Medicine Hat Tigers forward Tyler MacKenzie battles for the puck off a face-off in the first period of a 3-2 loss Saturday on the road to the Prince Albert Raiders.--PHOTO COURTESY NATHAN REITER PRINCE ALBERT DAILY HERALD
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The Medicine Hat Tigers head into a three-game week looking to pick up some lost points.
The Tigers stayed stagnant in the standings after dropping both games on the road over the weekend, falling 5-2 Friday to the Saskatoon Blades and 3-2 to the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday.
It’s the first time this season the Tigers have lost their Friday and Saturday games and only the sixth time they’ve lost back-to-back games this season.
They received some luck in the standings over the weekend with the Red Deer Rebels, who sit in second of the Central, only picking up one point in their three-game weekend. Red Deer lost 4-1 to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday, fell 6-3 to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday, before picking up their lone point in a back-and-forth, 7-6 shootout loss to the Regina Pats on Sunday.
The Tigers will look to build off their late push Saturday, with second period goals from Shane Smith and Jack Kachkowski. Smith’s 24th of the season came on the power play and Kachkowski’s was his first marker in the Western Hockey League. Tomas Mrsic had assists on both goals.
Ethan McCallum made 22 saves in the loss, and the Tigers also lost the face-off battle 40-18.
Medicine Hat gets back into action tonight when they host the Regina Pats at Co-op Place. Their week finishes with a road contest Friday at Calgary against the Hitmen before hosting the Rebels on Saturday for the final time in the regular season.
Red Deer also has a three-game week, as they are on the road tonight at Swift Current against the Broncos and host the Warriors on Friday before Saturday’s Central division-leading matchup.
