Tigers topple WHL-leading Silvertips for 11th straight win

By James Tubb on January 29, 2025.

PHOTO COURTESY EVAN MORUD/EVERETT SILVERTIPS Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna reaches out to celebrate one of his two third period goals–part of a three-goal, four-point night as the Tigers beat the Everett Silvertips 7-3 Wednesday.

Wednesday Night in the Dub was Medicine Hat Tigers’ night in Everett.

The Eastern conference leading Tigers axed the WHL-leading Silvertips 7-3, beating the best in the West on the back of a four-point effort from Gavin McKenna.

The 17-year-old phenom tallied a hat trick and added an assist as the Tigers recorded their 11th straight win, sitting a perfect 4-0 to start the U.S. division trip. With the win, the Tigers’ surpass the 10-game win streak in the 2016-17 season, with the next longest win streak being 17 games, achieved in the 2006-07 championship season.

Wednesday’s game was featured on the WHL’s YouTube page and available for free on CHL TV and WHL Live. Medicine Hat came into the contest off a 5-2 win Tuesday at Wenatchee over the Wild. Everett last played on Jan. 26, a 2-1 win over the Tri-City Americans.

It was the Silvertips first on the board, defending home ice.

Off a rush, Tiger net minder Harrison Meneghin stopped a pair of shots before Carter Bear knocked in a rebound while in the crease. The goal was quickly discussed by officials but stood, putting the Silvertips ahead 1-0 9:12 into the contest.

Medicine Hat left the first period with a 2-1 lead after a pair of goals.

With a delayed power play, Hunter St. Martin skated towards Jesse Sanche’s net and fired a pair of shots on the Everett net minder. He made both saves before Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll knocked at a rebound he couldn’t stop, tying the game up at 1-1 at 17:03. Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk had the second assist on GordonCarroll’s sixth of the season.

The Tigers struck 58 seconds later, with Marcus Pacheco’s ninth on the year. Mat Ward had the puck along the boards in the Everett end and he sent a short pass to Pacheco in the circles who scored five-hole to put Medicine Hat ahead. St. Martin tallied his second helper in the frame with a secondary assist. Wednesday was Pacheco’s 200th career WHL game.

The Tigers tallied the lone goal in the middle frame, with the Gavin Mckenna show on full display.

Just 1:30 into the second stanza, while killing a penalty, Oasiz Wiesblatt drove up ice with the puck, no defenders in sight and McKenna beside him across the ice. The Tiger captain faked to shoot and passed over to McKenna for the easy shorthanded goal, the first in his WHL career. Josh Van Mulligen had the second assist as McKenna extended his point streak to 24 games, the longest streak in the WHL this season.

Medicine Hat ended the second on another penalty kill, one the Silvertips capitalized on in to start the third.

After Meneghin made a pair of saves, Dominik Rymon scored his 24th from the point to make it a 3-2 game 32 seconds into the third period.

That was as close as Everett got as the Tigers rattled off four straight goals for the statement win. Just 1:09 after Everett drew within one, the Tigers struck on a power play.

McKenna had the puck near the corner in the Everett end on a power play, drawing all the attention from the defenders. He sent a pass to a wide open Bryce Pickford in the slot for a one-timer and the 4-2 lead. Molendyk had the second assist on Pickford’s WHL defenceman leading 20th of the season.

The special teams continued to work for the Tigers, with McKenna scoring his second career shorthanded goal. The projected first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft poked a puck away from a Silvertip at the Tiger blue line and flew down the ice before scoring five-hole for the 5-3 lead at 4:30. His second shorthanded goal gives the Tigers a WHL-leading 14 on the season.

Goals kept piling on, with Jonas Woo blasting a shot from the point in the Everett end that beat Sanche for the 6-2 lead at 7:24. Ethan Neutens had the lone assist on Woo’s ninth.

The Tigers final goal came from the star of the night, with McKenna scoring off a wrist shot from the top of the circles to release hats from the Tigers faithful in attendance and send the remixing Silvertips fans heading for the parking lot. No. 72 made it 7-2 with 4:27 left in the game, Wiebslatt and Veeti Väisänen had the assists on McKenna’s third of the night and 25th of the season.

Everett scored the final goal of the game, with Cole Temple beating Meneghin at 19:06 for the 7-3 final. Meneghin finished his ninth with 27 saves. Across the ice from him, Sanche made 15 saves.

The Tigers were 1-2 on the power play, also holding Everett scoreless on four power plays while capitalizing with the two shorthanded goals. Medicine Hat won the face-off battle 30-26. Wednesday night was the first meeting between the clubs since the Tigers’ traded former captain Tyler MacKenzie to the Silvertips during the 2024 WHL Draft.

The Tigers (32-15-2) are off Thursday before they head to Portland on Friday to face the Winterhawks. They wrap the U.S. division trip on Saturday at Seattle against the Thunderbirds.