PHOTO COURTESY TAYLOR LACHANCE/RED DEER REBELS
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Carter Casey makes a save on Red Deer Rebels captain Talon Brigley in the second period of WHL action Friday in Red Deer. The Tigers opened the penultimate weekend of the regular season with a 9-3 win over the Rebels.
Medicine Hat News
The Medicine Hat Tigers did their part to set up an interesting Saturday night in the WHL.
With a 9-3 win Friday in Red Deer over the Rebels, the last two spots in the Eastern conference are all separated by a point. The Regina Pats, who lost 6-3 Friday to the Brandon Wheat Kings, are in seventh with 59 points. Red Deer is eighth with 58 points and the Moose Jaw Warriors, who won 4-1 Friday over the Swift Current Broncos, are in ninth with 57 points.
On Saturday, Regina is in Brandon, Moose Jaw hosts Swift Current and the Rebels will be in Medicine Hat.
Seven Tigers tallied multi-point efforts in Friday’s win, led by Yaroslav Bryzgalov’s first WHL hat trick, adding an assist for a four-point night. Andrew Basha had a goal and two assists. Liam Ruck scored his 44th, becoming the second CHLer to reach 100 points this season, joining older twin brother Markus who had a pair of assists to extend his CHL points lead to 104.
The Tigers opened the scoring with four straight goals through 29 minutes.
Jonas Woo scored the lone goal of the first period with his 29th, a power play marker assisted by Basha and Markus Ruck.
The Second period started with Bryce Pickford scoring his 45th of the season, Kade Stengrim getting the lone assist. With the goal, Pickford passes the previous franchise record for points in a season by a defenceman set by Cliff Lane in 1975-76. Woo is the current record holder with 86 points.
Kadon McCann scored his 21st and Stengrim tallied his sixth in the last three games. Niilopekka Muhonen and Riley Steen had the assists on Stengrim’s 24th.
Red Deer’s Poul Andersen broke up the Tigers’ run of goals with his first of the period. He scored on a Rebels power play with 59 seconds left in the middle frame. Sandwiched between Andersen’s goals, Bryzgalov tallied a pair, Woo and McCann getting the assists on his first and Basha the lone helper on his second.
Just 2:41 into the third period, Liam Ruck scored his 44th to reach the 100-point plateau, Markus tallying the lone assist. Basha scored a little over halfway through the frame, Luke Cozens and Bryzgalov getting the assists on his 16th.
The Rebels scored with 2:48 left in the game, Kohen Lodge recording his fifth. Before the game ended, Bryzgalov scored with two seconds left on the clock for the hat trick. Carter Cunningham and Muhonen with the assists on his 13th.
Carter Casey made 25 saves for his 19th win of the season. Matthew Kondro started the game for Red Deer, making 21 saves in 40 minutes of play. Peyton Shore worked the third period, making 16 saves as the Tigers outshot Red Deer 46-28.
The Tigers (49-10-5-3) are locked into second place in the Eastern conference with Prince Albert’s 4-0 win over the Saskatoon Blades, clinching the conference championship for the Raiders.
