NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer makes one of his 22 saves in a 5-0 shut-out win Saturday at Co-op Place over the Kamloops Blazers.
A lineup shakeup and a player stepping up played a big role for the Medicine Hat Tigers Saturday night.
Coming off a 5-4 loss Friday at Co-op Place to the Edmonton Oil Kings, the Tigers changed up their forward lines and saw forward Marcus Pacheco step up by dropping back, slotting in on defence. The changes worked for the Tigers, with Jordan Switzer recording his second-straight shutout and Hunter St. Martin tallying a pair of goals in a 5-0 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers.
Switzer stopped all 22 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. He blanked the Regina Pats in his last start, a 1-0 win on Feb. 15. The 17-year-old says he’s found a good state to be in and he’s not getting too high with it.
“It’s just finding that flow state and when you’re confident, you’re confident, trying to just keep to the basics of practice, keep the little things good,” Switzer said.
The Blazers came into the contest Saturday off a 5-4 shootout loss Friday at Lethbridge to the Hurricanes, a game they led 4-2 halfway through the third before allowing a pair of unanswered goals.
“Kamloops had a big night in Lethbridge last night, they could have easily won there, so we know they’re a good team,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “We didn’t really let them get going, it’s not like they didn’t have stuff. Switzer made a couple big, big saves early for us, especially on that breakaway right at the start, could have changed things a little bit. So it was a good game. We switched our lines up and I thought the new combinations worked pretty good.”
St. Martin joined Oasiz Wiesblatt and Gavin McKenna on the tigers top line, a move that had early dividends.
A little under eight minutes into the game, Kamloops had a solo breakaway turned aside by Jordan Switzer. The puck went back up the ice from Gavin McKenna to Oasiz Wiesblatt who fed Hunter St. Martin with a pass at the net for the tap-in.
St. Martin’s first of the game opened the scoring at 7:42, also extending McKenna’s point streak to 34 games. The 19-year-old St. Martin, playing in his 200th WHL game, says it’s hard not to be happy to join that line.
“They’re amazing players and we do have chemistry dating back to last year and earlier this year, so it is easy to slot in and play with them,” St. Martin said. “We kind of play off each other well. So it’s nice to play with two, high-end guys like that.”
The Tigers made it 2-0 at 13:03 with an easier goal from the new-look line of Mat Ward, Ryder Ritchie and Misha Volotovskii. The 20-year-old Ward had the puck in the slot and he fed Ritchie to the right of Kamloops starter Dylan Ernst. Ritchie skated behind the net minder and scored by driving the puck into the net. Volotvovski had the second assist on Ritchie’s 24th of the season.
Pacheco was on the ice for both of the Tigers’ first period goals, finishing +2 on the night. He enjoyed playing defence, the first time since minor hockey days.
“Guys are fast and it’s a different perspective when you’re trying to take that on backwards,” Pacheco said. “My D partners, helped me out and Joe (Frazer) of course, talking to me before. Just the support and we talked about staying connected, that helps, just supporting each other at the blue line, or taking on a rush. That’s the big part of it, is staying above.”
Desjardins was happy with his team’s win, liked the offence, but was proud of how the 19-year-old Pacheco stepped up to play defence.
“He was outstanding, that was really good,” Desjardins said. “It’d be interesting to see him after about six or seven games, because there’s stuff that was really good, but defending and that, he needs a little bit more experience just with different reads. But there was parts that were really good.”
It was a sacrifice that wasn’t lost on his teammates.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s huge he can step p in a new role for us especially down bodies,” Switzer said.
The Tigers’ third line also saw change, with Ethan Neutens drawing back in after missing Friday’s game due to an injury suffered in practice Tuesday. He lined up with Kadon McCann and Carter Cunningham.
Medicine Hat added to the tally in the second period with a trio of goals.
Just 6:12 into the frame, Tyson Moss fired a shot on net that forced a rebound right to the stick of Kadon McCann who buried his 10th. Carter Cunningham had the second assist.
Exactly 42 seconds later, some McKenna magic gave St. Martin his second of the night.
The 17-year-old forward had a open rush that quickly saw defenders surround him. He spun to put his back to Ernst, then firing a no-look, behind-the-back to a streaking St. Martin who scored his 35th of the season on the wide open cage. Wiesblatt had the second assist on the highlight-reel goal.
Medicine Hat scored their third of the frame on a scramble, with Niilopekka Muhonenn jamming in a loose puck around the crease for his fourth and the 5-0 lead at 7:37. Josh Van Mulligen and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll had the assists.
That marker ended the night for Ernst, who was lifted after allowing five goals on 19 shots. Logan Edmonstone took over in net, finishing with 25 saves.
The Tigers outshot Kamloops 14-8 in the third period but were held to the five goals, securing the win and Switzer’s shutout. They led the game in shots 44-22, also winning the face-off battle 34-30. Neither team capitalized on a power play, with the Tigers having two man advantages to the Blazers’ one power play.
The Tigers (38-17-3-1) are on the road Sunday, wrapping up a three-game weekend as they head to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings.
“That’s a game that Edmonton should certainly have the advantage on us, we got into that game as the underdogs with it,” Desjardins said. “But your job is to show up and see what happens. So we’ll show up, and we’ll see what happens.”
Game notes
Attendance: 3,928
Three stars
First star: MH Jordan Switzer (22 saves, shutout)
Second star: MH Hunter St. Martin (two goals)
Third star: MH Gavin Mckenna (two assists)
