Tigers down Knights 3-1, move on to Memorial Cup title game

If there were any doubts, the Medicine Hat Tigers proved they can win by gaining three yards in a cloud of dust.

On Tuesday night at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec, the WHL championship Tigers downed the OHL champion London Knights 3-1 in the final round robin contest for both sides at the Memorial Cup tournament which crowns a CHL champion. The win allowed the Tigers to finish on top of the round robin standings with a 3-0 record and advance directly to Sunday’s tournament championship game (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights posted a 2-1 mark to place second in the round robin portion of the event. They will play in a semifinal contest on Friday (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

In the semifinal, London will take on the winner of Wednesday’s final round robin game between the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats and host Rimouski Oceanic (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Wildcats and Oceanic are both 0-2 in round robin play.

In the Tigers win over the Knights on Tuesday, the Medicine Hat side had to grind out victory. The Knights held a 36-29 edge in shots on goal. Both sides were changing things up on the ice to counter each others’ offensive attacks.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna wasn’t able to record a point.

Medicine Hat pulled out victory winning battles for the puck and blocking shots. The Tabbies were also powered by a spectacular 35-save performance by star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin in picking up the win.

The Knights got out to the fast start on Tuesday. Just seconds into the contest, Meneghin stoned Knights centre Jacob Julien on a two-on-one break into the Medicine Hat zone.

At the 3:34 mark of the opening frame, the Knight struck on the power play taking a 1-0 lead. Knights star defenceman Sam Dickinson floated a shot from the point that was deflected home by star right-winger Kasper Halttunen to give their side a one-goal edge.

Mathew Ward scored the winning goal for the Tigers.

London held a 9-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the first period before heading into the first intermission holding a 10-7 lead in that department.

Just inside the first two minutes of the second, Knights star left-winger Blake Montgomery was sprung into the Medicine Hat zone on a breakaway only to be turned away by a blocker stop from Meneghin.

The Tigers broke through on the scoreboard netting a gritty goal thanks to a positive bounce at the 5:11 mark of the second. Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk fired a shot from the point that deflected off a Knights player to Tigers veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens at the left side of the London net. Neutens quickly put the puck into an open left side of the London cage to even the score at 1-1.

The Knights came with a push back after the Tigers pulled even on the scoreboard, but the London side was kept at bay by Meneghin.

Just seconds into the third, Meneghin stoned Knights captain Denver Barkley, who fired a shot on goal from the front of the Medicine Hat net on an offensive rush.

Following that chance, the Tigers were buzzing in the London zone at the 1:17 mark of the frame. Tigers 19-year-old defensive centre Misha Volotovskii poked the puck down to overage left-winger Mathew Ward at the right side of the London net.

Ward quickly looped around the front of the London net and popped home his first of the tournament to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. That tally marked the first time the Knights trailed in the third period at any point in this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

After going ahead on the scoreboard, the Tigers proceeded to focus on defensive structure. With 10:45 remaining in the frame, Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan put a shot off the post of the Medicine Hat net that Meneghin proceeded to gather up.

Harrison Meneghin made 35 saves in goal for the Tigers.

Late in the frame with the Knights on the power play, Cowan was stoned on a close in chance by Meneghin. After that power play expired, Tigers star captain Oasiz Wiesblatt came up with a big shot block on Dickinson with 71 seconds remaining in the frame to help prevent the Knights from pulling even on the scoreboard. At the time of that shot block, the Knights had star overage netminder Austin Elliott pulled for an extra attacker.

With 11.6 seconds remaining in the third, Wiesblatt sprung star right-winger Ryder Ritchie on a break down the right wing into the London zone. Ritchie fired the puck into an empty net to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the Tigers.

Neutens had an assist to go with his goal finishing with a two-point night to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department for the Tigers.

Elliott turned away 26-of-28 shots to take the setback in net for the Knights. In action combined in the CHL regular season and post-season, Elliott saw his record in net fall to 53-3.

The veteran puck stopper started the 2024-25 campaign in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades winning all three of his starts with “the Bridge City Bunch.” Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared WHL waivers.

Elliott was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott.

The puck stopper never played a game for the Colts. He has a 50-3 record playing for the Knights.

During his time in the WHL with the Blades, Elliott won all six of his career starts against the Tigers.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had a big shot block and an assist for the Tigers.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Tigers have won 47 out of their last 55 games including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Now, the Tigers have four days off where they will wait to see who they will play in the Memorial Cup title game. They were last in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on May 27, 2007 falling 3-1 to the host Vancouver Giants. The Tigers went into that tournament as the WHL champions.

The Tigers have won the Memorial Cup twice with the victories coming in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, the Tigers downed the host and OHL champion Oshawa Generals 6-2 in the Memorial Cup title game on May 15 of that year. 

In 1988, the Tigers outgunned the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires 7-6 in the championship contest on May 14 of that year with the event being hosted in Chicoutimi, Quebec.

Medicine Hat is also trying to become the first WHL team to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3 on May 25, 2014, when the tournament was held in London, Ont.

Ethan Neutens had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

If the Tigers take the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday, they would make history on numerous fronts.

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Ritchie on fire for Tigers at Memorial Cup tourney

Medicine Hat improves to 2-0 with 3-1 win over Wildcats

Ryder Ritchie is flourishing in the spotlight of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Monday, the star right-winger recorded a pair of goals and an assist to power his WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats in a round robin contest playing before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators at Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. In two games at the event that crowns a CHL champion, Ritchie has recorded three goals, one assist and a plus-two in the plus-minus department as the Tigers have posted a 2-0 record.

Medicine Hat is guaranteed to play in at least Friday’s semifinal contest of the playoff round. The Tigers close their round robin schedule on Tuesday taking on the OHL champion London Knights (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights are also 2-0 in the round robin portion of the tournament. The winner of the clash between the Tigers and Knights will earn a berth in the tournament’s championship game on Sunday.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats fell to 0-2 with the setback. They will close the round robin portion of the tournament taking on the host Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Oceanic also have an 0-2 mark at the tourney. The club that wins Wednesday’s clash between the Wildcats and Oceanic advances to the tournament’s semifinal contest on Friday. The squad that loses will be eliminated from the event.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

During the post-game press conference on Monday, the action on the ice between the Tigers and Wildcats fell to the background after Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall said he found out about a tragedy in his family before the contest started.

Ryder Ritchie had two goals and an assist for the Tigers.

About 20 minutes before the Wildcats faced the Tigers, Rimouski RCMP contacted Moncton general manager Taylor MacDougall to let him know that his father-in-law Pat Buckley had a heart attack while golfing in Rimouski and passed away. Taylor is Gardiner’s son.

About five minutes before puck drop, Taylor relayed the devastating news of Buckley’s passing to Gardiner. Gardiner said Monday’s contest was the hardest game he ever had to coach.

During post-game interviews, Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins and Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt passed on condolences to the MacDougall family.

As for Monday’s game itself, the Tigers broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:24 mark of the opening frame on Ritchie’s first tally of the contest. Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna broke down the right-wing in the Moncton zone on a rush.

He fired a shot that went wide of the Moncton net, but the puck rebounded off the boards to Wiesblatt positioned at the right side of the Moncton goal. Wiesblatt passed the puck across the front of the net to Ritchie, who buried a shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers would outshoot the Wildcats 13-11 in the first period, but the Wildcats came with a big push back after the Tigers scored in the frame. Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin made three big saves that allowed his squad to head into the first intermission with a one-goal lead.

First, Meneghin made a left pad save to deny Wildcats right-winger Alex Mercier on a breakaway. Following that chance, Meneghin denied 19-year-old import right-winger Juraj Pekarcik on a wraparound. Meneghin then made a right pad save to stone Wildcats left-winger Maxime Cote on a chance alone in front of the Medicine Hat net.

The Tigers hit another gear in the second period outshooting the Wildcats 17-6 in the frame. Early in the stanza, Tigers import defenceman Veeti Vaisanen put a shot on net that came out from under Wildcats star 20-year-old netminder Mathis Rousseau and was trickling towards the Moncton net.

Wildcats defenceman Loke Johansson swept the puck out of the crease of the Moncton net to thwart the scoring chance.

The Tigers thought they went up 2-0 when it appeared super rookie right-winger Liam Ruck scored a power-play goal from the front of the Moncton net. Ruck kicked the puck into the goal from outside the crease, which would be a goal in the WHL but is not a goal in the rulebook used at the Memorial Cup. The tally was disallowed and that ruling held up after a video review.

Gavin McKenna had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

Still working on that same power play, Ritchie drove home a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle in the Moncton zone for his second goal of the night to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Just 31 seconds into the third period, the Wildcats got some traction after defenceman Dyllan Gill directed a point shot at the Medicine Hat net that deflected off a Tigers player into the goal. Gill’s mark cut the Tigers lead to 2-1.

With less than two minutes to play in the third, the Wildcats pulled Rousseau for an extra attacker.

The Wildcats had a clunky line change, and with 1:22 remaining in the third, they were called for having too many men on the ice. The infraction seemed to take the wind out of the Wildcats sails when it came to making one last gasp push to get the equalizer.

On the short-handed situation, the Wildcats were able to get Rousseau pulled again to play the Tigers five skaters against five skaters with about 21 seconds remaining in the frame.

With 7.3 seconds remaining in the third, McKenna fired a puck from his own zone and banked the puck off the right post of the Moncton net into the open cage to cement a 3-1 victory for his squad. McKenna’s tally was the rare power-play goal that was scored into an empty net.

Meneghin stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for Medicine Hat. Rousseau turned away 38-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for Moncton.

Star centre Cayden Lindstrom played his first game of the Memorial Cup tournament for the Tigers on Monday. Lindstrom is still on the comeback trail from a long term back injury.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 21 shots in goal for the Tigers.

The Tigers have won 46 out of their last 54 games including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Tigers’ skill shines in Memorial Cup opening victory

Medicine Hat downs host Oceanic 5-4

Outside of a bump in the road of dealing with a hot opponent’s power play, the Medicine Hat Tigers played well enough to turn heads in the opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Friday skating before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial, the WHL champion Tigers slipped past the host Rimouski Oceanic 5-4 while holding a 38-24 edge in shots on goal. The clash was a back-and-forth battle thanks to the Oceanic cashing in on 3-of-4 chances on the power play.

When the Tigers were playing five-on-five or working on their power play, they showcased really good skill transiting the puck up and down the ice. It is something that has become a trademark of the team since head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins first took up the club’s head coaching duties before the start of the 2002-03 campaign in his first stint with the team. Fans of the Tigers have seen their players play with great skill for a lengthy period of time.

Seeing the Tigers skill live might have also come as a surprise to hockey fans and observers in Eastern Canada only because clubs from the WHL are stereotypically viewed as squads that are very physical and try to drive their opponents through the boards. The Tabbies also showed heart persevering past a couple of moments of over the line physical play.

Medicine Hat opened the game’s scoring with 6:10 remaining in the first period. Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna fired a shot from the left side of the Rimouski net that hit the crossbar and rebounded out to the right side of the goal to star right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Ritchie popped home the rebound to give the WHL champs a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers proceeded to get a scare with 1:46 remaining in the frame while working their first penalty kill. During a scramble at the right side of the Medicine Hat net, Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin was about to cover a loose puck, and he was pitchforked in the groin area by Oceanic star centre Mathieu Cataford.

Meneghin was tended to by Tigers veteran athletic therapist Mikki Lanuk and was able to stay in the game. No penalty was called on the play.

The Oceanic showed their skill scoring on that first power play opportunity. With 20.9 seconds remaining in the first, centre Mael Lavigne tipped home a shot pass at the left side of the Medicine Hat net that came from Alexandre Blais to even the score a 1-1.

Bryce Pickford scored a pair of goals for the Tigers.

At the 10:43 mark of the second just after an Oceanic power-play chance expired, Blais was working on the forecheck in the right corner of the Medicine Hat zone. He stole the puck from a Tigers defenceman and put a pass out to linemate Mael St-Denis positioned in close at the right side of the Medicine Hat net. St-Denis potted home a shot to give the Oceanic a 2-1 advantage.

With 3:42 remaining in the second, the Tigers struck on the power play as Tigers offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford drove home a goal at the top of the right faceoff circle in the Rimouski zone to even the score at 2-2.

The Oceanic proceeded to get a positive puck bounce to score their second power-play goal with 94 seconds remaining in the second. Cataford took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected off a Tigers player and then off the stick of Oceanic captain Jacob Mathieu into the Medicine Hat net to give Rimouski a one-goal edge.

Just 68 seconds into the third, the Tigers evened the score at 3-3, when Pickford wired a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle for his second tally of the contest.

Just over four minutes after that tally, Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt had the puck at the left side boards in his own zone. He made a transition pass to the centre ice zone to spring McKenna on a breakaway. McKenna wired a shot to the top left corner of the Rimouski net to put the Tigers in front 4-3.

The Oceanic would strike for their third power-play goal with 6:56 remaining in the third. Rimouski star centre Jonathan Fauchon fired a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected off a Tigers player into the Medicine Hat net to even the score at 4-4.

Shortly after that tally when play resumed, Wiesblatt was hit from behind into the boards in the centre ice zone when he didn’t have the puck by Oceanic right-winger Maxime Coursol. No penalty was called on the play.

With 2:41 remaining in the third and the teams playing four-versus-four hockey due to offsetting minor penalties, Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk skated to the left faceoff dot and put a shot pass on net that was deflected home by Tigers star right-winger Hunter St. Martin that gave Medicine Hat a 5-4 lead that would hold up as the contest’s final outcome.

Gavin McKenna had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

Meneghin stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Mathis Langevin turned away 33 shots to take the setback in net for Rimouski.

Wiesblatt finished the contest collecting three assists for the Tigers. Including action in the WHL Playoffs, Pickford has scored goals in his last nine straight games putting up 12 tallies over those outings.

Medicine Hat elected not to dress star centre Cayden Lindstrom, who did take pre-game warmup. Lindstrom returned to the Tigers lineup at the start of the WHL Championship Series after being out for over a year with a back injury.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Moncton Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion resumes on Saturday when the OHL champion London Knights take on the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats (4 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

The Oceanic returns to action on Sunday when they face the Knights (4 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Hunter St. Martin had the winning goal for the Tigers.

The Tigers get back at it on Monday when they take on the Wildcats (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Won’t back down – Tigers fight for 3-1 series lead in WHL final

Chiefs’ backs against wall after 5-2 loss in Game 4

The Medicine Hat Tigers theme song in 2024-25 has been “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds.

They might consider adding “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty And the Heartbreakers to their musical repertoire.

Going into Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series on Wednesday night against the Spokane Chiefs at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, adversity continued to pile up for the Tigers. For a second straight game, they were without superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna due to an undisclosed injury.

The additions to the injury list included star centre Cayden Lindstrom and head turning 16-year-old rookie centre Gordon-Carroll Shaeffer. Both were out with undisclosed injuries. Lindstrom played the first three games of the WHL final after missing the rest of the 2024-25 campaign with a long term back injury.

Despite those big losses, the Tigers roared to 5-2 victory to the disappointment of most of the 7,865 spectators in attendance outside of a healthy contingent of supporters that were present for the Medicine Hat side. With the win, the Tigers take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

They will try to close things out and capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions in Game 5 set for Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Tigers will be trying to win their sixth WHL championship in team history and first league title since 2007.

If needed, Game 6 is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. local time at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. If the series gets to a Game 7, it is slated for Monday at 7 p.m. local time at Co-op Place.

In Game 4 on Wednesday, both teams broke on to the scoreboard early. Just 31 seconds into the opening frame, Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie knocked home a puck from the front of the Chiefs net to put the visitors up 1-0.

Just 18 seconds later, the Chiefs evened the score at 1-1. Chiefs 19-year-old defenceman Saige Weinstein fired a shot from the left point that was tipped home by import right-winger Asanali Sarkenov for the equalizer.

The Tigers would take control of the contest in the second period scoring three straight power-play goals to jump ahead 4-1. At the 2:29 mark of the frame, Tigers offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford drove home a shot from inside the top of the right faceoff circle to put the visitors up 2-1.

The contest took a big turn at the 7:50 mark of the second when Chiefs 18-year-old defenceman Nathan Mayes hammered Tigers defensive centre Misha Volotovskii into the boards, when Volotovskii didn’t have the puck. Mayes was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct. Volotovskii left the game favouring his right arm and didn’t return.

The interference major to Mayes will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Part way through that five-minute power play, the Tigers would go on a two-man advantage when Chiefs 20-year-old import star centre Rasmus Ekstrom was given an unsportsmanlike minor for giving Tigers 20-year-old star netminder Harrison Meneghin a snow shower when Meneghin froze the puck.

Bryce Pickford scored a pair of goals for the Tigers.

Just six seconds into that two-man advantage, Pickford drove home his second power-play goal of the contest to the top right corner of the Chiefs net to push the Tigers advantage out to 3-1.

Before the major penalty to Mayes expired, Tigers super rookie Liam Ruck backhanded home a loose puck in the crease of the Spokane net for Medicine Hat’s third power-play marker to give the visitors their 4-1 lead.

With 2:30 remaining in the second, the Chiefs got a power-play goal of their own to trim the Tigers lead to 4-2. Chiefs superstar right-winger Andrew Cristall had the puck at the left point and passed it to linemate Shea Van Olm at the top of the right faceoff dot. Van Olm wasted little time in one-timing home the power-play marker.

Just when the Chiefs thought they had the momentum, Tigers star 19-year-old right-winger Hunter St. Martin took it away. With 30.6 seconds remaining in the second, St. Martin jetted down the right wing, cut wide around a Chiefs defenceman, drove to the Spokane net on a partial breakaway and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the goal to make the Tigers lead stand at 5-2.

The two squads proceeded to skate through a scoreless third frame.

Meneghin stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Dawson Cowan turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

Pickford had an assist to go with his two goals. He has scored at least one goal in his last seven straight games, which is the longest consecutive string of games with a goal by a defenceman in the WHL Playoffs since 1996. Pickford had nine goals over his last seven outings.

Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk had three assists in the win. He has points in his last 12 straight games recording four goals and 16 assists over the course of that streak.

Ruck had an assist to go with his goal.

Before entering the WHL Playoffs, the Tigers placed second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark. The Chiefs were fourth overall in the regular season with a 45-20-1-2 record.

As for the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released back on March 25, the Tigers were ranked third, and the Chiefs were rated sixth.

Including play in both the regular season and post-season the Tigers have won 43 out of their last 51 games. The Tigers are also 11-2-1 during the 2024-25 campaign when they don’t have McKenna in the lineup.

Tanner Molendyk had three assists for the Tigers.

Over the last two games of the WHL final and throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the Tigers have thrived on adversity. That characteristic has them one win away from another WHL title.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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All over the map – Tigers best Raiders 6-4 in series opener

The Tigers celebrate a goal from captain Oasiz Wiesblatt.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Boring – Game 1 between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Prince Albert Raiders definitely was not.

The opening contest of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal between the two sides was all over the map on Saturday night. The host Tigers built a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes and held on to a 6-4 victory before 5,863 spectators at Co-op Place.

The two sides combined to go 4-for-6 on the power play, with the Tigers scoring on all three of their chances with the man advantage and the Raiders cashing in on 1-of-3 opportunities. Even with all the goals, there were some big saves. There were also a handful off good hits and there was even a classic positive boards-bounce goal that was common in the Tigers old home rink – The Arena.

Fans at Co-op Place cheer on the Tigers.

Overall, the coaches on both side had a lot of video to go over before the two squads reconvene for Game 2, which is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. local time at Co-op Place.

Game 1 began with Raiders 20-year-old star netminder Max Hildebrand putting on a show. The Tigers had the first seven shots on goal in the contest only to have Hildebrand slam the door on all those opportunities.

The stops saw Hildebrand stone Tigers veteran right-winger Marcus Pacheco from the right slot, make a glove stop on rookie left-winger Marcus Ruck and deny superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna on a backhander close in.

At the 10:06 mark of the opening frame, the Raiders took advantage of a break. A Tigers pass in the Medicine Hat zone got caught in the skates of an official and was recovered by Raiders rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk in the left corner of the zone.

Evan Smith had the first goal of Saturday’s game.

Boychuk centred a pass to 18-year-old centre Evan Smith, who sniped home a shot to put the visitors up 1-0.

After the Prince Albert goal, the Tigers continued to press. With 3:35 remaining in the first, Tigers rookie-right-winger Liam Ruck put home a shot from close in that just eluded Hildebrand’s glove to even the score at 1-1.

The second period was all Tigers as they outscored the Raiders 4-0 while holding a 20-4 edge in shots on goal. The hosts got rolling when captain Oasiz Wiesblatt tipped home a point shot from star defenceman Tanner Molendyk to put the Tigers up 2-1 while working on the power play.

Liam Ruck (#12) celebrates scoring the Tigers first goal.

The Tabbies pushed their advantage out to 3-1 just 2:27 later on a board bounce tally. Offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford took a shot the right point that missed the net, but the puck deflected out to the left side of the Prince Albert net to Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna. McKenna capitalized on the positive bounce to give the hosts their two-goal edge.

That tally would allow McKenna to have points in his last 46 consecutive outings including action in the regular season and post-season.

Gavin McKenna scored on a positive board bounce goal.

With 5:10 remaining in the second, Tigers 19-year-old defenceman Josh Van Mulligen put a shot on goal that Hildebrand got a piece of, and it looked like initially he gloved it off the goal line. The officials went to a video review that determined the puck did indeed trickle over the goal line, which pushed Medicine Hat’s edge out to 4-1.

With 3:19 remaining in the second, Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie roofed home a power-play goal from near the right faceoff dot to the top left corner of the Prince Albert net to allow Medicine Hat’s advantage to sit at 5-1.

After the second period ended, the Raiders elected to pull Hildebrand to rest him for Game 2. Hildebrand turned away 27-of-32 shots sent his way to take the setback in net. Dimitri Fortin played the third period in relief stopping 3-of-4 shots fired in his direction.

Daxon Rudolph (#10) had a power-play goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to come with a big push back after the goaltending change. At the 5:15 mark of the third, breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph slipped home a power-play goal from the point to trim the Tigers edge to 5-2.

Prince Albert proceeded to score again to cut the Medicine Hat advantage to 5-3, when 17-year-old rookie left-winger Dayce Derkatch shoveled home a loose puck in the crease of the Tigers goal. 

At that moment, the Raiders were all of a sudden back in the game.

The Tigers appeared to get a dagger tally with 4:33 remaining in the third, when 19-year-old checking centre Misha Volotovskii tipped home a point shot from 18-year-old offensive-defenceman Jonas Woo. That marker pushed Medicine Hat’s edge out to 6-3.

Ryder Ritchie had a power-play goal for the Tigers.

The Raiders didn’t go away. Just 25 seconds later, Raiders breakout 19-year-old star right-winger Brayden Dube got on a partial breakaway and put a shot home to cut the Tigers lead to 6-4. Dube missed the Raiders last game with a lower body issue, but he appeared to be moving real well on Saturday night against the Tigers.

Prince Albert wasn’t able to get any closer from there.

Rookie netminder Jordan Switzer, who turned 18-years-old in January, stopped 16 shots to pick up his first career post-season win in net for the Tigers.

The Raiders were without star left-winger Tomas Mrsic for a third straight contest having suffered a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders victory in Game 5 in their first round series over the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Tigers were without star forwards Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders final goal on Saturday.

Basha last played in the Tigers 4-0 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 28, 2024 and has been out with a lower body injury since that time. Lindstrom has been battling a back injury since December 16, 2023 and last suited up on April 5, 2024, when the Tigers fell 5-2 at home to be eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in Game 5 of a first round series against the Red Deer Rebels.

The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark. They took out the Swift Current Broncos in five games in a best-of-seven first round series.

The Raiders won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. They overcame a 3-1 series deficit to down the Oil Kings 4-3 in the first round of the playoffs.

The Tigers salute their faithful at Co-op Place.

If Game 1 of this series is any indication, the series between the Tigers and Raiders will be an entertaining one. Now, we get to see what type of story gets written in Game 2.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Tigers win fourth straight, last two without McKenna

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored his 30th goal of the season on Saturday.

Adversity seems to be firing up the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Saturday night, the Tigers won their fourth straight game blanking the Wheat Kings 5-0 before 3,264 spectators in Westoba Place in Brandon. The last two victories in Medicine Hat’s current streak have been accomplished without having superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna in the lineup.

The 17-year-old, who is the best player not only on the Tigers but in the entire WHL, has been serving a three game suspension for receiving a slashing major and a game misconduct in the Tigers 5-3 win over the Oil Kings in Edmonton last Sunday. McKenna has one game remaining on his suspension that will be served when the Tigers host the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

With 4:39 remaining in the win over the Oil Kings, McKenna was hit high by Oil Kings 20-year-old defenceman Josh Mori near the Edmonton bench. The two spun towards the ice and McKenna swung his stick, with two hands, breaking his stick on Mori’s while the rearguard fell to the ice in a heap.

Mori left that game, but has played in all of Edmonton’s ensuing contests since the McKenna slash.

The incident has sparked lots of talk about the abuse McKenna has taken from opposing teams especially against the Oil Kings, who play a high tension and agitating style of hockey. Feisty overage centre Marshall Finnie often plays the role of top agitator on the Edmonton side.

The Tigers were also without standout defenceman Jonas Woo and Bryce Pickford, who are listed as week-to-week with upper body injuries. Tigers 19-year-old star left-winger Andrew Basha is out indefinitely with a lower body injury and last played in a 4-0 home ice win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Ryder Ritchie had a goal in the Tigers win on Saturday.

Star centre Cayden Lindstrom, who turned 19-years-old in early February, is with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as he rehabs a back injury. Lindstrom, who was selected in the first round and fourth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, is skating under the watchful eye of the NHL club. He hasn’t played a game in the 2024-25 campaign.

Still, the Tigers are overcoming all of these obstacles. With their win over the Wheat Kings, the Tigers continue to lead the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 41-17-3-1 mark, and they currently sit second in the overall WHL standings.

Medicine Hat opened the scoring at the 10:03 mark of the opening frame, when captain Oasiz Wiesblatt potted his 30^th goal of the campaign. That marked the first time in his WHL career the 20-year-old centre cracked the 30-goal plateau for one season.

The Tigers offence blew open the contest scoring three goals in the first 9:58 of the second to surge ahead 4-0. Mathew Ward, who is an overage centre, started the surge scoring on a spin-a-round shot from the point.

Star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up the second tally of the surge firing home a shot from inside the right faceoff circle to the top left corner of the Brandon net after a toe-drag move. The tally was Ritchie’s 25^th goal of the campaign.

Rookie right-winger Liam Ruck, who recently turned 17-years-old, completed the surge potting home a rebound from the front of the Brandon net that came from a shot by 18-year-old rookie winger Carter Cunningham. Ruck’s tally was his 19^th goal of the campaign.

Marcus Pacheco, who is a 19-year-old right-winger, rounded out the game’s scoring potting the Tigers final goal with 3:43 remaining in the third period.

Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin had an outstanding outing making 26 saves for his third shutout win of the season. Meneghin made a number of spectacular saves in the contest.

Harrison Meneghin made 26 saves in a shutout victory.

The Wheat Kings started 19-year-old star netminder Carson Bjarnason, who turned away 20-of-24 shots sent his way. Ethan Eskit played the third period in relief turning away 7-of-8 shots sent in his direction.

Brandon fell to 32-19-4-3 to sit one point behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first in the WHL’s East Division. The Wheat Kings have one game in hand on the Raiders.

The Wheat Kings return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Red Deer to face the 23-28-5-2 Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

The Tigers are looking to continue their roll and keep building momentum over their final six regular season games heading into the WHL Playoffs.

Broncos rally to 4-3 OT win over Raiders

Hunter Mayo had a dream night for a defenceman.

The 20-year-old rearguard with the Swift Current Broncos scored the overtime winner, picked up an assist and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department in his team’s wild 4-3 comeback victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday night. The Broncos erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to the delight of most of the 2,510 spectators at the InnovationPlex.

After the two sides played through a scoreless first period, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic had the only goal in the second frame giving the visitors a 1-0 edge.

At the 9:13 mark of the third while working on the power play, Raiders breakout star 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube potted his 27^th goal of the campaign to increase his squad’s advantage to 2-0.

Broncos 19-year-old right-winger Rylan Gould scored 45 seconds later to cut the Raiders edge to 2-1.

Prince Albert would score their second power-play goal of the contest coming off the stick of rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk, who turned 17-years-old in late January, to push their edge out to 3-1 with 6:55 remaining in the third.

With 3:49 left in the third, Broncos 19-year-old defenceman Grayson Burzynski scored to trim the Raiders lead to 3-2. Mayo picked up an assist on that tally.

Broncos 20-year-old centre Carlin Dezainde proceeded to pot his 31^st goal of the campaign with 57.8 seconds remaining in the third to even the score at 3-3. Swift Current netted that goal with netminder Reid Dyck pulled for an extra attacker.

In overtime, Mayo roofed the winner to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net with 1:24 remaining in the extra session to deliver the Broncos to a 4-3 victory.

Dyck stopped 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos, who improved to 31-25-1-1. Swift Current’s magic number of standings points needed to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs shrank down to 10.

Max Hildebrand turned away 24 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders record moved to 33-20-5-1 to sit one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for first place in the WHL’s East Division. Prince Albert is two standings points away from clinching a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the 15-37-5-2 Regina Pats (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Warriors wipe out 12-game skid with 6-2 win over Blades

After failing to collect a victory in the month of February, the Moose Jaw Warriors are one-for-one in the win department for the month of March.

On Saturday before 2,981 pumped spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, the host Warriors dumped the visiting Saskatoon Blades 6-2. The win ends a 12-game skid for the Warriors, who dropped 11 games in regulation and one contest in overtime over that stretch.

Before Saturday’s victory, the Warriors last win came back on January 31, when they came up with a 4-3 victory on home ice after a tiebreaking shootout against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Warriors 20-year-old import left-winger Krzysztof Macias recorded a hat trick in the win over the Blades on Saturday, while 19-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick picked up three assists. Moose Jaw netminder Matthew Hutchison had an outstanding night stopping 36 shots in the win for a Warriors side that sits last in the WHL with a 12-41-5-2 mark.

Macias and Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic scored to give the host side a 2-0 edge in the opening frame. Blades 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing scored before the first period ended to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1.

Macias added his second of the contest at the 1:33 mark of the second to put Moose Jaw up 3-1. Blades rookie defenceman Jordan Martin, who turned 18-years-old in January, tallied a goal at the six-minute mark of the second to trim the Warriors lead to 3-2.

Macias scored on the power play to complete his hat trick before the second ended to push the Warriors lead out to 4-2.

Moose Jaw rounded out the game’s scoring in the third with a power-play goal from 19-year-old left-winger Pavel McKenzie and Lakovic potting a marker into an empty net for his second goal of the contest. Lakovic had an assist for a three-point night, and McKenzie had two helpers to go with his goal in a three-point night.

Ethan McCallum turned away 16-of-21 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades fell to 30-20-3-4 with the loss, and their magic number of standings points to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs is seven. Saskatoon is five points behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first place in the East Division and four points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for second place.

The Blades have two games in hand on the Raiders and one game in hand on the Wheat Kings.

Saskatoon returns to action in Sunday hosting the 33-22-2-2 Edmonton Oil Kings (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Warriors are off until this coming Friday when they host the Regina Pats (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Tigers’ McKenna sinks Blades with three-point night

Former Saskatoon players combine on Medicine Hat winner

Gavin McKenna had one goal and two assists for the Tigers.

Gavin McKenna ensured a mini slump experienced by his Medicine Hat Tigers didn’t last long.

On Tuesday night, the Tigers went into their WHL regular season clash with the host Saskatoon Blades having posted one regulation loss, one overtime setback and one shootout defeat in their last three games. Against the Blades, McKenna came through with one goal and two assists in helping his Tigers come away with a 5-3 victory before a mostly disappointed gathering of 3,754 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

The win allowed the Tigers to improve to 34-16-3-1 and continue to hold a slim lead for first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They hold a one point edge over the Calgary Hitmen (33-13-3-2), but the Hitmen have three games in hand on the Medicine Hat side.

Gavin McKenna is tied for the WHL scoring lead with 95 points.

While McKenna, who is the Tigers superstar left-winger, had the night’s biggest performance, former Blades members in star defenceman Tanner Molendyk and defensive centre Misha Volotovskii came through with a highlight moment for the Tigers playing their first game against their former club. Molendyk and Volotovskii were dealt by the Blades to the Tigers in a blockbuster trade on January 6.

Just 24 seconds after the Blades scored to force a 3-3 tie in the contest in the third period, Volotovskii tipped home a point shot from Molendyk to put the Tigers up 4-3 with 6:54 remaining in the frame. Volotovskii’s tally held up to win the game.

Gavin McKenna had a key third period goal for the Tigers.

Also having a big night was Blades netminder and former Tigers member Ethan McCallum. McCallum made 38 saves to keep the Blades in the game. Had he not made a number of big saves in net for the Blades, the score of Tuesday’s contest could have been a lot worse with Medicine Hat holding a 43-18 edge in shots on goal.

McCallum was being backed up by associate player call up in 16-year-old Ryley Budd, who is playing regularly for the Edge School Under-18 Prep team in Calgary. Blades star netminder Evan Gardner is out day to day with a lower body injury.

While McCallum was doing his best to keep the Blades in the game, McKenna came through with offence in timely moments to give the Tigers a boost. Just 4:35 into the opening frame, McKenna fired a backhander on net that rebounded to the left side of the Saskatoon goal to Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Ritchie quickly popped the rebound into the Saskatoon net to put the Tigers up 1-0.

Ryder Ritchie had the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

Following that tally, the Tigers proceeded to fire all sorts of shots at the Saskatoon net, but McCallum stood tall to prevent the visitors from pulling away with the game early. That allowed the Blades to get some traction.

With 4:04 remaining in the first, the Blades broke into the Medicine Hat zone on a two-on-one break. Blades breakout 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams broke down the left wing with the puck and slipped a pass across of the face of the Medicine Hat net to right-winger Hunter Laing. Laing potted a backhanded backdoor tap to even the score at 1-1. Import 17-year-old rookie left-winger David Lewandowski started the breakout with a backhanded pass between his legs.

Ethan McCallum stopped 38 shots in goal for the Blades.

Just 41 seconds in the second, Blades sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi, who came to Saskatoon in the trade for Molendyk and Volotovskii, broke down the right wing into the Medicine Hat zone on a three-on-one rush. Harsanyi, who was playing his former Tigers team for the first time since being traded, got in close and sniped a shot low into the left side of the Medicine Hat net to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

Just 2:18 later, Tigers 16-year-old left-winger Markus Ruck broke into the Saskatoon zone down the left wing, fired a shot on goal that was stopped, gathered the rebound behind the icing line and deflected the puck in off McCallum to even the score at 2-2.

Hunter Laing, right, taps home the Blades first goal.

That set the state for McKenna come through again for the Tigers as they went ahead 3-2 with 4:37 remaining in the second. With a faceoff in the offensive zone to the left of the Blades net, McKenna was positioned on the top of the faceoff circle to get off a quick shot on a clean draw win on a set play the Tigers have used for at least two decades.

Tigers 20-year-old captain Oasiz Wiesblatt won the draw back to McKenna at the top of the faceoff circle only for Blades solid 20-year-old defenceman and captain Ben Saunderson to get up on McKenna to cut off the shooting lane. McKenna stayed calm and put a smart pass out to Wiesblatt, who was left all alone at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Wiesblatt put home a backhand shot between McCallum’s legs to give the Tigers their one-goal edge.

Hayden Harsanyi had the Blades second goal on Tuesday.

Medicine Hat proceeded to keep the pressure up on the host side, but the Blades again found a traction moment working on a power play in the third period. With 7:18 remaining in the third period, Blades 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott had the puck at the left side of the Medicine Hat net.

Scott made a pass across the front of the Medicine Hat goal to 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert at the right side of the net. Calvert one-timed home his 20^th goal of the season and 15^th on the power play to even the score at 3-3.

That set the stage for Volotovskii to score the winner for the Tigers just 24 seconds later deflecting in Molendyk’s point shot.

The Tigers celebrate a goal from Markus Ruck (#26).

McKenna proceeded to come through with a dagger goal with 4:38 remaining in the third that sealed the victory. The 17-year-old collected the rebound at the left side of the Blades net off a rebound from a shot taken by Wiesblatt.

From a bad angle, McKenna put home an elite level shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net for his 29^th goal of the season that rounded out the 5-3 score in favour of the visitors.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 15 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

The Blades fell to 27-17-3-3 to remain second in the WHL’s East Division. They have the same amount of standings points as the first place Prince Albert Raiders (28-17-3-1) at 60, but the Raiders hold the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins. Prince Albert also has a game in hand on Saskatoon.

The Brandon Wheat Kings (26-16-4-3) sit one standing point back of both the Raiders and Blades.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Tigers celebrate their win on Tuesday.

The Blades get back at it on Friday when they host the 33-13-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Sasktel Centre).

With his three-point night, McKenna now has 95 points on the season coming off 29 goals and 66 assists. He is tied for the lead in the WHL’s scoring race with Spokane Chiefs right-winger Andrew Cristall, who recently turned 20-years-old. Cristall has his 95 points coming from 35 goals and 60 assists.

Still, McKenna could have had an even bigger night on Tuesday as he had nine shots on goal that included at least three golden scoring chances he was robbed on. Even at his young age, McKenna showed once again that he is truly one of the WHL’s elite players and a total treat to watch.

Blades salute Molendyk, Volotovskii and Desjardins

Tigers D Tanner Molendyk, left, with Blades GM Colin Priestner.

Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii were part of a number of big moments over the last four years for the Saskatoon Blades, and it was fitting they got a homecoming.

On Tuesday, Molendyk, who recently turned 20-years-old, and Volotovskii, who is 19-years-old, returned to the SaskTel Centre for the first time as members of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The two were dealt by the Blades to the Tigers in a blockbuster trade on January 6.

During a pre-game ceremony, the Blades made a presentation to Molendyk, who is a star defenceman and signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators. Blades general manager Colin Priestner gave Molendyk a set of golf clubs, and the Blades announced their team award for the club’s top defenceman will be named after Molendyk. The presentation also included a tribute video.

At the game’s first media timeout in the first period, the Blades paid tribute to Volotovskii, who is a sound defensive centre. They showed a tribute video for Volotovskii that drew big cheers from the 3,754 spectators in attendance. Volotovskii was on the Tigers bench at that time and make sure to get up and give a wave to the crowd.

Tanner Molendyk played 210 regular season games for the Blades.

Molendyk played in 210 career regular season games for the Blades starting in the 2020-21 campaign collecting 26 goals and 108 assists. Volotovskii suited up in 195 career regular season contests for the Blades starting in the 2021-22 campaign recording 19 goals and 16 assists.

The Blades also gave a salute to Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins for picking up his 500^th career regular season win as a WHL head coach back on January 10, when the Tigers downed the Red Deer Rebels 8-1 at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Desjardins served as the Blades head coach as a mid-season replacement in the 1997-98 campaign.

As a player, he was a University of Saskatchewan Men’s Hockey Team legend and was captain of the 1982-83 Huskies squad that won the Canada West Conference and U Sports national championships. Desjardins, who was a forward, was the MVP of the 1983 U Sports National Championship Tournament. In the event’s championship game, the Huskies downed the Concordia University Stingers 6-2 to capture what is now known as the David Johnston University Cup.

Misha Volotovskii played 195 regular season games with the Blades.

The Blades also passed on a birthday greeting as Desjardins turned 68-years-old on Tuesday. The Tigers came away with a 5-3 victory over the Blades, which was the 510^th career regular season victory for Desjardins as a WHL head coach and his 500^th career regular season win as the head coach of the Tigers.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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