NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB Medicine Hat Tigers forward Ryder Ritchie dekes around a Raider defender in the first period of a Tigers' 6-1, Game 3 win Wednesday at Prince Albert’s Art Hauser Centre.
PRINCE ALBERT
The Medicine Hat Tigers look to put a bow on the second round of the WHL playoffs.
The Tigers hold a commanding 3-0 series lead as they face the Prince Albert Raiders tonight in Game 4 at the Art Hauser Centre. Medicine Hat is on the verge of advancing to the East finals for the first time since 2014, Prince Albert looks to keep their season alive.
The Tigers took the 3-0 series lead with a 6-1 win Wednesday night in Game 3 of the second-round series, scoring four unanswered goals at the Art Hauser Centre en route to the win.
Medicine Hat has scored first in two of the three games in the series, they scored in the first 90 seconds of all three periods Wednesday.
The Raiders overcame a 3-1 deficit in a first-round series with the Edmonton Oil Kings, winning three straight to earn a spot in the second round. It’s a showcase of resiliency Tigers’ head coach Willie Desjardins says they will have to battle through.
“That team came back from 3-1, they think they’re going to come back from 3-0, that’s their plan and they’re going to come hard,” Desjardins said. “They’ll give everything they have to get it. So we don’t have anything to look at but this series and this game with P.A., that’s our only focus. So (Thursday) is a tough one, we have to be good, and they’re going to work hard.”
It appears the Tigers will run the same lineup as they did in Wednesday’s win, Harrison Meneghin will make his seventh start of the playoffs after making 21 saves in the win Wednesday. A potential change could see Carter Cunningham draw into the lineup. The 17-year-old is listed as questionable for Game 4, he has yet to appear in the series but could work in barring another injury in the lineup.
Two of the three games the Raiders won in that first-round series comeback came at home at the Art Hauser Centre. It’s a trend of season-long resiliency interim head coach Ryan McDonald says his team will need if they want to keep playing this year.
”It’s sticking to the process and sticking to the game plan, the sun’s gonna come up tomorrow,” McDonald said postgame Wednesday. “We’ve been in this position before and we’ll lean on the experience we just had. But again it’s simplifying and sticking to our process.”
The Prince Albert Raiders appear to have the same lineup for Game 4 as they did Wednesday. Defenceman Tyrone Sobry is listed as a game-time decision, centre Harrison Lodewyk is tabbed as a starter and also questionable.
Max Hildebrand gets the start.
The puck drops for Game 4 at 7 p.m. If needed, Game 5 is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. in Medicine Hat at Co-op Place.
