Future at the forefront
By Ryan McCracken on September 2, 2017.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken The future of the Medicine Hat Tigers was at the forefront on Friday in Lethbridge. Josh Williams scored twice, Henry Rybinski added three assists and goaltenders Garin Bjorklund and Duncan McGovern both stopped 19-of-20 shots to lead Medicine Hat to a 4-2 pre-season victory over the Hurricanes. “I thought it was spirited,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston. “I was really impressed with lots of our younger players. It’s one game, but it was great. For some of the guys it was their first game in a Tigers uniform, so it was exciting for them. It always feels good to win whether it’s pre-season or playoffs.” Lethbridge got on the board early with Cameron MacPhee in the box for interference. Zane Franklin and Alex Cotton set up Brady Pouteau just 90 seconds into the game to bring a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but it was all they would get past Bjorklund in his Tigers debut. “I thought both our goaltenders played well,”said Clouston. “That was a real highlight. Garin played great and I thought Williams was outstanding.” The 15-year-old netminder went on to stop 12 more shots before Williams knotted things up halfway through the second on a set-up from Tyler Preziuso and Kristians Rubins — prompting a mid-game change to allow McGovern some time between the pipes. Williams became Medicine Hat’s highest bantam draft pick in more than a decade when the Tigers selected him at fifth overall last year, and Clouston says there’s a good chance fans will be seeing a lot of him this season. “He’s ready to go,”said Clouston. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound centre struck again four minutes later — this time with helpers from Dawson Heathcote and Rybinski — to turn the tables on Lethbridge after 40 minutes, then it was Rybinski’s turn to take over. The Vancouver product set up goals for Daniel Baker and Corson Hopwo to stretch the lead to three before ‘Canes veteran Giorgio Estephan finally beat McGovern inside the final 90 seconds of regulation. “There’s some really good competition, which is challenging because you have to make some decisions, but it’s better than saying ‘Who’s going to fill that hole?’ So we feel really good,”said Clouston of the team’s roster situation. “We’re probably looking at a couple spots up front and a couple spots on the back end. Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner took the loss after allowing four goals on 43 shots, while McGovern collected the victory after holding the ‘Canes off the board in the third. The Tigers and Hurricanes will head down Highway 3 to the Taber Civic Centre for a rematch on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors on Sept. 9. “We have about seven guys going to (NHL) camp, so we have to be conscious of that going into next weekend,” said Clouston. “It’s an opportunity for a few guys to stay an extra week.” -With files from Dale Woodard, Lethbridge Herald. 17
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