NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow slides to his right while keeping his eye on the puck to make a save in the first period of thier 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Giants at Co-op Place on Tuesday night.
The Medicine Hat Tigers were 5.6 seconds away from a win Tuesday night.
The Tigers had a 2-1 lead entering the third period against the Vancouver Giants who scored in the waining seconds of the frame before scoring in overtime to beat Medicine Hat 3-2 at Co-op Place.
Vancouver captain Zack Ostapchuk scored the late tying goal with the goalie pulled and Jaden Lipinski had the game winner for the visiting Giants, their first time in Medicine Hat since the 2018-’19 season.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins says he thought his team played a good game in the loss.
“I thought we battled, we carried the play after the first period and even in the third, we weren’t sitting back, which was a good sign–I thought we were doing good things,” Desjardins said. “But it’s disappointing, let that one get away. We’ve probably scored three empty net goals this year too so it goes both ways some days I guess.”
The Tigers entered play Tuesday after losing in overtime 4-3 to the Victoria Royals on Saturday. That game they had a 2-0 lead in the third period and allowed the Royals to come back and eventually win in extra time. Tuesday’s game also marked the return of Gavin McKenna to the Tigers lineup. The 14-year-old top prospect was recalled Monday on emergency status after the Tigers sent Tomas Mrsic and Cayden Lindstrom to play for Canada at the U17 Hockey Challenge in Langley.
Vancouver opened the scoring 14:58 into the first period with a goal from Mazden Leslie, his fourth of the season. They led the Tigers in shots 11-4 after the 40 minutes before Medicine Hat took over in the second.
Brayden Boehm got the Tigers on the board 1:36 into the period with his fifth goal of the season. Boehm defected a point shot from defensemen Dru Krebs for the goal to bring the 1,670 fans in attendance to their feet, Pasha Bocharov had the second assist. Boehm says it’s always nice to get on the scoresheet but was more focused on the lost chance for two points as a team.
“I had a couple of chances there in the third and just couldn’t buy one and obviously that goes in, it puts the game away,” Boehm said. “Just capitalizing on opportunities will make a huge difference in games like this.”
The Tigers took the lead over 10 minutes later when Bogdans Hodass corralled a rebound from a Rhett Parsons shot off the right pad of Jesper Vikman and went bar down for his second goal of the season. Medicine Hat carried the play in the second frame and it showed as they led the Giants 25-19 in shots.
In the third the Tigers had multiple chances to ice the win but could not find the back of the net before Vancouver mounted their comeback and overtime win.
Beckett Langkow made 26 saves in the loss, his return to the lineup after missing two games due to illness. He says he thought he had a good game but has to have the save in overtime.
“They get one at the end there through the screen and it’s tough but I just tried to refocus and I think I did,” Langkow said. “Then they get one on the breakaway there and I just have to make that save. Because if I make that save, I think we come out with the win. It’s not a bad goal or anything but it’s just a save you want to make so you can give your team a chance.”
The Tigers (4-6-3) are off until Friday when they head to Calgary to face the Hitmen for the first time this season. Desjardins says they’ll need to be well rested and hungry for that game.
“That’s going to be a tough game. We have to make sure that we get out, maybe do a little bit tomorrow but come Friday, we have to be hungry and ready to go with lots of energy,” Desjardins said.
