NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Garin Bjorklund and defenseman Pasha Bocharov smile and laugh during the Tigers first autograph session of the season after Tuesday's 5-4 shootout win over the Regina Pats.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers gave their fans something to celebrate twice Tuesday night.
On top of a two-goal third period comeback that led to a 5-4 shootout win over the Regina Pats, the Tigers hosted their first autograph session since the 2019-20 season, which only featured a few before the rest were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Tigers netminder Garin Bjorklund said it’s great to see the team’s faithful in person and give back to those who support them every night.
“They’ve been so awesome all year through our ups and downs this season,” Bjorklund said. “They’ve been there supporting us and cheering us on, this is the least we can do, is give back and share some time with our fans.”
Bjorklund made 36 saves in the win Tuesday night and was one of five Tigers in the first group that signed their own trading cards post game. He was joined at the table by forwards Brayden Boehm, Oasiz Wiesblatt, Owen MacNeil and defenceman Pasha Bocharov.
Bocharov, who was acquired by the Tigers in a three-way deal with the Saskatoon Blades and Prince George Cougars on Dec. 28, got his first chance to meet Tabby fans and he was happy with the showing.
“It was an unbelievable turnout and it was awesome just being able to interact with all of the fans and see those personalities, it’s great,” Bocharov said. “They do a great job and you always see stuff around the community, it’s a really nice community here in Medicine Hat and really great fans.”
The Escondido, Calif. product has quickly become a fan favourite in his 27 games with the Tigers. The building popped when he opened the scoring in the first period Tuesday for his third goal of the season. When asked what it means to be turning into a bit of a favourite with the fans, he said he was flattered.
“I think we have a lot of good guys with a lot of good character but it’s really nice to hear,” Bocharov said.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins said while laughing it’s nice for the guys to do the autograph session after a win but also did say it’s nice just to interact fans again.
“Regardless if you win or lose, our guys they appreciated it and it’s good for us to get a chance to mingle with our fans,” Desjardins said. “They are such a big part of this group. We’ve missed not being able to do that and it’s good to be able to do it again.”
The Tigers net autograph session is after Saturday night’s home contest against the Swift Current Broncos. With Oren Shtrom, Noah Danielson, Andrew Basha, Rhett Parsons and Reid Andresen breaking out the markers.
