NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers captain Owen MacNeil admires his pass in the first period of a 2-0 loss against the Calgary Hitmen on Mar. 18 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers have set themselves up for a high-pressured week.
After losing twice against the Calgary Hitmen over the weekend, the Tigers sit in eighth place in the Eastern conference with Calgary ahead of them in seventh by one point. The Swift Current Broncos trail Medicine Hat by one point with one more game played entering tonight.
The Tigers host the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight at Co-op Place before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home against the Broncos. Associate coach Joe Frazer says the losing weekend is behind them and they’re focused on the week ahead.
“We just have to make sure we’re ready,” Frazer said. “We had a good practice (Tuesday), we focused on Edmonton and then we’ll go from there. The biggest thing is just making sure we’re dialled in Wednesday against Edmonton.”
The Tigers have only two players with playoff experience in forward Dallon Melin and defenceman Kurtis Smythe, with a combined 23 games of postseason action. Frazer says it’s crucial they find the balance between stressing the importance of these games while not overwhelming players.
“This is what you’ve worked all year for,” Frazer said. “Your habits, the structure, everything’s in place and now it’s just about going out and executing. Confidence comes from two things, that’s preparation and past success. We’ve prepared well, we’ve had past success, so I know the guys are confident and we’re excited.”
Tigers captain Owen MacNeil says the final three contests come down to one thing: who wants to keep playing in April.
“We know the importance of them, it’s just desperation mode, it’s whoever wants it more,” MacNeil said. “We’ve relied on our structure and speed all year and that’ll continue. But it just comes down to which team wants it more in these games. It’s going to be a challenge and something we can do and we’re excited for it.”
The Tigers look to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They qualified in 2019-20 but those playoffs were cancelled due to COVID-19.
MacNeil says they have been playing with playoff intensity over the second half of the season and he’s looking for them to continue that resiliency in the final three games.
“We’re getting better at playing under pressure, obviously it was a hard weekend there but we had a lot to build off and we played well,” MacNeil said. “In the past we’ve had games where we don’t have the outcome we wanted. It’s just trying to rely on the confidence that we’ve had from the past.”
Despite the loss Sunday, the Tigers had an offensive boost in the lineup with top prospect Gavin McKenna dressing in the game and coming away with a goal and an assist. With McKenna’s U18 team, the South Alberta Hockey Academy, having finished their season, he is no longer an affiliated player but a full-time Tiger. He played alongside Brendan Lee and Tyler MacKenzie in Calgary.
“He’s really good,” Frazer said about McKenna. “That line was great, scored two big ones for us. It’s nice to get into practice here to get him ready for Wednesday.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins spoke with the News after Saturday’s 2-0 loss against the Hitmen. He says this final week, whether they make the playoffs or not, will serve as another learning opportunity for the young team.
“It’s tough right now because guys, you have to trust them,” Desjardins said. “Now’s not the time to be benching guys. Guys have to play and we have to trust they’re going to do what they need to do. Now it’s up to them, it’s beyond the point of sitting them out.
“They just have to be ready.”
