NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers net minder Evan May sqaures up to a shot in the first period of their 5-2 loss Saturday night against the Calgary Hitmen at Co-op Place.
The Medicine Hat Tigers had a strong start Saturday night before penalty trouble cost them yet again.
The Tigers led 1-0 through 20 minutes before ultimately losing 5-2 against the Calgary Hitmen at Co-op Place. They came into the night with a two game winning streak, capped off with a 3-2 shootout win Friday in Red Deer against the Rebels.
Head coach Willie Desjardins said the Tigers have to be accountable and look to get better.
“They (Calgary) are a good hockey team and they put you in difficult situations. But the first period was pretty good, I thought we started well then we got ourselves in some penalty trouble,” Desjardins said. “It’s just tough, they have some high end guys, they have a good power play and they just capitalized. There was no quit in the third, I thought we played hard in the third.
“We just have to get better we all have to be accountable. We have to look at it and go, ‘how can we be better in that game,’ and then we have to find those ways and we have to bring it next game.”
The Tigers had the only offence of the first period, a breakaway goal from Cayden Lindstrom. Brayden Boehm and Dallon Melin had the assists on the 16-year-olds sixth goal of the year. He said it always feels good to score but it doesn’t feel as good when they don’t win and a winning effort looks like their first period.
“We were really fast, we we’re all moving our feet and laying the body,” Lindstrom said. “We have to bounce back and just get a good game started tomorrow and finish for a full 60 minutes.”
Calgary got themselves into penalty trouble in the first period with three minor penalties within a little over six minutes of each other but the Tigers could not capitalize, they went 0-for-6 on the power play.
The Hitmen rebounded in the second when the Tigers found themselves getting the refs attention. Zac Funk scored 2:23 into the period to tie the game up at 1-1. Two minor penalties and a double minor by the Tigers gave Calgary an early chance to take the lead. Sean Tschigerl found the back of the net on a power play 5:05 after they tied the game. Calgary was 3-for-8 on their man advantages.
“Staying out of the box has been key for us,” Desjardins said. “You can’t kill that many penalties, you can’t go 5-on-3, you just put yourself in such a hole. It’s a tough game, it’s going to be a battle and we just have to keep focused and we have to play hard.”
David Adaszynski scored just past the halfway mark of the second period for the two goal Hitmen lead. Tschigerl and Tigers defenceman Pasha Bocharov dropped the gloves in the second frame, earning the Hitmen forward a 10-minute misconduct on top of a tow minute instigating penalty and the five-minute fighting major. The Tigers took two late penalties to end the second period on a 5-on-3 kill heading into the third.
Just as the first penalty expired in the third period the Hitmen struck with Riley Fiddler-Schultz’s 13th goal of the season.
The Tigers scored with 2:04 left in the game, Shane Smith finding the back of the net for his first career Co-op Place goal. Rhett Parsons and Josh van Mulligen has the assists on his eighth of the year.
“Definitely just helps build confidence and it’s the first one at home so obviously it’s pretty special,” Smith said about his goal. “It’ll help me bring confidence for the next game and I can use that to my advantage.”
Calgary answered back 34 seconds later with a goal from Carter Yakemchuk to give the Hitmen their 5-1 win.
Tigers net minder Evan May turned aside 27 shots Saturday night and across the ice, Ethan Buenaventura made 25 saves for the win. The Tigers (8-11-4-1) wrap up their three game, three day weekend Sunday with a 4 p.m. contest at Co-op Place against the Prince Albert Raiders, who are also finishing up the same stretch of games.
“It’s a big game, they’re going to come in, they’re going to play hard and we have to make sure we’re ready to play hard,” Desjardins said. “Our group will be ready, we respond well ands it’s going to be one of those games three–and–three for both teams. Those are games where you have to play with character and it’s a character that comes out at that time.”
