Tigers face two of the WHL’s best this weekend
By JAMES TUBB on November 10, 2023.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb After their first normal week of skates in a while, the Medicine Hat Tigers head into a challenging weekend. The Tigers are a week removed from a three-in-three weekend and four games in five night stretch that came the week following their B.C. road trip. There’s no slow welcome back to normal as they head to Moose Jaw tonight to take on the Warriors, who sit third place in the East, before hosting the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday. Tigers’ associate coach Joe Frazer says it’s a weekend of opportunities to see where they are at as a team. “Moose Jaw loaded up with the big trade and they’re playing well,” Frazer said. “Then Wenatchee has won eight in a row now so it’s going to be a great weekend of hockey and we’re excited for it.” The Tigers enter the weekend after picking up five of a possible six points last weekend, which has them in first place of the Eastern conference. They sit tied with the Saskatoon Blades for the conference lead entering the weekend. After that busy stretch, the Tigers took some time early in the week to recoup and recover. “It’s great to get a little rest early in the week as we had a lot of hockey last weekend with the four in five, and to cap it off at three in three,” Frazer said. “It was nice to get a little rest the first couple of days and then we had some really good practices Wednesday and Thursday.” Those decisions on who needs a day off practice or a modified day of work comes down to trust in the players and their knowledge of their own bodies, head coach Willie Desjardins says. “We have to be back going hard so you have to trust the players a little bit that they know their body and what they need,” Desjardins said Tuesday. “It’s a great day to work out hard because we don’t get many days where we have that big of a space between games. Saying that, some guys might need a break and we have to trust the players, we all want the same thing and we have to trust they’re smart enough to know what they need.” The Tigers are looking for a bounce-back against Moose Jaw after a 4-3 loss on Oct. 7 at Co-op Place. Medicine Hat allowed two power play goals and two shorthanded goals in that loss, and the Warriors only got better with defenceman Denton Mateychuk being reassigned to the team between then and now. Saturday’s contest against the Wild will mark the first time the Tigers have faced the newly minted franchise that was formally the Winnipeg and Kootenay Ice. Their last matchup was in the 2022-23 playoffs when the then Ice beat Medicine Hat in four games. The Tigers will still be without 15-year-old Gavin McKenna who is at the U17 World Hockey Challenge but is expected to be back in the lineup when Medicine Hat heads to Swift Current to face the Broncos on Tuesday. They’ll also continue to be without Brayden Boehm who is listed as an indefinite return from a lower body injured suffered against the Prince George Cougars on Oct. 22. 15-14
