Tigers cling to playoff spot with one week to go in regular season
By RYAN MCCRACKEN on March 8, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com
Crunch time has officially arrived.
With just two points holding the Medicine Hat Tigers inside the playoff picture and five games left on the docket — all of which come against either divisional opponents or playoff hopefuls — alternate captain Ryan Jevne says there’s simply no room left for error.
“It’s going to be tough. Every game at this time of year is tough,” said Jevne. “Teams are fighting for playoff spots like us, and teams are fighting for position. We’re going to have to come out hard every game. We’re not going to be able to take the first period off – We just have to refocus and make sure each day we’re ready to go and doing whatever we need to be ready.”
The Tigers are entering the most pivotal three-game stretch of the season. After heading down Highway 3 to face the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight at the Enmax Centre, the Tabbies host the Brandon Wheat Kings Saturday and the Red Deer Rebels Wednesday. While the Hurricanes have clinched a playoff berth, the Tigers, Rebels and Wheat Kings are fighting for the Eastern Conference’s two wild card spots with Brandon and Red Deer both trailing Medicine Hat by two points, though the Rebels have a game in hand.
Medicine Hat will face the Kootenay Ice on March 15 in Cranbrook before closing out the 68-game regular season at home against the Hurricanes on March 16.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Tigers leading into the playoff push. The team has dropped eight of its past nine games, including a painful 6-5 overtime loss to the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday at the Canalta Centre.
After falling into a 4-1 hole through 20 minutes, the Tabbies rallied to erase the deficit and force overtime before having the comeback attempt spoiled by Calgary in sudden death. While the result gave Medicine Hat an important point in the standings, Jevne says the victory could have been theirs with a 60-minute effort.
“After the first intermission we kind of refocused and reset. When we started doing that it really worked,” he said. “If we would have started that way and took a few less penalties it would have been our game.”
Jevne missed five games with an upper-body injury suffered in a 5-3 to the Calgary Hitmen on Feb. 16, but the overage winger was pivotal in his return to the ice Wednesday. Facing the final playoff push of his WHL career, Jevne netted a pair of goals and added an assist to help earn the Tigers a key point in the standings.
“When you’re sitting in the stands and things aren’t going well, you’re kind of frustrated. You want to be able to help your team,” said Jevne. “Coming back, there’s a little bit of excitement. You’re usually pretty energized because you’ve been sitting around for a couple of days. I felt really good, my legs felt good. I just tried to play to my strengths, get pucks around the net and do whatever I could to help. It worked out, I got a couple of points, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.”
Tigers centre Brett Kemp also returned to the ice Wednesday after missing three games with an upper-body injury. The former Edmonton Oil King — acquired in exchange for Josh Williams at the January trade deadline — notched an assist on Jevne’s first goal for his 100th career point in the WHL.
Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says the team will likely still be without centre Elijah Brown for the weekend. Brown has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury.
“He’s probably not available Friday,” Clouston said of Brown. “It would be a longer shot Saturday, but I think if things keep going well he’ll be available next week.”
The Tigers and Hurricanes drop the puck tonight at 7 p.m.
16
-15
