NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Yaroslav Bryzgalov dives to swipe at a loose puck in front of Calgary Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu in the first period at Co-op Place on Tuesday. The Tigers beat Calgary 4-3.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
The Medicine Hat Tigers got back in the win column Tuesday night.
The Tigers beat the Calgary Hitmen 4-3 Tuesday at Co-op Place, rebounding from an 8-5 loss Saturday to the Prince Albert Raiders, a defeat that snapped their team-record 19-game win streak.
After a slow start, the Tigers responded with four straight goals to hold on for the win. Associate coach Joe Frazer gave credit to the Hitmen and the Tigers’ effort in the second half of the win.
“Calgary’s first period was really good, it was big to get that power play goal just to tie it up in the first and then we got to our game in the second,” Frazer said. “I thought the second period was pretty good, that Davidson goal in the third period was huge to make it four goals. But we have to stay on the box late, gave them some momentum there. But it was just great to hold onto that game, Casey was great in net for us. So a big two points.”
The Hitmen opened the scoring with a gift of a goal.
Tigers starter Carter Casey bobbled a puck in his end and Hitmen forward Shaun Hildebrandt capitalized, scoring on the open cage for a 1-0 lead 3:13 into the game.
The 18-year-old net minder made 31 saves for his 11th win of the season. It was Casey’s first start since Jan. 9 when he allowed three goals on six shots in the first period of an 8-3 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
“It feels really good to get an opportunity to get in net and I felt like I took advantage of it,” Casey said. “The boys in front were really good and overall a great team win.”
Medicine Hat tied the game up on a power play.
Andrew Basha threw a puck on net that Liam Ruck tipped five hole on Calgary starter Eric Tu for his 26th goal of the season. Markus Ruck had the second assist on the marker, tying the game up at 1-1 through 20 minutes. The Hitmen outshot the Tigers 14-4 in the first period.
After a slow start to the second period for the Tigers, killing off a penalty to start the frame, they ended with a bang.
A flurry of chances saw the puck spend extended time in the Calgary end. Defenceman Josh Van Mulligen had the puck at the point and he fed a wide-open Markus Ruck at the bottom of the circles. Ruck sent the puck to Basha in the slot and he scored his fourth of the season, giving Medicine Hat a 2-1 lead with 2:05 left in the frame.
They struck again when Jonas Woo stepped off the bench into the Calgary end, picked up a loose puck in the high slot and took two strides before wiring a shot from the point that found twine for the 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Noah Davidson had the assists on Woo’s 24th of the year.
The Tigers run of goals continued into the third period when Noah Davidson jammed a backhand shot up and over Tu for the 4-1 lead 8:53 into the third period. Neutens and Bryzgalov had the assists on Davidson’s 13th of the season.
Tuesday’s action was Bryzgalov’s first game back from serving a four-game suspension from a hit to the head major assessed in the third period of the win over the Thunderbirds. Forward Ethan Neutens also made his return to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension for a hit to the head major in the 3-2 shootout win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Jan. 14.
Defenceman Veeti Väisänen also slotted back into the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury.
The Hitmen capitalized on a power play halfway through the third. Andrei Mogalchev fired a shot from the face-off dot that found the back of the net, making it a 4-2 game with 8:51 left in the contest.
Medicine Hat pushed to re-establish the two-goal lead before the Hitmen pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. They threw puck after puck on net, looking to draw within one. Calgary finally scored with nine seconds left on the clock, Rylan Ng getting the last knock on a loose puck to make it the 4-3 final.
The Hitmen tried for a last second attempt but couldn’t get a shot on net as the Tigers secured their 32nd win of the season.
Calgary outshot the Tigers 34-31, Tu made 27 saves in the Hitmen net. Medicine Hat was 1-1 on the power play, Calgary was 1-2 with the man advantage.
The Tigers (32-7-3-2) are on the road this weekend, facing the Saskatoon Blades on Friday before they have a rematch with the East division leading Raiders.
“It’s a huge weekend, probably the biggest weekend that we’ve had this year,” Davidson said. “Saskatoon is a great team and they’ve given us a good fight earlier. And then PA, that’s a four point game, so it’s huge for us.”
