NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forwards Gavin McKenna and Oasiz WIesblatt cleebrates the latter's first of three goals in a 4-0 Game 1 win Friday at Co-op Place over the Swift Current Broncos at Co-op Place.
A Saturday night showdown will put the first-round series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos on two distinct paths.
Medicine Hat will either hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series or the Broncos will spilt and turn the series into a best-of-five with the next two games in Swift Current.
After an emotional 4-0 win in Game 1 Friday, the Tigers hold an early 1-0 lead in the first-round series. The win was the 11th in a row for the Tigers, riding their second-longest win streak of the season. They strung together a 12-game streak that ended Feb. 1.
In the Game 1 win, Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt tallied a hat trick, Gavin McKenna had four assists and goaltender Harrison Meneghin stopped all 21 shots he faced for his first career playoff win and shutout. It was Meneghin’s first appearance since the sudden passing of his father Derek last weekend.
For the Tigers, it was a night of emotions and triumph, celebrating large in front of 5,458 faithful as they notched one of the 16 wins needed to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup. It’s an effort, Wiesblatt says, they’ll need to double down on if they want that second notch and the command in the series.
“They’re going to be better tomorrow and we’re going to be better tomorrow,” Wiesblatt said. post game. “It’s going to be a hard, competing series, we can’t relax against these guys. They’re going to come out ready tomorrow and try and split one here. So it’s important for us to forget about it and make sure we’re hungry for Game 2.”
Medicine Hat outshot the Broncos 27-21, winning the face-off battle 28-25. They also won the special teams race, running 1-4 on the power play while holding the Broncos scoreless on their four man advantages.
The special teams game is where Swift Current head coach Taras McEwen is looking for a response from his team.
“Some of the adjustments that we made in the intermissions I think created a few chances,” McEwen said. “We’re gonna be opportunistic, so you have to bear down and score on some of the chance that we had. The power play is an area we obviously have to be better, we just didn’t create enough or get enough possession. It’s going to be important in the series though, we’re gonna have to get some production from our power play.”
Swift Current had their chances in the game, with open rushes in the second and third but couldn’t crack Meneghin or generate enough momentum to bring themselves close to getting back into the game.
Neither team strayed away from the physicality early in the game, showing signs of what should be a tight, physical series.
“They’re a type of team who wants to kind of try and get in our heads and make us be un-disciplined,” Wiesblatt said. “It’s important that we stay disciplined throughout the whole series and that’s our main focus. We don’t care what happens after the whistle, we want to play in between the whistles.”
McEwen says they’re focused on finishing checks to try and wear players out as the series progresses.
” You have to finish every check because it’s going to add up,” McEwen said. “Not in Game 1, but as you get later in the series, everything matters. Every check, every physical play matters. So we want to stay engaged in between the whistles, after whistles, the entire length of the game. We want to make sure that we’re in their face and just stay on top of their top guys.”
As the two teams look towards Game 2 tonight at Co-op Place, Desjardins says they are in for a tight series and he expects a response from the Broncos.
“These games are all going to be close and we’re going to have to play well if we can get out of this series,” Desjardins said.
Puck drop for Game 2 is slated for 7 p.m., tickets can be purchased here or at the Co-op Place box office.
