NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Rhett Parsons squares up for a fight in the first period of a 5-3 win Saturday over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers are on the road with an important weekend ahead.
The Tigers are at Saskatoon tonight taking on the WHL-leading Blades ahead of a Saturday night matchup at Prince Albert against the Raiders.
Tonight’s contest is the first time the Tigers have faced the Blades since a 3-2 overtime loss on Sept. 30 at Co-op Place.
The Blades are a different team since then, acquiring eight new players ahead of the deadline. Their acquisitions were headlined by forwards Fraser Minten from the Kamloops Blazers and Alexander Suzdalev from the Regina Pats.
It will be their toughest matchup of the season, head coach Willie Desjardins says.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league, they have great structure, they have really good players, good skill, they’re going to be hard to play against,” Desjardins said. They don’t give up a lot so we have to be patient against them. But that’s going to be a really tough game. It’ll be interesting to see, they’ve loaded up so we’ll see where they’re at, but it’ll be a tough game.”
The Blades have surrendered the fewest goals in the WHL, allowing only 123 in 48 games played. Their penalty kill ranks first at 85.1 per cent and their power play sits at 26.2 per cent, good for fifth.
The Tigers do stack up statistically with the Blades, having scored 23 more goals (210) and boasting a power play at 27.9 per cent, third in the league. Medicine Hat’s penalty kill is also third in the WHL (82.4 per cent).
Saskatoon has the bigger names and pedigree that the Tigers frankly aren’t old enough to garner. It’s a matchup defenceman Rhett Parsons says they are excited for, and they’re ready to showcase what they can do against the best.
“The men come out in big games, everyone wants to play big games in their careers, and Saskatoon is going be a test,” Parsons said. “They’re a good team and everyone’s excited, when we leave we have to go in there with a mindset of two points.”
The Tigers are also fighting to keep the Central division lead. They’re two points up on the Red Deer Rebels for the lead, with Red Deer having played one fewer game. The Rebels have a three-game road weekend ahead of them, taking on the Brandon Wheat Kings tonight, the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday and the Regina Pats on Sunday.
The only East division team Red Deer doesn’t face is the Raiders, who the Tigers visit Saturday for the first time this season. Prince Albert is without 2024 NHL draft-eligible forward Ryder Ritchie due to injury.
Parsons says they are focused on one game at a time but are looking for – and need – four points.
“Going into Prince Albert, they’re a good team, too. They’ve got a lot of good players, so we can’t take them lightly at all. We just have to go in there with a mindset, just like Saskatoon, go in there to try and get two points out of them.”
Saturday’s contest against the Raiders will be game 200 for Parsons in his WHL career. The 20-year-old recognizes the milestone but says it’s just another game and he’s only focused on the two points.
“When you have a good team like this it’s obviously exciting, every night you have a chance to win,” Parsons said. “That’s all I can really do is just give our team a chance to win every night.”
Gavin McKenna named WHL’s player of the month
Gavin McKenna’s January efforts have been recognized by the WHL.
The 16-year-old forward was named player of the month for January after putting up 10 goals and 29 points in 12 games.
McKenna registered eight multipoint performances during January, also leading the entire league in scoring throughout the month. It was also the best month by any player in the league this season
