Medicine Hat Tigers forward Andrew Basha stick handles the puck in the Lethbridge end in the first period of an 8-4 win Saturday at Co-op Place over the Hurricanes.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers wrapped up January in winning fashion.
They beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-4 on Saturday at Co-op Place for their ninth win of the month. The Hurricanes came into the game on a three-game win streak.
“We knew Lethbridge would come and play hard, they’d won three in a row and it’s always a rivalry between the two teams,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “They got a good start and our guys battled hard, so we had a good response.”
Andrew Basha had a pair of goals to extend his point streak to seven games. He has seven goals and 20 points in the 12 games he’s played since being reassigned from the AHL. He’s liked how the Tigers have responded from their three losses in the month.
“We’ve had a couple tough games, like the ones on the road, but overall pretty good,” Basha said. “This is the best part of the year, going into playoffs, the final stretch in the last couple months. So just keep learning from every game and just bring everything we can.”
Noah Davidson had a pair of goals with an assist for his first three-point game in the WHL. The Irvine, Calif. product has 15 goals and 30 points in 48 games this season. He’s enjoyed playing alongside Ethan Neutens and Yaroslav Bryzgalov since Basha returned and slotted between Markus and Liam Rucks.
“They’re both really good players,” Davidson said. “Both big, physical, really great on the forecheck. Obviously playing with the Rucks is really nice, but I’m loving it just as much with Bryz and Neuty.”
Carter Casey made 17 saves in the win, his 13th of the season.
The Tigers also saw the Rucks continue to add to their sophomore tallies, with Markus recording three assists and Liam notching a goal and two helpers. The pair of Osoyoos, B.C. products are in the top five in league scoring, Liam third with 29 goals and 69 points, and Markus tallying 12 goals and 68 points, both playing 48 games.
They were without defencemen Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo and forward Shaeffer Gordon-Caroll, and Desjardins has liked how the rest of the defence group has stepped up in their absence.
“Josh Van Mulligan has really stepped up, lots of guys were good, (Riley) Steen and (Tyson) Moss have come a long ways since the start of the year,” Desjardins said. “The two Fins are really good players and Gavin Kor has come back and played (defence) which was huge for us. So it good to see from the group.”
The Tigers head into a three-game week that starts Wednesday at home against the Edmonton Oil Kings. They have a home-and-home series with the Swift Current Broncos on Friday and Saturday.
After losing 7-5 Friday in Moose Jaw to the Warriors, the Oil Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos 6-3 Saturday in a game that had a combined 172 penalty minutes. The Oil Kings await supplemental discipline from the league on forward Jaxon Fuder after he was assessed a checking to the head major and a game misconduct in Friday’s loss.
The Tigers are four points back of the Prince Albert Raiders for the Eastern conference lead, with P.A. shut out 4-0 Saturday by Saskatoon. The Raiders beat the Blades 2-1 Sunday.
The Tabbies are five points ahead of the Oil Kings in the division with the same number of games played.
“It’s a four-point game for us (Wednesday),” Davidson said. “They’re in our division and we’re fighting for top spot in the conference with them, so it’s a huge game and we just have to play our game and hopefully good stuff will happen.”
