NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt gets in front of a one-time blast from Calgary Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk on a five-on-three power play in the first period of a 5-2 Tigers' win Monday at Co-op Place.
The Medicine Hat Tigers wrapped up 2024 in winning fashion.
The Tigers scored three times on the power play Monday night, propelling them over the Calgary Hitmen 5-2 at Co-op Place. It’s a win that also wraps up a three-in-three stretch for the orange and black, recording five of a possible six points on the weekend. They lost 4-3 in overtime Sunday at Calgary’s Saddledome.
“It was a lot of heart this one,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “A lot of character, a lot of team playing for each other. It was a tough schedule. I don’t know when we’re going to get healthy, but you have to win those games. We really needed those points. The guys found a way, it was just a lot of character.”
Medicine Hat had eight scratches for the contest, with forward Gavin Mckenna (Canada) and defenceman Veeti Väisänen (Finland) at the World Juniors, Cayden Lindstrom with the Columbus Blue Jackets and fiveinjured players. Forward’s Andrew Basha and Carter Cunningham are listed as day to day, all three of Hayden Harsanyi (lower-body injury), Harrison Meneghin (lower-body injury), Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (lower-body injury) are week to week.
Jordan Switzer started his third-straight game, making 21 saves in the win. He enjoyed the challenge of starting three consecutive games and he says it’s easier to due with the team battling in front of him as the Tigers did all weekend.
“The guys in the room it’s easy to battle for them night and night out,” Switzer said. “You can see us blocking shots late in the game and cheering each other on. It’s really good, it’s really fun to play that many games in that many nights.”
Medicine Hat opened the scoring early in the game.
Just 38 seconds into the contest, Mat Ward jammed in a loose puck on a rebound for the early advantage. Hunter St. Martin and Josh Van Mulligen had the assists on Ward’s eighth of the season. It was the second game in a row the line of Ward, St. Martin and Ryder Ritchie scored in the first minute.
The Tigers led 1-0 after 20 minutes, surviving a five-on-three penalty kill in the middle of the frame.
“The boys stepped up huge,” captain Oasiz Wiebslatt said. “There was a lot of blocked shots and obviously Switzer standing on his head.”
The Tigers penalty kill finished 1-3 on the night, with the power play running at 3-6.
A lengthy second period saw both teams find twine and the review staff get a lot of practice at re-winding video.
The Hitmen tied the game up 5:32 into the period with a power play goal from Connor Hvidston. The 20-year-old forward knocked in a pass from the corner, sending a floater into the net. That goal was reviewed for an apparent high stick earlier on the play, but the goal stood. Oliver Tulk and Ben Kindel had the assists, extending point streaks to 14 and 17 games respectively.
Just over 10 minutes later in the frame, Hvidston broke into the Tigers’ end on a two-on-one and crashed into Switzer with the puck. A fellow Hitmen fired the puck into the net with Switzer laid out. The goal was immediately waved off and Hvidston was sent to the penalty box for two minutes.
On the ensuing power play, Oasiz Wiesblatt got the final touch on a bouncing puck around the net. On a review, the Tigers’ captain made contact with Calgary net minded Eric Tu, knocking the net minder’s arm with his leg. The goal stood, putting Medicine Hat ahead 2-1 at 14:25, Liam and Markus Ruck had the assists in Wiesblatt’s 16th.
The Hitmen tied the game up 31 seconds later, with Tulk cashing in on a rebound at the side of the net. Kalem Parker fired a shot from the point that went wide, finding Tulk’s stick for the tying goal.
For the second time in the game, the Tigers scored in the first minute of a period. Jonas Woo carried the puck up ice on a power play, streaking into the Hitmen end before firing a puck towards the crease that bounced off defender Carter Yakemchuk into the net. Wiesblatt and Van Mulligen had the assists on his fifth.
The Tigers made it 4-2 at 15:33, capitalizing on a third power play. Bryce Pickford wired a shot from the point for his WHL defenceman leading 15th of the season. Woo and Wiesblatt had the helpers.
They iced the win with 1:40 left in the game, St. Martin scored on the empty Calgary net to electrify the 3,519 in attendance. Ritchie chased the puck down the ice into the corner and sent it to St. Martin in the slot for the easy tap-in and his 24th.
Wiesblatt finished the night with a goal and two assists. Both St. Martin and Woo had a goal and an assist and Van Mulligen had a pair of helpers.
Calgary outshot the Tigers 23-21 also winning the face-off battle, 33-32. Medicine Hat finishes the calendar year of 2024 with a 36-26-6-2 record.
The Tigers (21-14-2) remain in first place of the Central division and are off until Friday when they head to Swift Current for the first of a home-and-home with the Broncos.
