NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow slides to his right to make a save in the first period of their 4-2 loss Sunday against the Prince Albert Raiders at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers are coming off a busy weekend with a busier schedule ahead.
After starting the weekend off with a 3-2 shootout win Friday in Red Deer against the Rebels, the Tigers lost two straight at home, 5-2 Saturday against the Calgary Hitmen and 4-2 Sunday against the Prince Albert Raiders.
In both losses they led 1-0 early in the second period before their opponents tied and padded their leads to put the game out of reach. On Saturday the Hitmen scored three times unanswered in the second and once to start the third, and the Raiders potted all four of their goals in the second frame.
Some of those second period goals can be attributed to Tigers’ penalties; three of the Hitmen’s goals and one of the Raiders came on the man advantage. The other goals came from the Tigers not getting the puck themselves.
“There’s learning, for sure, we have to do, but it’s been a couple of times now, so we just have to start doing it,” Frazer said. “Because when we do it, it works, we know that. Friday in Red Deer we were working and getting above the puck and we beat a really good team. Then the next two nights we just were hoping too much, and we have to work. We have to do the work to get above and create those turnovers so you can play offence, not cheat offensively.”
Tigers forward Dallon Melin, who scored in Sunday’s loss, said that game was another learning curve for them and one they should remain positive after.
“A lot of times you want to say the right things and you do, but we all have to go out there and we have to do it,” Melin said. “It’s one thing to say it but I think we need a little more action sometimes and in second periods, we have to keep our game going.”
The Tigers were without leading scorer Andrew Basha on Sunday. He was a game-time decision and took warmup, but was ultimately replaced by Cru Hanas, who also stepped in for captain Owen MacNeil in Saturday’s game. Frazer said they missed Basha but he was impressed by Hanas’ play.
“Bash is obviously a huge generator of our offence and the power play, so he’s a big key to our offence. When you miss a top guy like that you have to slot everyone differently and that makes it tough for other guys, but it gives other guys opportunities, too,” Frazer said.
“Cru has great skill, he’s a young guy who’s learning in the league and is an offensively smart player. It’s just about getting bigger, stronger and further getting used to the league. He’s starting to get more confident, too, and he’s starting to make some good plays with the puck.”
Frazer said he was also impressed with Tomas Mrsic and his line with Tyler MacKenzie and Brayden Boehm over the weekend.
“When we’re watching Mrsic this weekend he’s used his speed thought, him and Boehm created a lot off the rush with their speed and skill and that line was good all weekend,” Frazer said.
The Tigers (8-11-4-1) are off until Friday when they head to Calgary for a rematch with the Hitmen before hosting the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday for the Medicine Hat News Teddy Bear toss game. Frazer says the week ahead is for rest and recovery while also sharpening their structure.
“We have 10 games in the 15 days before the Christmas break so we’ll take this week to rest first and then get after it Wednesday and Thursday with a lot of structure. Our D-zone wasn’t as good as it has been. So we’ll be working on the defensive structure and then making sure we’re working on reloading and getting above the puck in the offensive end.”
Hamblin makes
NHL debut
Tigers alumni James Hamblin made his NHL debut Monday night at home for the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers.
The 23-year-old Edmonton product signed an NHL deal with the Oilers last season and has played for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors since the 2020-21 season. He was recalled by the Oilers on Sunday night and announced as a starter Monday morning. Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins was excited to hear the news and planned on watching as much as he could.
“There’s a guy that came in, who at 16, I don’t know if he had five points for us but he didn’t have very many (Editor’s note: he had three). But he’s just so dedicated to the game and worked so hard to become a player, he really is an inspiration to all of the guys that have come through,” Desjardins said. “Because he made himself a player and he dedicated himself to it. So for him to get there, everybody’s super excited.”
Hamblin played 323 games as a Tiger over five seasons, totalling 115 goals and 283 points. He served as captain from 2017 to 2020.
