Medicine Hat Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup over his head in front of a crowd of roughly 600 fans gathered at Co-op Place on Saturday. The Tigers were greeted with a heavy fan presence at the rink after the long road trip following a 4-2, championship clinching Game 5 win at Spokane over the Chiefs in the WHL Championship series.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The turning point of the WHL Championship season might not have come on the ice between the Tigers and Spokane Chiefs but on the streets of Medicine Hat.
Medicine Hat hit the road May 12 for Spokane, tied 1-1 with the Chiefs in the league finals after a 6-2 loss on home ice the night before. It was a loss that hung in the air of Co-op Place longer than the popcorn aroma or hot dog scent could last.
They boarded the bus and after a trip through the city with parking lots and streets lined with fans donning the orange and black, head coach Willie Desjardins felt and heard the team’s mood shift.
Three wins later and the Tigers were crowned the WHL Champions for the sixth time in franchise history, with fans fully supporting them along the way.
“It was great how our fans were there to send us off, that 6-2 loss really hurt us, like the boys were down,” Desjardins said covered in Gatorade after the Tigers’ 4-2 championship clinching win Friday in Spokane.
“When we got to go through that (parade) the boys in the bus, you could hear them say, ‘Guys, we have to pick it up and we have to do this for our fans.’ It really did make a difference. You always talk about fans but it made a difference for us to have our fans rally behind us, even when we didn’t have a great game.”
The Tigers’ faithful showed up and showed out throughout the WHL Playoffs, filling out Co-op Place for the nine home games of the postseason and invading every away rink the Tigers played in. Medicine Hat finished the playoffs with a total of 52,529 fans taking in the games at Co-op Place for an average of 5,837.
Goaltender Harrison Meneghin hopes Tigers fans know how impactful they really were.
“Sometimes fans think they don’t make a difference or something, but our fans definitely do,” Meneghin said. “Every night, we love playing in front of them, we didn’t lose in front of a sold-out crowd all season until Game 2. So it’s obviously such an advantage to have the fans we have, and especially in our building, people are scared to come play us here.”
The fans took over rinks, nullifying hostile atmospheres like Prince Albert’s Art Hauser Centre and the Hurricanes’ VisitLethbridge.com Arena, essentially giving the Tigers home ice advantage on the road. Each of the four series saw fan buses make their presence felt. The fans delivered on their promise to support the club as they made the journey back to the promise land, and the Tigers were just as happy they could match the energy.
“It’s just incredible, it’s hard to put into words, this team meant so much to me growing up and a lot of work’s been put in to get us to the stage,” local product Josh Van Mulligen said. “I’m so proud of every single guy, everyone’s put in so much and I’m just so happy for everyone.”
Van Mulligen was a stick boy for the Tigers in 2017, the last time they made it to the Eastern Conference Championship, falling in overtime in Game 7 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Getting the chance to help bring a championship back to Medicine Hat, the first in 18 years, Van Mulligen says his younger self would have never believed it could be possible.
“Every single one of my friends I grew up with playing hockey, they would want to be in my shoes right now and I’m so grateful for that,” Van Mulligen said. “Willie, Joe (Frazer) and (Josh) Maser brought me in here and I’m just really proud of this group.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer has been in Medicine Hat for 15 seasons, two as a player before he joined the coaching staff, a role he’s kept ever since. He was able to borrow the Ed Chynoweth Cup for his birthday on Sunday, taking it out to dinner to celebrate a long time coming.
“It’s just a special moment for the whole city,” Frazer said. “How our fans have been throughout this whole run and to win it for the community, it’s pretty special,” Frazer said. “Now we have a chance to play for the Memorial Cup and it’s a really important week to make sure we refocus and make sure we bring our best out there.”
