Tigers out-chance Blades in 5-3 loss Tuesday

By James Tubb on November 19, 2024.

The Medicine Hat Tigers ran into a sharp Evan Gardner in the Saskatoon Blades net Tuesday night.

Medicine Hat, starting a four-game in five night streak, fired 34 shots on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect net minder who held off the visiting Tigers for a 5-3 Blades’ win at the SaskTel Centre. Gardner made 31 saves, out-duelling Medicine Hat net minder Harrison Meneghin who stopped 24 shots in the loss.

The Tigers entered the game with a three-game win streak and grabbed early momentum, opening the scoring in the first period.

With sustained pressure in the offensive end on a power play, a rebound off Gardner came into the slot to a waiting Liam Ruck who blasted the puck into the net for the 1-0 lead at 8:16. Gavin McKenna and Ryder Ritchie had the assists on Ruck’s third of the season.

Just 2:21 later, the Blades tied the game up on a broken play off  a rush opportunity. David Lewandowski chipped in the loose puck that hung around the net after a shot from Zach Olsen, making it a 1-1 game. Jordan Martin had the second assist on Lewandowski’s fifth of the season.

Saskatoon grabbed a brief 2-1 lead exactly five minutes later. On a Blades’ power play, Rowan Calvert had the puck at the side of the net and scored with a backhanded shot for his 10th on the year. Cooper Williams and Grayden Siepmann had the helpers.

Medicine Hat made it a tied game on a power play with 57 seconds left in the opening frame. A mere eight seconds into the man advantage, Bryce Pickford fired a shot from the point that found twine for a 2-2 score. McKenna and Oasiz Wiesblatt had the assists on Pickford’s eighth of the season, the WHL defencemen goal scoring leader.

Saskatoon outshot the Tigers 15-12 through 20 minutes.

The Tigers got on the board first, scoring 3:21 into the middle stanza. McKenna, with two points on the night, fired a shot past Gardner for his 14th of the season and the 2-1 Medicine Hat lead. Wiesblatt and Pickford had the helpers for multi-point nights.

That was all the offence Medicine Hat could manage as Saskatoon rattled off three unanswered goals for the win.

The Blades tied the game up at 8:03, with Tyler Parr capitalizing on a turnover in the Medicine Hat end to score his ninth of the season. They grabbed a 4-3 lead on a power play, with Brandon Lisowsky left alone in the slot before scoring his 10th of the season. Parr and Calvert had the assists on his 10th of the season, with the Blades leading 4-3 after 40 minutes. Medicine Hat had a slim shots lead in that span, 23-22.

The Tigers put on the pressure in the push for a tie in the third. Gardner held the Medicine Hat shooters away from glory, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the frame. Before the final minutes, Wiesblatt was left alone in front and one-timed a pass from McKenna in the corner only to be stopped by a stick-less Gardner.

The Tigers pulled Meneghin with 1:48 left in the game and it was Saskatoon’s Misha Volotovskii who capitalized for his third of the season and the 5-3 final. Morgan Tastad had the lone assist.

Saskatoon capitalized on two of their three power plays, Medicine Hat scored on both man advantages. The Blades won the face-off battle, 32-26.

The Tigers (12-10) are at Prince Albert on Wednesday, facing the Raiders for the first time since Medicine Hat acquired Ritchie in a trade that sent forward Tomas Mrsic to P.A.

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