NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Harrison Meneghin squares up to make a save in the second period of the Tigers WHL Championship clinching, 4-3 Game 5 win Friday at Spokane over the Chiefs.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Before the WHL Playoffs started, Medicine Hat Tigers goaltending coach Matt Wong asked for some help.
He said a prayer, not for the Tigers to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, but for a special moment to happen.
“I said, ‘God, winning a championship won’t change my life, but it might change some of these boys’ lives,'” Wong recalled after Game 5 of the WHL Championship series against the Spokane Chiefs.
A little over two months later and the player he was thinking of got his moment. Tigers net minder Harrison Meneghin was able to lift the WHL’s championship trophy high into the sky of the Spokane Arena, having led his team from the back end to a sixth franchise title, earning MVP honours in the process.
He was swarmed by teammates after being announced as playoff MVP, and a few moments later, mauled as he got the first chance to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup after the final game of what has been a trying but inspirational playoff run. Meneghin’s father Derek passed away March 23, the final day of the regular season, as his son backstopped the Tigers to an Eastern Conference championship.
He stood tall that night and continued to throughout the playoffs, playing for more than just himself. Capturing a WHL championship Friday was a special moment for the 20-year-old, getting to share it with his family.
“There’s been so many ups and downs throughout this journey, but the thing that makes it awesome is the people you share these moments with,” Meneghin said. “My teammates, my family, even my friends, I feel like this is needed for a lot of people. So I’m super happy right now, just looking back at everything that’s happened, it’s one of the bright things.”
In Spokane on Friday was his cousins Jackson and Ava, sister Georgia, an aunt and uncle and his mom Samantha.
“There’s so many people here, so many special people that, you know, I love so dearly. It’s super awesome to share this moment with them,” Meneghin said.
Meneghin recorded 14 wins in the playoffs with 34 saves Friday to capture the title. He earned the WHL’s playoff MVP with a 14-1 record, a .906 save percentage, 2.35 goals against average and three shutouts.
The Tigers played all playoffs with stickers on their helmets and pins on the coaches’ labels adorned with ’35, Dad,’ in honour of the Meneghin family. Every effort they made, every win achieved was for the team and even more so, for their friend Harry.
“It has been pretty special, t’s been really hard on him but the guys were always behind him and his family,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “They’re a really special family, it’s incredible what they’ve been through. But our boys did rally and they wanted it for him.”
Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt, Desjardins, defenceman Tanner Molendyk and forward Mat Ward travelled to Surrey twice during the playoffs when Meneghin returned home to be with his family, showing support to bring him back and attend his father’s funeral.
It was then Wiesblatt thought of the idea of giving his goaltender the first chance to lift the trophy if they won, something he pushed aside until the night before Game 5 of the Finals when he couldn’t sleep. He knew then, if they could win that next game, it would all be for Derek and Harrison.
“I was just thinking about it and there’s no way I can just lift this thing by myself, it has to be Harry,” Wiesblatt said. “We said a prayer in Calgary when it happened and there was a lot of special words that were said and it was all for Harry, just a special moment. That one was to just hoist it for his dad first and it was just something I had to do.”
Meneghin wasn’t expecting it in the moment but as a gesture, he wasn’t surprised who it came from.
“Oasiz being a captain, he’d be the guy to do that, he’s such an unbelievable person and teammate,” Meneghin said. “For those that obviously wouldn’t know him, they probably wouldn’t expect that. But I’m not surprised just because of how good of a person he is.”
Later in the day Monday, Meneghin was recognized by his NHL club the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning, who selected him 206th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, announced they had signed the net minder to a three-year, entry level contract.
