NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Carter Casey makes a stick save on a Portland Winterhawks' breakaway attempt in the second period of WHL action Saturday at Co-op Place. The save was one of Casey's 31 saves en route to his first WHL shutout in the 5-0 win.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
The Medicine Hat Tigers got back in the win column by keeping the Portland Winterhawks off the scoresheet.
Starter Carter Casey turned aside all 31 shots he faced for his first WHL shutout in just his second start as the Tigers blanked the U.S. division opponent 5-0 Saturday at Co-op Place.
The 17-year-old Grand Rapids, Minn. product recorded his first win exactly a week ago, a 7-1 win at home over the Calgary Hitmen. Seven days and 31 saves later, cheers of “Casey, Casey” rained down from the 4,074 in attendance with each stop in another milestone win.
“I felt good, it was good that in my second start it’s the second time we’ve had a goal scored within the first 30 seconds, so that was nice, kind of settled me in a little bit,” Casey said. “We did a really good job tonight, my first couple shots were pretty easily handleable, they could give me feel of the puck.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins has continued to like what he’s seen from the U.S. goaltender through his first showings.
“Not just 31 saves, he probably had four or five breakaways in there as well, so he was outstanding,” Desjardins said. “He really played the puck well too, so that was big night. He said two back-to-back games here that he’s been very good.”
The Tigers helped Casey settle in with that early goal.
Defenceman Riley Steen fired a shot from the top of the slot that beat former Tigers net minder Cruz Chase, finding twine 29 seconds into the game for his first WHL goal. Veeti Väisänen and Kadon McCann had the assists.
Chase made one preseason start with the Tigers before being traded to Portland on Sept. 22. Saturday’s game was his WHL debut, finishing with 32 saves.
The 17-year-old Steen was able to share the moment with Markus and Liam Ruck, two skaters he’s played alongside for years.
“The puck came out and I didn’t really see if someone touched it but people started cheering and it was just amazing,” Steen said. “Especially with the Rucks on the ice too, coming from U15 prep with those guys all over here, getting drafted with them, it’s just special feeling with those guys.”
The Tigers made it a 2-0 lead a little over five minutes later, with another milestone.
Blue liner Luke Warrener carried the puck into the Portland end and spun a pass to the slot. Carter Cunningham sent the puck on net where Misha Volotovskii scored on the door step, potting his fifth of the season for a 2-0 lead at 5:47. The assist gives Warrener his first point in the WHL.
They rounded out the first with a power play goal. The Tigers’ man advantage cycled the puck around, with Liam Ruck sending a cross-ice pass to his older twin brother Markus. The eldest Ruck fed Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll at the side of the net for the easy tap-in and his sixth goal in 10 periods of play. Gordon-Carroll finished with a goal and an assist, giving him six goals and eight points in four games to start the year.
They outshot Portland 14-10 in the first period. Medicine Hat came into the contest off a 4-2 loss Friday at Calgary to the Hitmen, snapping a four-game win streak. Forward Cam Parr liked the Tigers’ response from the loss.
“We picked up on mistakes,” Parr said. “Calgary and Portland play a very similar way, so we watched back all the video and we figured out what we could do different and it worked.”
An early goal in the second period gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead.
Gordon-Carroll stripped the puck off a Winterhawks’ forward in the Tigers end and he carried it up ice, stopping up inside the Portland zone. The Salt Lake City, Utah product fed a streaking Kade Stengrim who wired a shot from the slot that beat Chase for his second goal of the season and the 4-0 lead 5:23 into the frame.
The rest of the period belonged to Casey who turned aside 11 shots, making a few highlight-reel stops as the Tigers allowed some out-numbered chances and turned the puck over. They still outshot Portland 12-11 in the frame.
“Casey was unbelievable,” Parr said. “He kept us in the game all night.”
The Tigers made it a 5-0 lead with a second power play goal on the evening.
Captain Bryce Pickford scored with a laser from the circles for the 5-0 lead at 6:23. Tyson Moss and Liam Ruck had the assists on Pickford’s sixth of the season, the leader among WHL defencemen. Liam Ruck finished with two assists on the night.
Medicine Hat was without defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen (injury) and Jonas Woo (one-game suspension). The Tigers outshot Portland 37-31 and held them scoreless on five power plays, going 2-5 on their own man advantage.
“Our penalty killing has been exceptional, like it’s been unbelievable,” Desjardins said. “It was so good in Calgary and was great here again tonight. Then our power play capitalized on a couple big ones too, in Calgary too.
“Special teams are huge, and having lots of guys chipping in, for Steen it was good to see him get one, Stengrim it was good to see him score. So lots of guys getting on the scoresheet.”
The Tigers (6-2) have Sunday and Monday off for Thanksgiving before they host the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday in the first meeting between the clubs since the WHL finals in May. Desjardins says both teams will be ready for that rematch.
“It always means something, they’ll be good and we will have to be ready,” Desjardins said.
