NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck points to forward Noah Davidson in the penalty box while celebrating his second period goal in a 7-3 win Wednesday over the Brandon Wheat Kings at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers head into the Holiday break in a real festive spirit.
The Tigers enter their nine-day break off a 7-3 win Wednesday at Co-op Place over the Brandon Wheat Kings, sending them into the Holidays with a 10-game win streak. It was the meeting of the WHL’s two hottest teams, Brandon having won seven straight entering the game.
“We knew they were going to be good, so have we, I think our record is better,” captain Bryce Pickford said. “But the last few times we played them, they beat us so we couldn’t take them lightly. We had this game marked for a long time and I thought we were ready for them.”
Pickford, playing in his 200th WHL game, scored on a third-period power play for his league-leading and CHL defenceman leading 25th of the season.
Brandon grabbed a pair of one-goal leads in the game before the Tigers scored three straight to lead 4-3 after 40 minutes. A three-goal third period rounded out the win, their 22nd. Noah Davidson (9) and Kyle Heger (5) scored tying goals. Liam Ruck (14), Ethan Neutens (5), Tyson Moss (5) and Jonas Woo (16). Kade Stengrim and Markus Ruck each had two assists.
For Moss, the reigning WHL rookie of the week, Wednesday’s goal gives him four in his last week after tallying his first WHL hat trick in the 10-2 win Dec. 13 over the Swift Current Broncos.
“Mosser is one of my best friends, so when I see him score, it just warms up my heart,” Pickford said.
Carter Casey made 22 saves for his ninth win. He also recorded an assist on Moss’ goal, for his first WHL point.
“Â It feels good, obviously the last two games for myself haven’t been ideal, thankfully the team bailed me out and we got a couple wins,” Casey said. “It feels good to get in there. I felt like I played better tonight and beating a high scoring team like that, Brandon is good, especially a team that we’ve struggle against.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins says the win should help the net minder who had worked .700 save percentages in his previous first two starts.
“If you go into break and you’re kind of wondering, it should get his confidence back again,’ Desjardins said. “He’s played some really good games, not only the Calgary game and the Portland game he won for us, he’s played great for us at different times. We know he’s a good goalie, so it’s good to see him playing again.”
The Tigers will head into the Holiday break leading the Central division with a 22-6-3-2 record, three points up on the Edmonton Oil Kings (21-7-3-1) who hold a game in hand. They also lead the Eastern conference, one point up on the Prince Albert Raiders who host the Kelowna Rockets today.
Despite running the 10-game win streak, Desjardins says they’ll welcome the break.
“We’ve been pushing it pretty hard here and I don’t think we’ve been playing quite our best hockey towards the end here, so getting a break will help us,” Desjardins said. “Coming out of it, we have some really tough games and those teams will play hard. So we better take care of ourselves over the break.”
The Tigers head to Lethbridge on Dec. 27 to face the Hurricanes before hosting the Red Deer Rebels on Dec. 28 for a 4 p.m. contest. They’ll finish 2025 in Red Deer, facing the Rebels on Dec. 30.
