Medicine Hat Tigers forward Marcus Pacheco, playing defence, makes an exit pass out of the Tigers' end in the first period of a 5-0 win Saturday at Co-op Place over the Kamloops Blazers.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There was never a doubt for Marcus Pacheco heading into Saturday night’s Tiger game, his first as a defenceman.
The Medicine Hat forward had spoke with the Tigers’ coaching staff leading into the week about the possibility of him dropping back to defence, working into a couple drills through the week with Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo out with injury.
Coming off a 5-4 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday, Ethan Neutens being eligible to return from an injury suffered in practice and Riley Steen running out of affiliate games, hypothetical become a reality for the 19-year-old.
He slotted in on defence in the Tigers’ 5-0 shut-out win over the Kamloops Blazers, finishing +2 on the night. An outing that impressed head coach Willie Desjardins.
“He was outstanding, that was really good,” Desjardins said. “It’d be interesting to see him after about six or seven games, because there’s stuff that was really good, but defending and that, he needs a little bit more experience just with different reads. But there were parts that were really good.
“It’s pretty big because you can look bad, like there’s a chance a guy might be really bad, but he didn’t hesitate. He said, ‘yeah, if that’s what you need.’ There was no hesitation with it.”
Pacheco enjoyed playing defence, the first time since minor hockey days.
“Guys are fast and it’s a different perspective when you’re trying to take that on backwards,” Pacheco said. “My D partners, helped me out and Joe (Frazer) of course, talking to me before. Just the support, and we talked about staying connected, that helps, just supporting each other at the blue line, or taking on a rush. That’s the big part of it, is staying above.”
Hunter St. Martin scored twice in the win, Ryder Ritchie, Kadon McCann and Niilopekka Muhonen all scored against Kamloops, and Jordan Switzer made 22 saves for his second-straight shutout, third of the season.
Pacheco was back on defence Sunday in Edmonton and he opened the scoring for the Tigers with a first-period goal. They trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes, scoring three third-period goals for the 5-3 win and four of six points on the weekend.
The pair of wins came with highlight-reel goals, and the shutout provided bright moments for the Tigers. But it was the efforts and willingness of Pacheco that stood out to coaches across the weekend.
“He’s one of the best team guys I’ve ever seen,” associate coach Joe Frazer said. “Coming into this year, we didn’t know where he’d fit and he worked his way in. Played centre, played wing, bottom six, top six, penalty killed all year. Then when we asked him to play (defence), he does it, goes all into it and does it with a smile. He’s just the ultimate team guy.”
Pacheco, nicknamed ‘Marcus Makar’ by teammates after Saturday’s game, wasn’t looking to take any glory for doing what he described as just being part of as close-knit a team as the Tigers are.
“The team is super tight and we love each other,” Pacheco said. “There’s guys hurt, we’re short on defence and the coaches approached me and asked if I wanted to do that. So of course, I’m 100 per cent in with the team needs, no matter what.”
He says he would don goalie pads but admitted he would not do very well between the pipes. Luckily enough for the Edmonton product, the Tigers goaltending has more than held their own all season. Harrison Meneghin, bouncing back from the loss Friday, made 25 saves on Sunday in his 17th win of the season.
St. Martin scored his 36th of the season, Mat Ward scored and Gavin McKenna finished with three points, tallying a pair of goals to put him at 32 on the season. He added two assists on Saturday as well, with Sunday’s tallies extending his WHL-leading point streak to 35 games, tying Connor Bedard (Regina Pats) and Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers) for the longest total in the WHL’s internet era, both reaching that total in the 2022-23 season.
The Whitehorse, Yuk. product was named the WHL’s player of the week for the second time this season. He had three goals and nine points in four games over the week.
McKenna’s Sunday night ended early in Edmonton. After eating a couple of cross checks to the head near the Edmonton bench, McKenna slashed Edmonton defender Josh Mori across the leg, earning a five-minute major and a game misconduct with 4:39 left in the game.
The Tigers and Oil Kings have had spirited matchups all season, with tensions boiling over Dec. 7 when Edmonton forward Roan Woodward two-hand slashed McKenna in the knee, sending the then 16-year-old to the dressing room to end the second period. Woodward was not penalized or suspended for the slash and McKenna returned to play, as did Mori on Sunday.
With the pair of wins on the weekend, the Tigers remain in first place of the Central division and the Eastern conference with a 39-17-3-1 record. They’re three points up on the Calgary Hitmen (37-15-3-2) who hold three games in hand.
The Tigers are off until Friday, the first of a two-game East division road trip that starts in Regina against the Pats before they head to Brandon on Saturday to face the Wheat Kings.
