NEWS PHOTO JMAES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Brayden Ryan-MacKay lays a hit on Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Lukas Lima in the first period of a 4-2, preseason win at Co-op Place on Sept. 6.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers will get their first look at a pair of division opponents.
The Tigers are in Lethbridge tonight taking on the Hurricanes for the first time in a meaningful game since they swept the Highway 3 rival in the Eastern Conference Championship Series. The two teams did meet in the preseason, with the Tigers recording a pair of wins.
Lethbridge has started the season with a 1-3 record, picking up their lone win Sept. 20 with a 4-0 shutout win over the Calgary Hitmen. The Hurricanes lost 5-3 to the Hitmen the night before and suffered a pair of losses last weekend, falling 5-3 to the Saskatoon Blades on Sept. 26 and 4-2 to the Red Deer Rebels on Sept. 27.
Former Tigers forward Shane Smith is tied for the Hurricanes’ team lead in scoring with three goals and six points in four games. Forward Luke Cozens has the same stat line as the 20-year-old Smith.
The Tigers’ division weekend continues with a Saturday night match at Co-op Place against the Hitmen. After splitting opening weekend with the Hurricanes, the Hitmen enter this weekend with a 2-1 record, beating the Central division-leading Edmonton Oil Kings 6-3 on Sept. 27.
Calgary has a pair of first-year WHLers leading them in scoring, with 18-year-old forward Kale Dach and 17-year-old import draft pick Andrei Molgachev each recording two goals and four points. Overage forward Ethan Moore also has four points through three games, with three helpers flanking his lone goal.
The Hitmen penalty kill leads the WHL in efficiency, running at 91. 7 per cent. Medicine Hat enters the weekend at 12th, running at 76.9 per cent. Lethbridge is two spots behind the Tigers at 73.3 per cent.
On the power play, all three teams rank in the bottom third. The Tigers come in at 21st with 11.1 per cent scoring on the man advantage. Lethbridge is 22nd at 12.5 per cent, Calgary is 17th at 15.4 per cent.
“We’ll just take it day by day,” Tigers forward Cam Parr said. “Those are two good teams over there and those are crucial points. So just day by day, just working out in practice here and building our game for the weekend.”
The Tigers enter the weekend with four injuries to starters, missing forwards Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, Ethan Neutens, Gavin Kor and defenceman Josh Van Mulligen.
Calgary is without 16-year-old defenceman Parker Schellenberg and 18-year-old forward Ben Kindel, who remains at Pittsburgh Penguins training camp. The 11th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft has played in five preseason games, recording a goal and an assist.
Lethbridge forward Easton Daneault is listed as day to day on the WHL’s weekly report with a lower-body injury.
