Tigers ready to embrace underdog role in opening-round series with Oil Kings

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on March 18, 2019.

NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Trevor Longo (left) lays a body check on Edmonton Oil Kings winger Carter Souch during a Western Hockey League game at the Canalta Centre on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

The Tigers avoided a date with the top team in the Western Hockey League, only to meet up with the hottest.

By going 4-2-1-0 down the stretch, Medicine Hat managed to clinch the Eastern Conference’s first wild card with a 35-27-4-2 record, leaving the Red Deer Rebels (33-29-4-2) to fight for their playoff lives against the Prince Albert Raiders (54-10-2-2).

Meanwhile, Medicine Hat earned their place in a first-round series with the Edmonton Oil Kings – who enter the post-season on a blazing-hot 11-game winning streak.

“We know that right now they’re absolutely flying. They’re one of the best teams in the entire league,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston. “They’re going to be a huge test for us. They’re deep, they’ve got skill, they’re fast. With a healthy lineup – because we haven’t had that a lot recently versus them – hopefully that makes up for some of the difference, but we’re going to have to have a great week and we’re going to have to come up with some big performances.”

The Tigers and Oil Kings will drop the puck on the first round Saturday in Edmonton at 7:30 p.m. Game 2 is slated for 6 p.m. on Sunday at Rogers Place before the series shifts back to the Gas City for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. If necessary, Game 5 will be played Friday, March 29 in Edmonton, followed by Game 6 two days later at the Canalta Centre and Game 7 on Tuesday, April 2 at Rogers Place.

Medicine Hat dropped the season series to Edmonton by a 1-3-2-0 margin, though four of the contests were settled by a single goal and three needed more than 60 minutes to solve. But that hasn’t stopped Clouston from embracing the underdog role.

“The fact that three of them went into overtime says we’ve been real close,” said Clouston. “I think we’ll gladly accept the underdog role and embrace that, believe that we’ve got some guys who have been in the playoffs for a couple years and we’ve got some leaders who want to keep going. If we can build off that, then I think it’ll give us a chance.”

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to conquer will be Oil Kings netminder Dylan Myskiw – a former Brandon Wheat King responsible for eliminating Medicine Hat from the first round as a memer of the Brandon Wheat Kings last year, as well all five victories with Edmonton, and the lone shootout loss against Medicine Hat this season.

“I think we’ve just got to focus on what we do,” said veteran Tigers winger Ryan Jevne. “I think a lot of the game we’ve played against them we turned the puck over a lot. When they’ve got high-end guys like (Trey) Fix-Wolansky, that’s going to hurt you. So if we can just kind of bear down on that and play in their end, they’re not going to be able to score on us.”

Up front, the Oil Kings have been led by captain Fix-Wolansky, who recently signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets and closed out his season at fifth in the WHL scoring race with 102 points.

Jevne says accepting the role of underdogs will be crucial if they hope to steal a game in Edmonton and bring home ice advantage back to the Hat.

“I think it’s pretty important,” he said. “When you go in there and you’re full of confidence and the other team kind of catches you off-guard, it can go south pretty quick. But if you go in there knowing you’re going to have to play your absolute best every shift, your focus is a little bit higher and you know that if you make mistakes it’s going to cost you.”

Jevne closed out his season second in team scoring with 32 goals and 68 assists. Captain James Hamblin finished first in points with 77 while sharing the team lead in goals alongside Brett Kemp with 33.

Although Rogers Place is a 525-kilometre drive north and will likely feature a hostile atmosphere given the Oil Kings’ two-year playoff drought, it will also mean playing in front of friends and family for four members of the Tigers who call Edmonton home.

Jevne, Hamblin, Elijah Brown and Daniel Baker will all be out in front of a hometown crowd, compared to four Edmonton products on the Oil Kings roster.

“Growing up in Edmonton and being able to watch, even the Tigers go to battle in the playoffs in Edmonton, and now I get to be a part of it and that’s really exciting,” said Hamblin, who missed the playoffs last season with an arm injury. “We’ve had so many really close games with them. We’ve been really even with them throughout the year and I think we have a really good chance. It’s going to be a really good series. It’s going to be a battle as well.”