Medicine Hat Tigers' defenceman Reid Andresen holds off Kelowna forward Andrew Cristall while playing the puck in the Tigers' 9-2 win Saturday on the road against the Rockets.--PHOTO COURTESY STEVE DUNSMOOR
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers started their British Columbia road trip on a high note.
The Tigers won 9-2 Saturday night over the Kelowna Rockets, taking the first of their five-game road trip through Canada’s westernmost province.
They opened the contest with four unanswered goals in the opening frame, with Cayden Lindstrom, Hunter St. Martin, Reid Andresen and Shane Smith all finding the back of the net.
Smith ended the night with a four-point effort, scoring three goals and an assist. His hat trick, the second of his WHL career, also gives him points in all eight games to start the season and gives him nine goals and 12 points so far.
Tij Iginla and Andrew Cristall scored for Kelowna, both goals in the first period, for the Rockets’ lone offence. Evan May started the game for the Tigers and made 22 saves for his fourth win of the season.
Lindstrom added a goal in the second frame, giving him three points with an earlier assist. Gavin McKenna scored in the third, along with Smith’s other two goals. The Tigers’ offence was rounded out with a late, power play goal from 16-year-old Kadon McCann, his first in the Western Hockey League.
The Cochrane product knocked in a loose puck off a point shot from Matt Paranych. The assist gives Paranych his first WHL point.
Six Tigers finished the night with multiple points, led by Smith’s five spot and captain Tyler MacKenzie’s three assists. McKenna had a goal and two assists, Lindstrom two goals, Tomas Mrsic notched two assists and Andresen added a goal and an assist.
Medicine Hat’s win continued a strong start to the season on special teams. They were 5-for-7 on the power play and killed off four of five penalties. The weekend propels both special teams units up the league rankings, putting the power play at third at 35 per cent and the penalty kill at fifth best, with an 83.7 per cent kill rate.
The Tigers’ (5-2-1) road trip continues tonight as they hit the road for Victoria to face the Royals before heading to Vancouver on Wednesday to face off against the Giants.
