NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat defenceman Pasha Bocharov makes an exit pass in the first period of the Tigers 4-3 overtime loss to the Victoria Royals on Saturday at Co-op Place.
The Medicine Hat Tigers were 20 minutes away from a regulation win Saturday night.
A three goal third period from Victoria, a tying goal and an overtime marker to complete a hat trick and the Tigers walk away with one point and the Royals roll out of Co-op Place with the 4-3 OT win.
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said they pushed too hard offensively at the wrong times in the loss.
“It was tough, up two going into the third and I thought we took some unnecessary chances offensively when we just had to lock it down,” Frazer said. “Falling down that goal and getting the tying goal to get the point was huge but we had to be better in that third period.”
The Tigers came into Saturday off the heels of a 2-1 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday.
It was a stingy first period as the two teams traded nothing but shots on net and penalties, both squads making three tips to the box in the first frame alone. The Tigers killed off all six of their penalties Saturday night.
It was Medicine Hat who finally broke the offence seal with a power play goal from Oasiz Wiesblatt. The 18-year-old forward redirected a shot in front of the net from Andrew Basha in the slot for his sixth goal of the season to bring the 2,171 Tigers faithful in attendance to their feet and give them a lead 5:31 into the second frame.
The Tigers added to their advantage with 1:36 left in the period as defenceman Pasha Bocharov knocked in his third goal of the season to put Medicine Hat ahead 2-0 heading into intermission. Kurtis Smythe had the lone assist on Bocharov’s marker. Medicine
Hat carried the 2-0 lead into intermission with Evan May, making his second straight start for the first time in his WHL career, turning aside all 15 shots he had faced at that point. Frazer said the 18-year-old net minder was the Tigers best player all weekend.
Royals head coach Dan Price lit enough of a fire in his players after the second period as the Royals got on the board in the third. Jake Poole and Riley Gannon each scored in the first 12 minutes of the period to tie the game up at 2-2. Only 2:45 after tying the game, Poole scored his second goal of the game to put the visiting Royals ahead. Former Tigers forward Teague Patton had the only assist on Poole’s goal. He said the win was big for both his team and for himself.
“It was a pretty back and forth game, we played a hard game and they didn’t make it easy for us,” Patton said. “We battled back there in the third but it’s huge for the group and huge for myself as well. It’s going to give us some confidence and I’m just pretty pumped.”
With May on the bench in the dying seconds of the third, Dallon Melin banged home a puck in front of a scrambling Tyler Palmer to tie the game up at 3-3 with 49 seconds left in the contest. Reid Andresen and Basha had the assists on Melin’s third of the season, which sent the game to overtime and gave Medicine Hat and the Royals each a point.
Melin was obviously happy with getting the goal but was not pleased the Tigers even needed it.
“We should not have been in that position, we had full control of the game going into the third and we let off the gas,” Melin said. “Obviously you’ll take a point, but I think we have to be a lot better.”
The Tigers missed on a couple opportunities to ice the game in overtime and it was Poole, completing the hat trick, who was the hero for Victoria scoring the overtime game winning goal.
Palmer made 30 saves between the pipes for victory and across the ice from him, May turned aside 21 Royals shots.
The Tigers (4-6-2) have a quick turnaround as they host the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday night at Co-op Place.
