NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom watches as Red Deer Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke makes a shoulder save in the first period of a 3-2 Game 4 loss Wednesday at Red Deer.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers hold the life of their 2023-24 season in their hands.
Win, or the season is over. Win, or their three 20-year-old defencemen’s junior careers come to an early close.
With their heartbreaking 3-2 last-second loss in Game 4 Wednesday, the Tigers trail the Red Deer Rebels 3-1 in their first-round series and look to Game 5 tonight at Co-op Place to keep their playoff hopes alive.
All three losses in the series have been one-goal games. Game 1 was a 5-4 double-overtime defeat that came after blowing a four-goal lead. Game 3 saw the Tigers tie the game late after an overturned goal kept them behind, before ultimately losing in OT. And Game 4 looked destined for overtime before Kalan Lind scored with 0.9 seconds left to seal the Red Deer win and back Medicine Hat up to the brink of elimination.
The only game in the series that hasn’t been decided by one goal was the Tigers’ 3-1 Game 2 win.
Both Red Deer’s Game 3 and 4 wins came during Tigers penalty kills.
“We have to be better, we can look at whatever we want, we have to find ways not to put ourselves in situations that costs us,” head coach Willie Desjardins said.
Desjardins says the Game 4 loss won’t linger with the group as they have the belief they can come back in the series.
“We have a good team, we want to win and we believe we can play well,” Desjardins said. “They’re a good team. Every game has been tight, we’ve basically lost three overtime games now. So whenever you get to that point, obviously you could win the game just as easy as losing. We haven’t got some breaks and we need some breaks to start coming our way.”
It’s been an even tighter series than expected through four games. The Rebels have scored only one more goal than the Tigers, with the differential at 13-12.
The team with more shots and face-off wins in each game has gone on to lose, a backwards feat the Tigers have accomplished three times.
The one outlier has been how much of the series the Tigers have been ahead on the scoreboard. Of the 267:48 of hockey played, Medicine Hat has led for 118:30 and Red Deer has only led for 28:12.
They haven’t gotten the same breaks in games when it comes to the puck bouncing their way. Rebounds off Red Deer goaltender Chase Wutzke either bounce away from the Tigers or they’re wrapped up just before they can take advantage.
Credit is due to Wutzke, who has put together a season that will likely result in his name being called in the upcoming NHL draft. Praise also belongs to the Red Deer structure for keeping Medicine Hat from being able to capitalize on the types of bounces the Rebels have found pay dirt on.
Some of the Tigers’ misfortune – and it’s an immeasurable cause – has been puck luck, or lack thereof. They’ve done well in breaking up passes in their own end, same as the Rebels. But when it comes to luck, or whichever hockey gods fans pray to, Desjardins says teams make their own breaks.
“We’ve worked hard and (Red Deer) has got some breaks,” Desjardins said. “I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, I’m not saying they haven’t worked hard, because they’ve worked hard. You do create your own breaks.
“But I appreciate our team. We played hard, our guys are here to win and this is just more testing and it will help us develop.”
As for Game 5 and any game beyond that in this series, Desjardins says nothing changes in their approach to however many games they have left. Beyond knowing it could be their last game of the year and potentially their last game with this exact group, it has to be the same passion, energy and structure that got them to this point.
“You know that (this could be) it, but it’s it every night really, like every game is important and once that game is over, then you move on to the next one,” Desjardins said. “It’s not like you approach it any different. I like our group, though.
“We’re not done yet and we’ll come to play hard.”
Before Game 4 Wednesday, Desjardins was nominated for the WHL’s coach of the year. It’s the second year in a row the franchise’s winningest head coach has been tabbed as the Central division’s top bench boss. It’s a nomination Desjardins, who won it and the CHL honours in 2005-06, credits the rest of his staff and the roster for.
“It means I have three guys coaching with me that are awesome, they certainly deserve it every bit as much as I do and it means you have a great team,” Desjardins said. “You don’t get that stuff without the people around you, and I’ve been really lucky to work with the group I get to work with and the credit goes to them.”
