NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Mat Ward celebrates his hat trick goal against his former club in the third period of a 5-2 win Saturday night at Co-op Place over the Swift Current Broncos.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers maintained a fragile division lead with a weekend split.
After a 4-1 loss Friday at Swift Current, the Tigers rebounded with a 5-2 win Saturday at home over the Broncos.
Both games had standout, individual performances. On Friday, Broncos’ forward Luke Mistelbacher scored all four goals for the green and blue. In the win Saturday, it was former Bronco Mat Ward who stole the show.
The 20-year-old forward recorded his second career hat trick, adding an assist – the 150th of his WHL career – for a four-point night. He scored twice in the first period, finding the back of the net six seconds apart – nearly a WHL record. The two goals scored by Ward in a span of six seconds ties him for the second-fastest scored by the same player in league history.
But Ward downplayed the personal accomplishment.
“It’s cool to hear but I don’t really look at it like that, just trying to help the team win,” Ward said.
He was humble about his performance, instead speaking to how his line alongside Hunter St. Martin and Ryder Ritchie performed. Ward says head coach Willie Desjardins challenged his line to be better defensively ahead of Saturday’s game.
“We applied that and it just worked out for the best,” Ward said.
“It’s good to be able to bounce back. If you look in a playoff series, you’re not going to go 16-0, you’re going to have some tougher nights. It’s the ability to punch back when you get punched in the face.”
Ward’s assist came on a third period goal off Ritchie’s stick, Oasiz Wiesblatt scored on the empty net later in the frame to ice the win. Wiesblatt was happy to see Ward get his flowers with the hat trick at home.
“It’s a pretty cool moment for him,” Wiesblatt said. “He’s had a few unlucky bounces this year and it’s great he broke through that and dominated Swift.”
With the four-point night, Ward bumped his season tally up to 11 goals and 26 points in 37 games. Beyond the high-scoring night, Desjardins liked the performance from Ward’s line.
“We really needed a good game, we’re still really short, so we needed a big game from that line and we got a good game,” Desjardins said. “It just says a lot. Everybody looks at the points, but it’s not the points. Look at the last goal, their guy gets it onside, Ward comes out, takes away the lane, going to block the shot. The guy has to turn, we turn it over and then we score. But it’s all because he gets in the shooting lane and does such a great job.”
Ward carried the puck up ice on the breakaway, maintaining possession after a stick check at the blue line. He broke in and scored backhanded on net minder Reid Dyck with a move he joked that he pulled a time or two during his five years with Swift Current.
“My confidence was pretty high that game so I thought I’d get my hands out a little bit,” Ward said. “Maybe I’ve gone a few times on Dycker there but I don’t think he’s expecting it.”
Jordan Switzer started both games, picking up his 14th win of the season with 23 saves on Saturday.
“To bounce back after that loss (Friday), it’s huge for my confidence, especially for our group,” Switzer said. “We have guys coming back in the lineup, so I think we can bring confidence in to next week.”
The Tigers had eight scratches for the third-straight game. Forward Gavin McKenna and Veeti Väisänen are expected back this week from the World Juniors. Hayden Harsanyi and Harrison Meneghin are also close to a return.
Cayden Lindstrom remains with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and an update on Andrew Basha and Carter Cunningham is expected this week.
Desjardins liked his team’s bounce-back weekend, handling yet another stretch with a shorthanded lineup. But it was his captain who stood out, staying committed to the team despite a special moment for his family.
Wiesblatt’s older brother Ozzy, the former Prince Albert Raider, made his NHL debut on Friday with the Nashville Predators on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. The Predators and Ozzy played Saturday at Calgary, with the Tiger captain’s family in attendance just down the road.
“His whole family’s there, he would have loved to be in Calgary, but he decided to stay with his family here instead and he had a great night for us,” Desjardins said.
Wiesblatt was able to watch the third period both Friday and Saturday night, speaking with his older brother over the phone after both games.
“It felt brutal not being able to be there, but it’s life and I have to lead these guys and do my part,” Wiesblatt said. “But it’s really cool for him. He said right when he walked out in the warm-ups he said, ‘Woah, this is the NHL,’ and sitting beside Steven Stamkos, just an unreal moment. So my mom’s pumped and we’re all really proud.”
Wiesblatt says his brother told him about his game plan for being able to compete at that level, and the younger of the four brothers says the NHLer looked good on the ice in the bits he saw. Seeing his last name across the back of an NHL jersey in a regular season game had the 20-year-old smiling as he showcased pride and ambition at the idea of making it two jerseys donning the family moniker.
“It’s going to happen, I just have to work and take advantage of my opportunities,” Wiesblatt said. “But it would be unbelievable, really unbelievable. It’s something you kind of dream of your whole life and my mom deserves it. But that would just be unbelievable.”
The Tigers (22-15-2) are tied with the Saskatoon Blades and Calgary Hitmen for first place Eastern conference with the win. They’re off until Wednesday when they host the Prince Albert Raiders at Co-op Place for the first time this season.
