PHOTO COURTESY BRIAN LIESSE/ SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna and goaltender Harrison Meneghin were named the WHL's skater and goalie respectively of January, following strong months that continued through the U.S. division trip. McKenna is pictured skating up ice in the third period of a 4-3 shootout loss Saturday at Seattle to the Thunderbirds.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers return from the U.S. division road trip with a pair of league honours waiting at Co-op Place.
Tigers’ forward Gavin McKenna and goaltender Harrison Meneghin were named among the league’s best for the month of January, with McKenna tabbed the top skater and Meneghin the top net minder.
McKenna, previously named WHL player of the month for September/October, tallied seven goals and 26 points in 11 games since returning from the World Junior Championships. He had nine multi-point games in January and rides a WHL-leading 26-game point streak.
The Whitehorse, Yuk. product says the Tigers’ success led to his own success, and he also credits extra motivation to his lack of ice time and usage with Canada at the World Juniors.
“I’ve been pretty motivated since the World Juniors, I want to show those coaches what they missed out on,” McKenna said. “They didn’t play me much, so I’ve been pretty motivated ever since then.”
Meneghin went undefeated in January with a 7-0 record, 1.55 goal against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout. He returned Jan. 10 from a lower-body injury suffered Nov. 20 and earned back-to-back goalie of the week honours in the month.
The Tampa Bay Lighting prospect says he was able to watch a lot of games while injured and was pushing himself to get back.
“That itch to come back and play when you’re hurt for so long, it’s nice to be back with your teammates during games and you just want to battle with your teammates,” Meneghin said. “I learned a lot when I was hurt, you watch a lot of hockey, see things you can work on. It’s a nice little refresher coming back, so I’ve felt fresh and just overall, felt good in net and just battled to get good results.”
McKenna also reached the 200-point plateau over the trip, becoming the third-fasted to reach the double century mark in the WHL since 1996. A milestone he credited to his line mate, captain Oasiz Wiesblatt.
“I’ve been playing with Oasiz pretty much my whole career, so without him this wouldn’t be possible,” McKenna said. “He’s taught me a lot, he’s such a fun guy to play with. He’s always looking for me. So with him, it’s been pretty fun.”
Both McKenna and Meneghin played large roles in the Tigers’ success over the U.S. trip, picking up 11 of a possible 12 points. They had a perfect 5-0 record and a 12-game win streak heading into the final contest, an 11th round shootout loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday. They didn’t get back into Medicine Hat until 6 p.m. Sunday, a final bit of length to what Wiesblatt described as a “greasy” road trip.
“I’m really proud of the group, the boys were relentless and after one game, we kind of just forgot about it and went with the next one,” Wiesblatt said. “We did a really good job of not staying complacent and staying hungry in the third periods, that was really huge for us. As well as staying disciplined.”
The six-game-in-nine-day stretch made for a lot of hours on the bus for the Tigers, giving them an opportunity to further bond and also get to know newer teammates in Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii. The team also took in an NBA game, a first-time experience for a lot of the team, getting to watching the Portland Trailblazers beat the Orlando Magic 119-90 on Jan. 30.
It was a near two-week stretch associate coach Joe Frazer says allowed for them to find ways to win different games, either in comeback fashion like the three-goal third period 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs to kick off the stretch or the 7-2 drubbing of the WHL-leading Everett Silvertips four days later.
Now back from the trip, Frazer says they have to keep playing their best because that’s what they’re going to get from every opponent.
“We have a target on our back and that’s a good thing,” Frazer said. “We have goals in mind for the year and we want to make sure we’re ready playoff time. We have 17 games left, all of them are going to be tough. Everyone is gunning to beat us and that is going to make us better.”
Frazer provided an update on the Tigers’ injuries suffered at the end of the road trip. Molendyk, who missed Saturday’s game against Seattle and goaltender Jordan Switzer, who left after 40 minutes against the Thunderbirds, are both day-to-day and should be available for the weekend.
Defenceman Bryce Pickford is considered week to week with an upper-body injury. The 18-year-old Chauvin, Alta. product fought in the first period Saturday against his former club, leaving after sitting in the penalty box for a shift and not returning.
Meneghin skated with goalie coach Matt Wong on Tuesday and the club, after some time off the ice to recoup and refresh, will continue to wind back up for the weekend ahead. They host the Swift Current Broncos (25-20-1-1) on Friday and the East division-leading Prince Albert Raiders (27-15-3-1) on Saturday.
Wiesblatt says they’re happy to be back in Medicine Hat and he hopes to see a packed Co-op Place for their first two games back.
“We’re really excited to get back in this building and play some hockey, we expect lots of fans and lots of energy and it’s going to be an exciting time,” Wiesblatt said. “We’ll put the past 12 games, not behind us, but look forward and look towards these two games. These two teams are pushing out for a playoff, and PA is pushing (to keep) first place in their division, so they’re going to come out ready.”
