NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Jonas Woo is greeted by teammates after scoring his second of three goals in the middle frame of a 6-2 Game 1 win Friday night at Co-op Place over the Regina Pats in the first-round series.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
The Medicine Hat Tigers title defence started on the right note Friday night.
The No. 2 seed Tigers rattled off five unanswered goals to beat the No. 7 seed Regina Pats 6-2 and take a 1-0 lead in the first-round series.
Medicine Hat associate coach Joe Frazer liked the Tigers push back after trailing 2-1 early in the second.
” Regina came out really hard, they were physical and fast in the first period,” Frazer said. As the game went on we started play our game a little bit more, but it was just to get that first win.
“We had to kill the first four minutes, so it’s tough playing your games right away. But I thought after the first 20 minutes, we settled down and got into it.”
Regina head coach Brad Herauf liked his team’s effort in the loss.
“There was lots of good stuff from our club, obviously the score 6-2 but halfway through that game it’s a one goal game and then Egland had a breakaway and he could have made it 4-3 and they come down and score 30 seconds later, now it’s 5-2,” Herauf said. “They’re a quick hit offensive team, they can really make you suffer on your mistakes but I don’t think we had very many self inflicting mistakes tonight.
“They’ll only get credit for one power play goal, but probably could be more, just they scored at the very end and there were scrambles in front, there were loose pucks. I don’t think we got really danced too much in our D-zone, so obviously we didn’t win and that’s what we’re here for but I think there’s lots of good stuff that we can improve on for tomorrow and we can just bring into our game tomorrow.”
The Tigers killed off all five Regina power plays, scoring once on their four man advantages.
“We did a really good job on the kill, obviously we have to stay more disciplined tomorrow,” Frazer said. “When the guys are called on, the penalty killers really did a great job tonight.”
Defenceman Jonas Woo led the Tigers attack with his first WHL Playoffs hat trick, adding an assist for a four-point night. The 19-year-old defenceman, who broke the franchise single-season blue liner points record this year, was held scoreless in the Tigers Memorial Cup run last season. Woo says the three-goal start to the playoffs brings early confidence.
“It’s big for me, I wanted to take a bigger role this year and in the first game set the tone,” Woo said. “Our team played really well and obviously I couldn’t have done it without them.”
The Tigers opened the scoring just before the halfway mark of the first period, Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll blasting home a one-timer from the slot at 9:45. Liam Ruck had the lone assist.
Regina tied the game up at 1-1 with 43 seconds left in the frame, with Mathis Paull tipping in a shot from Kolten Bridgeman. The Pats grabbed an early lead in the second with Jace Egland knowing in his own rebound 1:58 into the frame. That was the last goal Switzer allowed, finishing with 16 saves for his third career playoff win.
“I liked my game, maybe one of the two can’t go in,” Switzer said. “One more save keeps us up throughout the game, but I think I played well tonight.”
The Tigers run of three goals in 5:32 started 1:21 after Regina grabbed a lead, with Woo scoring on a shot from the point for his first of the night. Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Andrew Basha had the assists. Just under three minutes later, Woo struck again, jamming a loose puck through the legs of Regina starter Taylor Tabashniuk for the 3-2 lead. Liam and Markus Ruck had the helpers.
Captain Bryce Pickford scored on a power play just before the mid-way point, finding the back of the net with a back-door shot for a 4-2 lead. Basha and Markus Ruck had the assists on Pickford’s goal, giving him markers in nine straight postseason games dating back to last season’s WHL Playoffs.
Woo sent hats flying from the 4,927 in attendance with 1:10 left in the second period. He knocked home a loose puck for his third of the night, Veeti Väisänen and Bryzgalov picking up the assists.
Bryzgalov capped off a three-point night with a goal in the third period. He capitalized on a rebound from a Woo shot for his first WHL playoff goal coming in his first postseason game. Gavin Kor had the second assist, also in his playoffs debut. Bryzgalov enjoyed the playoff atmosphere at Co-op Place.
“It’s awesome, every game I’m enjoying it,” Bryzgalov said. “it’s so awesome when someone scores or something happens, it brings so much energy, I love it.”
Before Bryzgalov’s goal, Pickford carried the puck into the Regina end and was sandwiched with a hit just inside the zone. He appeared in discomfort and skated to the Medicine Hat bench, not returning to the game. Frazer says the score and time left in the game kept him on the bench. Pickford missed the month of February with an upper body injury.
The Tigers were also without forwards Cam Parr and Luke Cozens, no firm update was provided on their status. Kor and Dayton Reschny slotted into the lineup and performed well, Frazer says.
“We’ve been able to do that this year where when guys are called upon and get opportunities, they’ve been able to step up,” Frazer said. “Both guys gave us great minutes.”
The Tigers will host Regina for Game 2 on Saturday, looking to take a 2-0 series lead on the road.
“It’s really important (to win), they’re a great team and obviously going up 2-0 is big and it’s what we’re looking to do tomorrow,” Woo said.
