Tigers hit the road for pair of games against East division’s best

By JAMES TUBB on November 28, 2025.

After their busiest week of the season, the Medicine Hat Tigers face another tough test this weekend.

The Tigers kick off a two-game road trip tonight in Saskatoon against the Blades before they face the East division-leading Prince Albert Raiders. They hit the road four days removed from a week of four games in five nights where they managed to pick up seven of a possible eight points.

“There was a lot of character in those last couple games, a lot of travel and it’s just great to see how hard the guys competed the whole week,” associated coach Joe Frazer said. “It’s nice to get few days off where we could rest up a bit, because this weekend is just as tough going into Saskatoon and Prince Albert. So it’s good to get some time off, we had two really good practices and the guys are ready.”

Saskatoon sits second in the East division, six points back of the Raiders who have played four fewer games and have only lost once in regulation entering play Friday.

“S’toon is really good, they have a lot of talent up front, their defence can skate and they have great goaltending and it’s a tough building to play in,” Frazer said.

“Prince Albert has only lost the one regulation game and they’ve already done their U.S. trip, so they’re really good. Their back end is good, they have four really good lines and great goaltending as well. So it’s going to be a great weekend.”

They’ll see a return to the lineup as 20-year-old forward Misha Volotovskii is expected back after missing Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win in Calgary over the Hitmen. Forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen were full participants in practice Thursday but are both still considered day to day.

The Tigers have played a lot of hockey as of late with seven of their last nine games, including their last three, going into either overtime or a shootout. Last season they played in just eight overtime games, they already lead the league with nine overtime opportunities this season.

They’re 4-5 in overtime/shootout chances, with three of those wins coming in overtime. In one-goal games, including those nine extra time finals, the Tigers are 5-1-3-2.

The abundance of early games is a valuable early lesson of what playoff hockey is like, captain Bryce Pickford says.

“It’s basically a playoff game, so the more of them the better we’ll be in playoffs,” Pickford said “It just bonds our team closer, too, we’ve had so many games going into the third and we’ve been down and we’ve been positive in the room. We’re all willing to battle for each other and that’s pretty special.”

Both games, tonight and Saturday, get underway at 6 p.m. MST.

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