PHOTO COURTESY JEN SMALL
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Marcus Pacheco slotted into Game 3 of the WHL Championship series Tuesday, recording an assist in the 6-0 win at Spokane over the Chiefs.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Staying at the ready was the key for Marcus Pacheco heading into Tuesday.
The Medicine Hat Tigers forward took warmups ahead of Game 3 of the WHL Championship series in Spokane against the Chiefs. He took warmups in the first two games of the series, scratched alongside Markus Ruck with the addition of Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom to the lineup.
But Tuesday night, after his usual warmup routine, Pacheco was tabbed into the lineup with Gavin McKenna a late scratch. He picked up an assist in his first appearance in the series, a the 6-0 win Tiger’s over the Chiefs.
“As a kid growing up as a hockey player, it’s something you dream of so it was an unbelievable experience,” Pacheco said. “Although it was in Spokane, maybe would’ve been cooler in the Hat but I’m just happy with getting in of course.”
Pacheco says the Tigers felt the presence of their fans in the building, with a section covered in orange and black from a fan bus and other Medicine Hat fans scattered around the rink.
“There was a huge group and then a bunch of family of some guys, so that was super cool,” Pacheco said.
The 20-year-old Edmonton product slotted in alongside Liam Ruck and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll on Tuesday. With the latter scratched Wednesday, he was between Hunter St. Martin and Andrew Basha.
He says there were some nerves in his first Championship series game, good nerves he says as they mean they care. Pacheco also says the TSN coverage adds another tingle to the series, with the three two-minute commercial breaks in each period and a new wrinkle, cameras filming in the locker room pre-game.
“A lot of the interviews when they’re coming into our dressing room doing the videos of us getting dressed or just in between periods, it’s kind of cool but it’s a little bit different, not bad just different,” Pacheco said. “You see that growing up and watching those games on TSN but you don’t really see the behind the scenes and what it’s like and what’s actually happening.”
For Pacheco, having played all but five games in the regular season and all 13 games in the playoffs before the Finals, it was a change to watch from the stands. He wasn’t upset, understanding the moment, his role and what the inclusion of Basha and Lindstrom would do for the lineup.
“They’re unbelievable players and guys, so they have to be in the lineup and it’s understandable,” Pacheco said. “They’ve been awesome within the last three games and all the guys share the same mindset. We just want to win, so whatever that takes and we trust the coaches and whatever their decisions are.”
Pacheco played in six playoff games with the Kelowna Rockets between the 2022 and ’23 playoffs, suiting up in just one postseason game with the Tigers last season. Entering Game 4 Wednesday, he had five assists in the 14 games he’s played this spring.
They’re not done yet of course, two wins away from capturing the franchise’s sixth Ed Chynoweth Cup, but he’s enjoyed the ride through the regular season and playoffs with this team.
“For myself as the playoffs it’s just been trying to look at it game by game, and not getting too ahead of myself and looking to the future, but game by game, shift by shift, and doing the best I can,” Pacheco said. “Being there to sacrifice and work towards our goal as a team to win that championship.
“And all the guys are on the same page, which is awesome, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to do with and that’s how we all feel. So it makes it pretty easy being around the rink, being around each other and wanting to sacrifice for each other.”
