NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Mat Ward celebrates his second goal in Game 4, a 5-3 win Wednesday at Lethbridge over the Hurricanes to sweep the Eastern Conference Championship series.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers are going dancin’ for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
The Tigers beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-3 Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Champion series, recording a second straight series sweep and advancing to the Western Hockey League finals for the first time since capturing the franchise’s fifth title in 2007.
Wednesday’s win marks the second time the Tigers have swept the conference finals, having brushed off the Saskatoon Blades in 1998 en route to a second straight WHL title and Memorial Cup championship.
Head coach Willie Desjardins will return to the WHL finals for the third time behind the Tigers’ bench, with two rings already on his mantle. Desjardins says it’s nice to get a day to relax following the win and he’s proud of the group for their play in the series.
“It’s pretty special to win, this has been a really, really good group,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “They’ve played above their level lots of times just because of their heart.
“(Oasiz) Wiesblatt deserves a lot of credit for the character in their room. We have had some exceptional players, obviously (Gavin) McKenna has had a great run, our defence has been really solid and goaltending has been great, so we’ve had lots of good things.”
After a pair of dominating wins to open the series at Co-op Place, the Tigers travelled down Highway 3 and were faced with adversity in both games at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
They trailed most of Game 2 Tuesday, falling behind 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3 before mounting a third-period comeback to set up an overtime winner from Oasiz Wiesblatt for the commanding 3-0 series lead.
In Game 4 Wednesday, they trailed 1-0 again before scoring four unanswered goals to lead 4-1 after 40 minutes. Lethbridge took their turn responding however, notching a couple of quick goals in the third to bring them within one, before McKenna scored on the empty net in the final minute to ice the win and break the hearts of their closest rivals.
The East Finals series was just the third time the two Highway 3 foes had faced off in the playoffs, Lethbridge having won the last two with the most recent coming in 2017 in Medicine Hat. In a season where both teams went all in, it was the Tigers who took over the highway.
“This is something we’ve worked towards all year, but a lot of credit to Lethbridge because they played a hard series,” Wiesblatt said postgame. “It was closer than maybe people thought, they played really hard, they have a really good team down there.
“I’m just really proud of the group and how we responded throughout the four games we played. This is a tough place to play and I thought the group responded really well.”
The Hurricanes came into the series off a tough turnaround, winning Game 7 against the Calgary Hitmen on April 23, getting one day off before the finals began. They were without top-six forwards Leo Braillard and Jordan Gustafson and defenceman Tristen Doyle. It was a quick series but one that Desjardins says illustrated the importance of their second-round sweep of the Prince Albert Raiders.
“That’s why you finish in four to avoid those injuries, it’s really tough for Lethbridge, they have an awful lot of character in that room, Peter Anholt and Bill Peters did an incredible job,” Desjardins said. “They didn’t have the gas to do it. And it’s tough when you get in that spot, but they just didn’t have it and it’s great for us.”
Wiesblatt extended his point streak to 25 games Wednesday. His 14 goals in the playoffs are the third most in a single Tiger playoff run behind Mark Pederson (19 goals, 1987) and Lanny McDonald (18 goals, 1973).
McKenna continues to ride his historic 53-game point streak, also climbing the ranks in Tigers’ single playoff statistics. His scoring tally of eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 13 games has him tied with McDonald for most assists in a single run and puts him third in scoring. He trails the Calgary Flames legend (18 goals, 37 points in 1973) and Tom Lysiak (12 goals, 39 points in 1973).
The Tigers outscored Lethbridge 24-13 in the series, outshooting them in every game for an outlandish 154-89 difference in the four games. Medicine Hat also took control on special teams, with their power play running at 46 per cent. Lethbridge’s man advantage ran at 23 per cent but also surrendered two shorthanded goals from Mat Ward, one in both Games 3 and 4.
They received the better goaltending in the series, with Harrison Meneghin running an .852 save percentage and a 3.19 goals against average. He was lifted in Game 2, only after the Tigers had run away with the lead and Jordan Switzer carried the load for the last half of the third period. Across the ice, Jackson Unger had a .823 SV% and a 7.15 GAA, pulled in both Games 1 and 2.
Meneghin was named the WHL’s goalie of the month for the second straight month, receiving the honours in March, April and in January. He remains undefeated in the playoffs, allowing two or fewer goals in five of nine starts.
The Tigers, on a 10-game win streak, await the winner of the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks series, with Spokane leading the best-of-seven series 3-0 entering Game 4 on Wednesday.
Regardless of the length of that series, Game 1 of the WHL finals will be in Medicine Hat on Friday, May 9 with Game 2 set for Sunday, May 11.
The Tigers, as they’ve had the advantage of all playoffs, will get some time to rest and recover as they get set to reach the goal they’ve been striving toward all season.
“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight and for the weekend, but we’re going to get back on our horse right away we’re not done yet,” forward Mat Ward said.
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