NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Swizter casts aside the puck on a Lethbridge Hurricanes' breakaway in the third period of a 4-0 win Saturday at Co-op Place. Switzer stopped all 17 shots he faced for his first Western Hockey League shutout.
Much like Chase is on the case for the Paw Patrol, the Medicine Hat Tigers were in control Saturday night at Co-op Place.
Jordan Switzer made 17 saves for his first career Western Hockey League shutout as the Tigers’ beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-0.
The Tigers, dawning Paw Patrol themed jersey’s as part of the WHL’s Nickelodeon Night for Children’s Miracle Network Canada, picked up the win in the first game back from the Holiday break, much to the delight of the 4,885 in attendance at Co-op Place.
“It’s super exciting coming out of the break,” Switzer said. “Everyone is refreshed in there and we have something to prove in the second half.”
Four Tigers recorded multi-point nights with Liam Ruck scoring twice, Hunter St. Martin recording a goal and an assist and both Ryder Ritchie and Andrew Basha notching a pair of helpers.
“It feels great,” Ruck said. “I get the opportunity to play with some pretty good players, so it makes my job pretty easy. And we’re looking forward to keep it going.”
Medicine Hat outshot the Hurricanes 31-17, scoring on one of four power plays while holding Lethbridge scoreless on two man advantages. They also won the face-off battle, 34-24. It was an all-around win for the Tigers, one head coach Willie Desjardins was quick to highlight for his team.
“That is a really good performance,” Desjardins said. “Both teams are missing quite a few guys, we started well, though. We had a really good start and we had a really good start of the second and of the second. Switz played good, later in the third, he played pretty good. But overall, it was a good team game.”
Medicine Hat had eight scratches for the contest, with forward Gavin Mckenna (Canada) and defenceman Veeti Väisänen (Finland) at the World Juniors, 15-year-old forward Luke Ruptash a healthy scratch, Cayden Lindstrom with the Columbus Blue Jackets and four injured players in Hayden Harsanyi (lower-body injury), Harrison Meneghin (lower-body injury), Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (lower-body injury) and Marcus Pacheco (illness).
While it was the Tigers coming out on top Saturday, it appeared the Hurricanes were going to make it a Rocky night at Co-op Place.
Just before the 13-minute mark, affiliate Hurricanes’ forward Easton Daneault knocked in a rebound in the crease for what looked like his first Western Hockey League goal. After a review, with the officials conversing with Chase and the rest of the Paw Patrol, the goal was overturned, keeping it a tie game.
The only other action in the opening frame was an open-ice hit by forward Carter Cunningham on Trae Johnson. Cunningham lined up the Hurricanes’s forward in the neutral zone. The 18-year-old Tigers’ forward was ready for a talk on the wild side, immediately dropping the gloves with 16-year-old Chase Peterson.
Desjardins liked the physicality from his group and Cunningham’s line.
“They can play hard down low and teams have trouble holding them down low, that’s been good for us, we need that,” Desjardins said. “Carter had a big hit, there was a couple big hits in that game, they play hard.”
Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 10-5 in the opening frame and led the second in offence.
The Tigers found twine 2:49 into the middle stanza, with a wrist shot from Oasiz Wiesblatt. The captain was in the slot and took a pass from Andrew Basha to his right, wiring the puck up and over Koen Cleaver for the opening goal. Ryder Ritchie had the second assist on Wiesblatt’s 15th.
Medicine Hat made it a 2-0 lead on the man advantage. With 1:38 left in the period, they maintained pressure in the Lethbridge end before Jonas Woo threaded a shot-pass from the point to Liam Ruck at the net for the quick, chip-in goal.
Older twin-brother Markus had the second assist on Liam’s first of the night.
The Tigers outshot Lethbridge 11-6 in the frame and carried the offence into the third period, notching a pair of goals in the second half for the 4-0 final.
As a power play expired, with 10:32 on the clock, the Tigers had the puck down low in the Lethbridge end. Basha was in the corner, he handed the puck off to Ritchie to sent a cross-crease pass to St. Martin for the tap-in and his team-leading 23rd of the season.
They rounded out the offence, creating an Everest of momentum, scoring off a turnover. Mat Ward held the puck in on a clearing attempt and sent the puck along the boards to St. Martin who tapped it to Liam Ruck in the slot who scored his second of the ninth and 12th of the season.
With the 4-0 lead and 4:46 left on the clock, the focus switched to preserving Switzer’s shutout. The 17-year-old net minder had the Hurricanes looking to the Skye as he handled the heat like Marshall, stopping all six shots he faced in the final frame for the shutout.
Switzer picked up his 12th win of the season and thanked the over 4,800 fans in attendance for the support.
“Waking up, playing at the U18 level you don’t get these crowds every day, so it’s just being grateful that you kind of get to play in front of all these fans,” Switzer said. “They were awesome and it helped us.”
The Tigers (20-14-1) remain atop the Central division with the win and continue a busy weekend, heading to Calgary on Sunday to face the Hitmen in a 2 p.m. contest. They’ll return to Co-op Place on Monday for the final game of a three-in-three, hosting the same Hitmen.
” They’re a very good team, especially in their building, for me, the team just have to show up and play four lines, play just like we did tonight,” St. Martin said. “I’s easier said than done, but we just have to stick to being selfless and playing Tigers hockey, aggressive, fast, hard, confident and we’ll get wins. We know that no matter who’s in or out of the lineup, we know we can win those hockey games.”
The Paw Patrol themed jerseys will be auctioned off online, with proceeds going towards the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. The auction, found here, will run until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
