Tigers look to keep division as they prepare for playoffs

By JAMES TUBB on March 13, 2024.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat Tigers have two goals remaining with four games left in their regular season, hold onto the division lead and be at their best come playoffs.

The Tigers are coming off a two-loss weekend, paired with a loss the Wednesday prior, gives them three in a row for their longest slump of the season.

Heading into play Tuesday, they had a one point lead on the Central division title with the Swift Current Broncos in second with three games in hand and also in action against the Prince Albert Raiders. Medicine Hat gets the Broncos in a home-and-home this series that starts Friday at Swift Current.

Head coach Willie Desjardins says the goal of winning their first Central division title since 2017-18 and playing their best go hand-in-hand but he says they have the longer term goal of being at the best for playoffs.

“We tried to patch things up for a little bit where we just try to keep where we’re at,” Desjardins said. “Because sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step ahead. You’re playing guys that are hurt, they stay hurt, they never get healthy, then you’re in trouble.

“We’ve had to take a little bit of a step back where we realize we have to get guys ready for playoffs. We maybe have to do things a little bit different than we have. But it’s more, yes we want to play well this weekend, every game is important, but it’s more Okay, let’s get our habits good and our structure ready for playoffs.”

The weekend road trip in Saskatchewan with a 3-1 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday and an 8-3 drubbing by the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday marked the end of a six game in nine night stretch for the Tigers, where they went 2-4.

The team viewed it as a playoff series-like schedule, with the amount of games in that span of days resembling the postseason they are to experience in a couple of weeks. Using that comparison, Desjardins says it wasn’t the results they wanted and he says there was a lot of factors that made it difficult they have to just push through.

“Guys were beat up, we’re tired, we’re traveling, so there’s lots of things that made it hard and we just didn’t come through the way we needed to come through, you have to find ways to win games,” Desjardins said. “Saying that, that Saskatoon game was a good game, that was in the middle of the stretch, we found a way to be good. I still believe it’s in us to be good.

“It’s hard when the trade deadline comes and you don’t make moves to load up where other teams did. Other teams are gonna get better, they just loaded up, it’s just a fact, they’re going to improve and we didn’t. “Saying that, we believed we could develop our young guys over that time and hopefully put us in a place where we could challenge regardless of teams hat are loaded up with a player. So that still remains to be seen.

“Right now we’re not doing it, it will be a challenge for sure but that’s how you get better. That’s what it’s about is getting better.”

Desjardins acknowledged they have tried to build for this season and the future and he says sometimes those two things don’t coexist.

“We always make decisions based on what we feel is the best for our team now and going forward, sometimes there’s a little bit of a difference between the two, that’s where the challenge comes<" Desjardins said. "That's how we make our decisions. So when you look back at it, that's what we did then and we're no different, our fans want us to win. They want a team that's exciting and I think our teams played hard all year."

With an update on injuries, Desjardins says forwards Cayden Lindstrom and Marcus Pacheco are week to week and goaltender Ethan McCallum is day to day. He says they’ll keep evaluating player status as continue on.

16
-15