veeti Vaisanen return to the lineup after missing the two-game road trip through Regina and Brandon. They remain without defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen and forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, both listed as week to week but skating on their own.
This weekend provides the Tigers their toughest challenge of the season with three games in three nights, capping off the four-game week. They are in Red Deer tonight taking on the Rebels before hosting the Hitmen on Saturday. They’ll head to Calgary on Sunday for a 4 p.m. contest to finish the weekend.
It’s a weekend Frazer says they have to take one game at a time.
“You have to make sure you’re ready each night,” Frazer said. “The most important games are the next one, the one you’re playing. So all we can do right now is make sure we get some rest today, Red deer is playing way better. It’s going to be physical and hard, it’s a tough building to go into so that’s all that’s on our mind right now.”
The last five seasons in Red Deer the Tigers have gone 7-7, not counting 0-2 record in a pair of playoff games in the 2024 postseason. Only two full-time players remain from that series, McCann and Van Mulligen. Goaltender Jordan Switzer and both Rucks watched the series from the stands, with Liam appearing in Game 4 in Red Deer.
Having played in Red Deer, Markus says the newly-renamed Marchant Crane Centrium can be a challenging arena to play in.
“They have a great atmosphere in there, a great fan base and they have a pretty good team this year,’ Ruck said. “We haven’t played them yet but we’re going to have to be ready. It’s going to be really tough game. They play hard, they play fast, so we’re going to have to be ready.”
