NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll stops up and reaches for a puck in the first period of a 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs at Co-op Place on Oct. 14. Gordon-Carroll and defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen are both expected to return to the Tigers lineup after missing the last month with injury.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers get a look at a few familiar faces this weekend.
They host the Swift Current Broncos tonight and the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday, the second time they’ve faced both clubs this season.
The Tigers came back to beat Moose Jaw 4-3 in overtime last Friday on the road, win six of the seven-game streak they carry into play tonight. Their second game of the year was in Swift Current, a 6-3 loss to the Broncos. There’s been some changes in the group since then, head coach Willie Desjardins says.
“We had a lot of new players, it takes a while,” Desjardins said. “I always say it won’t be until after Christmas where you find out what you really have. So we’ve got some guys that have improved quite a bit, which is good to see. We’re getting a little bit healthier now as well, so probably a combination of a few things.”
The Tigers are expected to see the return of forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen this weekend. Both have been out of the lineup since the B.C. division trip at the end of October, held to single-digit games played this season.
“It’ll be great to have them back, both are really good players, so we’re excited to have them back,” Desjardins said. “But it doesn’t matter who you’ve got in the lineups, just how hard those guys that are in the lineup play.”
The 17-year-old Gordon-Caroll missed the start of the season with an injury that lingered from the Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he won gold with the United States. He made his debut on Oct. 4 and played with a fury, tallying six goals and nine points in eight games before suffering an un-related injury on Oct. 22 that sidelined him for more than a month.
“It’s been a minute, but I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, I’m so pumped to be back,” Gordon-Carroll said.
The Salt Lake City, Utah product went home for a few weeks of recovery, getting to see family before returning to Medicine Hat as he geared up toward playing again. He says the pair of upper-body injuries has challenged him to work on his mental game.
“You have to stay mentally tough, there’s many ways to get better, if it’s working out, if it’s just getting healthy again, resting and recovery,” Gordon-Carroll said. “There’s many ways to get better. While I was hurt I found the best way for me to get better during that time.”
He says he’s had to temper some of his season’s expectations having missed 22 games. His main focus has been when he returns, coming back with force and playing his game, “the right way.”
His style comes with physicality, playing hard below the goal line and taking hits to make plays. He’s not concerned about another injury, again focused on making sure he’s playing at his best.
“Knowing what the coaches and my teammates expect from me and what I can bring to the table,” Gordon-Carroll said. “Just go out there, build confidence, some swagger and go play my game.”
For Muhonen, missing 21 games was difficult, just having to watch his team play without him on the ice. He’s happy to be back in the mix and getting himself back into the lineup.
“It’s so fun, it was a very long time that I was out, so it got a little boring,” Muhonen said. “But it’s always nice to play on the ice.”
The 19-year-old has four assists in his nine games, missing contests with a lingering lower-body injury from his time at the Dallas Stars’ training camp. He says it’s all cleared up and he’s excited to play at more than full strength.
“When I couldn’t skate I was just working in the gym and I felt like I gained some strength,” Muhonen said.
“I don’t have to worry about (the injury) anymore.”
Having Gordon-Carroll and Muhonen back from the injured list gives the Tigers their first actual look at a full healthy lineup this season. As much as he looks forward to having the full group at his disposal, Desjardins hopes they don’t rest on the laurels of having that full lineup.
“It’s good to have but saying that, if we sit there and say, ‘because we’re healthy we’re going to be better,’ that’s not going to happen,” Desjardins said. “You have the potential to be better if everybody works hard.”
