Tigers tally pair of wins over Hurricanes to sweep season series

By JAMES TUBB on March 17, 2026.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat Tigers took down their Highway 3 rivals in the penultimate weekend of the season.

The Tigers beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-3 on Friday and won 6-5 in overtime Saturday to sweep the season series for the first time in the Internet era (since 1997).

It’s a pair of wins that sends the Tigers into the last week of the regular season still tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for first place in the Eastern conference, with the East division champions holding a win and a game in hand. They’ll close out the regular season with a home-and-home against the Red Deer Rebels.

“Lethbridge always plays us hard, so both those games were tough, close games, it’s good to get both those,” forward Markus Ruck said. “With Red Deer coming up, they always play us hard, too, especially in their barn. So that first game is going to be a huge one, that’s all we can focus on right now and we just have to get these last two.”

Ruck had a goal and two assists Saturday, becoming the first CHLer to cross the 100-point plateau this season. Younger twin brother Liam had a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, as he sits three points back of Markus for the CHL lead.

“I’ve got a lot of great teammates around me, it’s so much fun playing with these guys and the credit all goes to them, I love this team,” Markus said.

Kade Stengrim recorded his first WHL hat trick Saturday, scoring in all three periods, with the last tying the game with 4:30 left in the third period. The 18-year-old had a pair of goals Friday, bringing his season total to 23.

“It was good, when you’re on the ice with Shaeffer (Gordon-Carroll), for even the last one, that pass from Josh Van Mulligan was awesome,” Stengrim said. “So just keeping my stick on the ice and going to the net.”

Stengrim’s line with Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and Carter Cunningham combined for three goals and eight points in the win. He says they found success with their play in the defensive end.

“Once we kind of get in on the forecheck, we can just work from there,” Stengrim said. “So being hard on other teams’ defencemen, and honestly just being tough to play against in all three zones.”

Friday’s win saw defenceman Jonas Woo tally a goal and an assist to set a new single-season franchise record for points by a defenceman, passing Cliff Lane’s 82 from 1975-76. On Saturday, he was slotted at centre with the Tigers missing Noah Davidson, suspended one game for a goaltender interference major and game misconduct Friday.

Woo stayed at centre for the first two periods, switching back to defence with the Tigers trailing 4-2. Head coach Willie Desjardins says they’ve wanted to try Woo at centre for awhile.

“You don’t know where he might have to play when he goes pro, you might need to play up front, so it was a good chance to see him in that spot and who knows, maybe we need him down the road,” Desjardins said.

Goaltender Jordan Switzer started both games over the weekend, making 31 saves Friday and 12 stops Saturday. Desjardins says they wanted to see him in a back-to-back, with playoffs in mind. The Edmonton product liked getting into consecutive games, wanting more from himself in the OT win.

“Getting ready for the playoffs, you’re going to have to play back to back, so it was good playing both,” Switzer said.

“I could have gave us a few more saves obviously, it’s tough going back to back, but at least we got the win.”

The Tigers are on the road in Red Deer on Friday before they host the Rebels on Saturday for the last game of the regular season. It’s their last chance to tune up before the playoffs, the moment they’ve been looking forward to since training camp, Stengrim says.

“We’ve been talking about playoffs since August so it’s been good and I’m just super pumped to get going here,” Stengrim said. “We still have this weekend, so that’s what we’re focused on right now.”

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