Tigers and Raiders fans battle over God’s place in hockey

A quartet of Tigers players take part in a prayer circle on Saturday.

A holy war is breaking out in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the fans of the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Prince Albert Raiders.

The trigger moment for the rising heat between the two fan bases came at the conclusion of Game 2 of the set played before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, which was won 5-0 by the Tigers on Saturday night. At that point, the Christian players on the Tigers set out to do their traditional prayer circle.

Before I go on, I want to say I liked how all parties in the Tigers, Raiders and the game officials handled the next part.

After the game ended, Raiders defencemen Linden Burrett and Matyas Man skated to centre ice, and both went down on one knee at the faceoff circle. When the Tigers were done celebrating and sharing congratulations around netminder Jordan Switzer, Tigers captain Bryce Pickford, assistant captain Jonas Woo, centre Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, right-winger Luke Cozens and left-winger Cam Parr separated from the rest of the Tigers and looked towards centre ice.

Pickford, Woo, Gordon-Carroll and Cozens are the four regulars who always take part in the Tigers prayer circle. To me, it looked like the group of Tigers players asked the Raiders players if they wanted to do a prayer together.

From my view, it looked like Burrett waved them away and told the Tigers players to go do their thing. In sports, the team logo at centre ice or centre field is a big thing, and it seemed like the Raiders players wanted to protect the logo.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Tigers rebound in Regina

Medicine Hat praises youthful Pats in playoff battle

Keets Fawcett, left, of the Pats chases Noah Davidson of the Tigers.

REGINA, Sask. – It was a great night to be a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Tuesday playing before 3,603 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Tigers downed the host Regina Pats by a convincing margin of 8-2 in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the set with Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

The victory was a big one for the Tigers, who dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pats in Game 2 on Saturday at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Before that Game 2 encounter, the Tigers had beaten the Pats 12 straight times, where Regina’s previous victory was a 5-4 overtime win on home ice back on January 20, 2024.

Zach Moore was snake bitten with a disallowed goal.

While Medicine Hat won by a convincing final score on Tuesday, Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins saluted his team’s youthful foes in the Pats.

“I thought Regina played well,” said Desjardins. “They were right there early.

“I thought our goaltending played well early. They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team.

“They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team. We’re going to have to play good.”

Medicine Hat came into the first round series as heavy favourites to beat Regina. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third in the league’s overall standings at 50-10-5-3. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov scored the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

The Pats finished seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 25-34-7-2 mark. The Regina side is a more youthful side that is starting to see positive results from a rebuild. The Pats strength is in their younger age groups seen in forwards Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue, who are playing half-time with the squad as 15-year-old underage players.

Tigers captain Bryce Pickford has been impressed with the young Pats. He was happy his club came up with the rebound win on Tuesday night, but he said he is aware of what the Pats are capable of doing.

“They’re a really good team,” said Pickford. “They came into our barn for the second game, and they stole it from us.

Kade Stengrim scored the Tigers second goal on Tuesday.

“We can’t underestimate them. We knew they were going to be good tonight. We had all the energy.

“We knew what we had to do, and we did it.”

Just 1:48 into the contest, the Pats were snake bitten by some bad luck. Zack Moore, who is a 19-year-old centre, appeared to score on a backhand shot, but the goal was waved off as he scored it using a broken stick. He also received a delay of game penalty on the play for using the broken stick, but the Regina side was able to kill off the infraction.

Bryce Pickford posted one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating.

The Tigers weren’t deterred without being able to score on that power play. At the 7:47 mark of the first, import left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov sniped home a shot from low down in close to the left side of the Regina net to put the visitors up 1-0.

With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, Pats left-winger Keets Fawcett drew a penalty shot on a rush to the Medicine Hat net. On his penalty shot attempt, he was stoned by Tigers starting netminder Jordan Switzer.

After that missed chance by the host side, Tigers left-winger Kade Stengrim scored with 6:06 remaining in the third and Pickford tallied with 34.7 seconds remaining in the frame to push the visitor’s advantage out to 3-0. 

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates his first of two goals on Tuesday.

The Tigers exited the opening frame holding that 3-0 lead, while having a 13-12 edge in shots on goal.

Pickford said his squad caught a couple of breakings in the opening 20 minutes, especially with Moore’s disallowed goal early in the frame.

“I think that luck was definitely on our side there with that no goal,” said Pickford. “We got lucky.

“We’re lucky the stick broke there. We got a bounce, and then we bounced back and we scored. They’re a really good team.

“They started off hot. They played better than us in the first I thought, and we just found a way to win the game.”

Just 43 seconds into the second, import left-winger Ruslan Karimov scored for the Pats to cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. 

Liam Pue scored his first WHL post-season goal on Tuesday.

Tigers star 20-year-old left-winger Andrew Basha responded with a pair of goals coming at the 9:53 and 12:25 marks respectively to push Medicine Hat’s lead out to 5-1.

Following Basha’s second goal, the Pats pulled starting goalie Marek Schlenker, who turned away 14-of-19 shots taking the setback in net for Regina. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 17-of-20 shots playing the rest of the way in relief in the Pats net.

Regina responded quickly to the netminder change. 

Just 29 seconds after Basha’s second tally, Pue netted his first career WHL post-season goal for the Pats to trim the Tigers lead to 5-2.

Maddox Schultz brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

The Tigers proceeded to stall any momentum the Pats gained. With 30.2 seconds remaining in the second, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham wired home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Regina net to give the visitors a 6-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Noah Davidson and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll added singles for the Tigers in the third to round out the 8-2 final score in favour of Medicine Hat.

Switzer stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

Pickford said his squad has to continue to be aware of what the Pats are capable of.

Markus Ruck congratulations Jordan Switzer on a good game.

“They’re a young team, but they played really good,” said Pickford, who had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-three in the plus-minus department for the Tigers. “Their forwards are fast.

“Their “D” are good. We just have to keep it going. After the first game, we kind of let off and then they took the second game. I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to learn from this game is that we’ve got to keep it going more than just one game.

“They are a really good team over there. We’re going to get their best next game, so we’ve got to be ready.”

Desjardins said Tuesday’s game was a lot closer than the final score said it was. He has been impressed with the Pats’ battle, and he expects the Regina side to continue to play hard for the rest of the series.

“They’re giving us everything we can possibly handle,” said Desjardins. “We were worried coming in tonight for sure.

A group of Tigers players close the night with their prayer circle.

“We were taking nothing for granted. They played well at home and in our building. They’ll be playing hard tomorrow.

“We know that.”

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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Biggest win of the season

Blades down Tigers 3-2 after tiebreaking shootout

The Blades celebrate their win over the Tigers on Friday.

If the Saskatoon Blades need a boost in the “believe” department, they got it against one of the best the CHL has to offer.

On Friday night playing before 4,263 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the host Blades found themselves trailing the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 2-1 late in the third period of a WHL regular season contest. The Tigers came into the contest sitting third overall in the WHL, leading the circuit’s Central Division and were rated fifth in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Inside the final minute of the third, the Blades were working the puck in the Medicine Hat zone with star netminder Evan Gardner pulled for an extra skater. The Blades worked the puck down to star 17-year-old centre Cooper Williams, who was positioned off the right of the Medicine Hat net just above the icing line.

Cooper Williams scored with 55.8 seconds remaining in the third.

Williams ripped a shot from that spot past Tigers 18-year-old rookie netminder Carter Casey with 55.8 seconds remaining on the clock to force a 2-2 tie and overtime.

The two squads proceeded to skate through a five-minute three-versus-three overtime still locked in a 2-2 tie causing the contest to go to a tiebreaking shootout. Blades 18-year-old centre Hayden Harsanyi scored in the second round of the shootout and Gardner turned away all three shooters he faced to deliver the Blades to a 1-0 victory in the tiebreaking session and a 3-2 win in the contest overall.

The win allowed the Blades to improve to 24-16-3-1 to sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Tigers saw their record move to 32-7-3-3 to remain third overall in the WHL and second overall in the Eastern Conference.

Hayden Harsanyi had the shootout winner for the Blades.

The Blades victory over the Tigers was both a gutty and surprising one. Saskatoon’s odds of pulling out the upset were hampered due to entering the contest having four defencemen out of the lineup due to injury.

The hosts were missing Derek Thurston and Jordan Martin due to upper body injuries and Isaac Poll and Kaden Allan due to lower body injuries. In order to take the ice with six defencemen, the Blades had to dress a pair of 16-year-old associate player call ups.

Julian Revel skated in his fourth game with the Blades having been brought in from the Edge School Under-18 Prep team in Calgary. Luke Dumas suited up in his second game for the Blades after being brought in from the Northern Alberta Xtreme Under-18 Prep team located in Devon, Alberta, which is just southwest of Edmonton.

Ethan Neutens scored to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers were missing a key member of their roster as captain Bryce Pickford was out with an upper body injury. Aside from Pickford’s absence, the Tigers had everyone else on their roster ready to be utilized.

While the Blades were incredibly short staffed on defence, they played the Tigers pretty much even up throughout the night on Friday.

The Tigers opened the game’s scoring at the 8:50 mark of the opening frame. Medicine Hat 20-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens deflected home a point shot from rookie import 18-year-old left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov to give the visitors a one-goal edge.

While the visitors got the opening tally, they weren’t able to build their lead. The Tigers held an 11-10 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes. Casey and Gardner locked things down in their respective nets resulting in Medicine Hat going into the first intermission holding just the one-goal edge from Neutens’ tally.

Hunter Laing scored the Blades first goal in the third period.

The netminders on both sides continued to shine in a scoreless second period that saw the Tigers hold an 11-5 edge in shots on goal. With about 7:40 remaining in the frame, Blades 19-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing appeared to pop home the equalizer, but the play had been blown dead with a scrum around the Medicine Hat net.

With about 30 seconds remaining in the second, 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies had a pair of chances in close in front of the Medicine Hat net, but he was denied by Casey.

Just before the midway mark of the third period, the Blades were finally able to break through on to the scoreboard to force a 1-1 tie. Laing had the to the right of the Medicine Hat net just above the icing line close to the right side boards. He slipped home a shot to the short side over top of Casey’s shoulder for the equalizer.

Andrew Basha gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 8:01 left in the third.

After Laing got the Blades on even terms, it appeared Tigers 20-year-old star centre Andrew Basha delivered what could have been a dagger moment in the contest. With 8:01 remaining in the second, Basha fired a shot from the left side boards in the Saskatoon zone that Gardner got a piece of, but the puck fell into the crease and slowly slid across the goal-line into the Saskatoon net to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

That set the stage for the dramatics where Williams netted the equalizer inside the final minute of the third and the Blades proceeded to get the win after the tiebreaking shootout.

Gardner stopped 27 shots over 65 minutes and all three shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Casey turned away 29 shots over 65 minutes and one of two shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in net for the Tigers.

Evan Gardner came up with a big performance in goal.

Both teams entered the contest having solid success on the power play only to come up empty in that department. The Blades failed to score on five opportunities with the man advantage, and the Tigers were unable to score on three of their own power-play chances.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 34-6-4 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, hold a two point lead over the Tigers for first in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the WHL. Prince Albert has a game in hand on Medicine Hat.

The Blades get back at it on Sunday when they travel to Edmonton to take on the 30-9-3-2 Oil Kings (4 p.m. local time, Rogers Place). The Oil Kings are rated sixth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Blades were in good spirits after their win over the Tigers.

Throughout the 2025-26 campaign, the Blades have had a season that has been a bit all over the map. On Friday, they showed they can rise to the occasion and pick up wins over the elite in the WHL and by extension the CHL.

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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Tigers sixth WHL title win had emotions like no other

Meneghin named MVP playing to honour his late father

The hand of fate made the Medicine Hat Tigers sixth WHL title win feel unlike the five other league championships that came before.

On Friday night, the Tigers downed the Spokane Chiefs 4-2 in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series played before 7,607 spectators at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The victory allowed the Tigers to claim the best-of-seven set 4-1 and raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

The WHL title win was a first for the Tigers since 2007 and sixth league championship win in team history. The six league title wins by the Tigers also equaled the Kamloops Blazers for the most in the history of the circuit.

It also seemed fitting Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin had another stellar outing in Friday’s series clinching win making 34 saves on the night. Meneghin was playing through an emotionally-filled post-season.

When the Tigers closed their regular season schedule back on March 23 with a 5-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary, Meneghin found out about the passing of his father, Derek. Derek’s passing came in an unexpected fashion.

During the post-season, it was obvious Meneghin was playing for his father, and the rest of the Tigers were playing for him. In the WHL Playoffs, Meneghin would appear in 16 games for the Tigers posting a 14-1 record, a 2.35 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and three shutouts. He claimed honours as MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

After Meneghin accepted the trophy as the MVP of the WHL Playoffs from Richard Doerksen, who is the WHL’s vice-president of hockey, the puck stopper was mobbed by his teammates.

Next on the agenda came the presentation of the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt posed for the initial photos holding on to the WHL championship trophy with league commissioner Dan Near.

Wiesblatt proceeded to call Meneghin over to step in to be the one to take the Ed Chynoweth Cup from Near. Meneghin came in and posed for photos and proceeded to take the championship trophy from Near and raise it over his head. The goalie was then swamped by his teammates and the celebration began in earnest.

Meneghin then took the first victory lap with the trophy. It felt like it was a moment that was meant to be. The whole on ice celebration for the Tigers was a moment that everyone with the team who was soaking in the festivities wished could have lasted forever.

At the start of Game 5, Meneghin and Chiefs star netminder Dawson Cowan took centre stage in the opening frame making a number of big saves to ensure the stanza remained scoreless. The Tigers held a 14-8 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

The Tigers also hit the ice with superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna, star centre Cayden Lindstrom and 16-year-old breakout centre Gordon-Carroll Shaeffer back in the lineup after all three missed Game 4 with undisclosed injuries. McKenna was out for Game 3 as well.

The Chiefs came out with a big push in the second holding a 17-9 edge in shots on goal for the frame. The Tigers would get in the only goal in the period.

With 7:18 remaining in the second, Tigers veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens won an offensive zone faceoff back to Finnish rookie import defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen. Muhonen fired an off-speed wrist shot from the left point home to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The tally was Muhonen’s first goal of the post-season.

At the 5:01 mark of the third, McKenna wired home a power-play goal from just inside the top of the left faceoff circle to push the Tigers lead out to 2-0.

Harrison Meneghin on Friday night. (Photo by Larry Brunt/Spokane Chiefs)

Just 44 seconds later, Tigers 19-year-old right-winger Hunter St. Martin netted what would be a controversial goal to Chiefs supporters that put the visitors up 3-0. Tigers overage left-winger Mathew Ward drove to the Spokane net and was shoved from behind by Chiefs overage defenceman Brayden Crampton.

Ward slid into Cowan, who made a kick save on Ward’s initial shot. As Ward went into Cowan, the Spokane net came off its pegs. St. Martin swooped in, picked up the rebound and put it into an empty cage.

The officials went to a video review and ruled the tally was a good goal. Officials have the discretion to allow a play to continue if a net pops off its pegs and an attacking offensive team has a scoring chance. The officials in that instance are allowed to judge if the puck from a shot would go into the net, if it was still on its pegs.

The Chiefs would proceed to battle back after going down by three goals. Just 49 seconds after St. Martin’s tally, Chiefs superstar right-winger Andrew Cristall drove home a mid range shot from the front of the Tigers net for a power-play marker to trim Medicine Hat’s edge to 3-1.

With 10:47 remaining in the third, Chiefs rookie import right-winger Assanali Sarkenov potted a goal from the front of the Medicine Hat to further cut the Tigers lead to 3-2. Sarkenov converted a nice pass from linemate Sam Oremba, who was positioned by the left side of the Medicine Hat net.

The Chiefs weren’t able to find the equalizer from that point.

With 74 seconds remaining in the third, Tigers offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford fired a puck from his own zone into an empty Spokane net to seal the 4-2 victory for the visitors. The tally was Pickford’s 13^th of the post-season.

The empty-net marker extended Pickford’s streak of scoring goals in eight straight games, which is the longest consecutive string of games with a goal by a defenceman in the WHL Playoffs since 1996. Pickford has 10 goals over his last eight outings.

Pickford also equaled the WHL record for most goals by a defenceman in a single WHL Playoffs with his 13^th tally. Darren Veitch of the Regina Pats scored 13 goals playing on the blue line in the Pats run to winning the WHL title in 1980.

During the 18 games the Tigers played in winning the WHL title, Pickford recorded 24 points off 13 goals and 11 assists to go with a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department.

Jonas Woo picked up a pair of assists playing on the back end for the Tigers, while St. Martin had an assist to go with his goal.

Cowan turned away 32-of-35 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

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.

Over their last 52 games combined in the regular season and post-season, the Tigers have collected 44 wins.

The Tigers, who went 16-2 in the WHL Playoffs, now advance to play in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup runs May 22 to June 1 in Rimouski, Quebec.

Medicine Hat opens play at the Memorial Cup on May 23 taking on the host Rimouski Oceanic. The Memorial Cup tournament also includes the OHL champion London Knights, the Oceanic and Moncton Wildcats from the QMJHL. The Oceanic and Wildcats are currently going at it in the best-of-seven QMJHL Championship Series that is being led by the Wildcats 3-1.

Still, Friday night was a special one for the Tigers as Meneghin continues to write an incredible story. The Tigers are ensuring the 2024-25 campaign is one of the most memorable in the team’s storied history.

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.

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Eye of the Tiger – Medicine Hat blanks Chiefs 6-0 in Game 3

Tabbies overcome big Game 2 setback and injuries

Adversity seems to make the Medicine Hat Tigers stronger.

After falling 6-2 to the Spokane Chiefs in Game 2 of the WHL Championship Series at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat on Sunday, the Tigers appeared to face a tough challenge in Game 3 of the set played before 7,814 spectators at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Tuesday night.

The challenge appeared to grow for the Tigers when superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna took warm up, but was scratched from the game with an undisclosed injury. During warm up, McKenna appeared to have a lower body issue as he seemed to have struggles trying to power off his skating stride.

While those things were going against Medicine Hat, the Tiger proceeded to play their best game of the series and roared to a 6-0 victory getting goals from six different players and holding a 45-28 edge in shots on goal. 

That performance included extra adversity in the contest when star centre Cayden Lindstrom went down with an injury late in the second period in a regular hockey collision with a Chiefs player.

The Tigers were holding a 4-0 lead when Lindstrom went down, and he had the game’s first goal and an assist in helping build that advantage. The Fort St. John, B.C., product returned to the Tigers bench in the third period to cheer his squad on as they rounded out their win.

With the victory, the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set. Game 4 of the series is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

In Game 3, the Tigers got the jump on the Chiefs holding a 15-5 edge in shots on goal in the first period and would open the scoring for the third straight contest. At the 11:45 mark of the first, Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt intercepted a pass of a Chiefs player in the left corner of the Spokane zone.

Wiesblatt passed the puck to Lindstrom in the left slot, and Lindstrom quickly buried his second tally in his second straight contest into the Spokane net to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win.

With 1:51 remaining in the first, Lindstrom stole the puck from a Chiefs player at the Medicine Hat blue-line. Lindstrom jetted back up ice and put a long backhand shot on target that was stopped by Chiefs star netminder Dawson Cowan but rebounded out to the left side of the net.

Tigers star right-winger Hunter St. Martin came up the left wing and potted home the rebound to push the visitor’s lead out to 2-0.

Like a racer out at the Medicine Hat Drag Racing Association Drag Strip or the Medicine Hat Speedway, the Tigers kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second.

Just 93 seconds into the second, Finnish import defenceman Veeti Vaisanen showed off his offensive skill. Vaisanen got deep in the Spokane zone and skated behind the Chiefs net going from left to right.

When he came out to the right side, Vaisanen put a pass out to sophomore left-winger Kadon McCann positioned by the right post. McCann quickly popped home his second of the WHL Playoffs to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

With 5:08 remaining in the second, the Tigers were buzzing with all sorts of pressure in the Spokane zone. Tigers veteran right-winger Marcus Pacheco got the puck in the right corner of the Spokane zone and centred a pass out to super rookie linemate Liam Ruck. Ruck fired home his fifth tally of the post-season to make the Tigers lead stand at 4-0.

At the start of the third period, the Chiefs pulled Cowan to let him rest for Game 4. He turned away 28-of-32 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs. Carter Esler, who is a 16-year-old rookie, played the third period in relief turning away 11-of-13 shots sent his way.

Just 23 seconds into the third, Tigers star left-winger Andrew Basha jetted down the right side boards of the Spokane zone with the puck, cut across the front of the Chiefs net and tucked home a high shot for his second of the post-season to make the Tigers edge sit a 5-0.

The Tigers picked up their final goal of the night working on the power play at the 9:16 mark of the third. 

Hunter St. Martin had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

Wiesblatt had the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and passed it to offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford just inside the top of the right faceoff circle. Pickford drove a shot to the top right corner of the Spokane net for his 10^th goal of the post-season to round out the 6-0 final score in favour of the Tigers.

With 5:01 remaining in the third, there was a scrum that saw Wiesblatt, Pickford, Chiefs left-winger Cameron Parr and Chiefs right-winger Coco Armstrong all pick up 10-minute misconducts.

Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin stopped all 28 shots he faced to pick up his third shutout victory of the playoffs.

St. Martin had an assist to go along with his goal, and Wiesblatt finished the contest with two assists. Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk has points in his last 11 straight games recording four goals and 13 assists over the course of that streak.

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 42 out of their last 50 games. The Tigers are also 10-2-1 during the 2024-25 campaign when they don’t have McKenna in the lineup. During the regular season, McKenna missed 12 games with the Tigers due to activities being a member of Canada’s team at world juniors and a three-game league imposed suspension.

Tuesday’s Game 3 win was arguably the best game the Tigers have played in the 2025 post-season. The Chiefs had arguably their best outing in the playoffs in their Game 2 win on Sunday.

Veeti Vaisanen had a sweet assist for the Tigers.

Now, it is anyone’s guess as to what type of stories these two clubs will write in Game 4.

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Big saves, returns power Tigers in opener of WHL final

Medicine Hat claims hard fought 4-1 win over Chiefs

The Tigers celebrate their Game 1 win in the WHL final.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Harrison Meneghin, Andrew Basha, and Cayden Lindstrom oh my!

The Medicine Hat Tigers were full of storylines in Game 1 of the WHL Championship Series. Getting a big emotional lift from the return of Basha and Lindstrom coming off long-term injuries, the Tigers jumped out to 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the contest.

Along with that spark, Meneghin would make 36 saves on the night to allow the host Tigers to skate a 4-1 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs before a raucous sellout crowd of 6,244 spectators at Co-op Place. With the win, the Tigers lead the best-of-seven set 1-0. Game 2 is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Co-op Place.

Andrew Basha scored the Tigers first goal on Friday.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna also picked up a pair of assists in the hard-fought contest, and he now has points in 54 straight games played between the regular season and post-season. During the 54 games of the streak, McKenna has recorded 137 points coming off 40 goals and 97 assists.

“I thought it was a hard game for sure,” said legendary Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “Spokane is a very good team.

“I thought that we had a great start, which was huge for us. Then I thought that, you know, we stepped back maybe a little bit, but a lot of credit goes to Spokane. We were ready, and you know, they played hard.”

Before Friday’s contest, Basha last played for the Tigers in their 4-0 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 28, 2024, and he had been out with a lower body injury since that time.

Cayden Lindstrom had an assist on the Tigers first goal on Friday.

Lindstrom had been battling a back injury since December 16, 2023. Before Friday’s contest, he last suited up for the Tigers on April 5, 2024. The Tigers fell 5-2 at home that night to be eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in Game 5 of a first round series against the Red Deer Rebels.

The two took the spotlight on the Tigers first tally just 54 seconds into the contest. Off a dump in, Lindstrom recovered the puck in the right corner of the Spokane zone.

He passed the puck to star right-winger Hunter St. Martin just above the right faceoff dot. St. Martin dished the puck across the front of the Spokane net to Basha at the left side of the goal. Basha fired home the backdoor setup to give the Tigers the first goal of the contest.

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates scoring the Tigers first goal.

The 19-year-old Calgary product was awestruck by the whole experience of being back on the ice.

“It was really weird,” said Basha, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. “I said it before it was just a very slow winter for me.

“The past kind of three weeks it just started picking right back up again, and now, we are here. I was kind of telling Willie the whole time I was going to do it. I was pretty just kind of mesmerized that it was unbelievable to see that crowd.

“It is so special how well the boys have played throughout this whole run. It is just great to get back out there with them.”

The fans at Co-op Place cheer the Tigers first goal.

At the 6:27 mark of the opening frame, McKenna broke into the Spokane zone on an offensive rush. He dangled and did a half-spin at the top of the right faceoff circle and put a pass out to offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford. Pickford drove home a mid-range shot for his eighth tally of the post-season to push the Tigers edge out to 2-0.

Pickford, who turned 19-years-old in early April, scored his Game 1 tally in the WHL final a year to the day he was acquired by the Tigers in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Chauvin, Alta., product played two complete seasons in Seattle before coming to Medicine Hat.

Bryce Pickford had the Tigers second goal on Friday.

“Gav (McKenna) made an unreal play entering the zone,” said Pickford, who was a member of the Thunderbirds 2023 WHL title winning team. “I didn’t think he was going to find me, but he always does.

“I came as the fourth guy, and he found me and I scored.”

The Chiefs proceeded to mount a pushback and outshot the Tigers 13-7 in the opening 20 minutes. Meneghin ensured the visitors didn’t get on the scoreboard.

Meneghin and Chiefs star netminder Dawson Cowan took the spotlight in a scoreless second period that saw the Tigers hold a 12-9 edge in shots on goal. Cowan made the biggest stop of the period as his left pad denied a breakaway chance by McKenna just past the midway point of the frame.

Harrison Meneghin makes one of his 36 stops on Friday night.

Spokane made another big push in the third. At the 4:44 mark of the frame, the Chiefs broke through on the scoreboard tallying on their fourth power-play chance of the contest. Chiefs star left-winger Shea Van Olm had the puck along the left boards on a rush up ice and flipped a pass over to captain Berkly Catton to send him in alone on the Medicine Hat goal.

Catton put a backhand shot between Meneghin’s legs to cut the Tigers edge to 2-1.

“Special teams are huge, and obviously, it is even bigger in the playoffs,” said Catton. “I think we like to have speed in our break in.

Two Tigers fans show off signs and lead crowd chants.

“I think that Shea (Van Olm) made a great play to me, and I just finished it. I think it was a great break in, and it just started off that.”

Just 72 second later, the Tigers pushed their advantage out to 3-1 when right-winger Ethan Neutens, who turned 20-years-old on May 3, flipped a knuckleball shot that flipped high through the air and overtop Cowen into the Spokane net.

Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 2:17 remaining in the third. The Chiefs had outshot the Tigers 15-3 in the stanza.

Cowan turned away 18-of-21 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

Berkly Catton had the Chiefs lone goal on Friday.

“We had some chances,” said Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer. “I think some of the areas where we were getting a little bit frustrated were the turnovers and making the mistakes that we did over and over again a couple of times.

“It is one of those games where we kind of kept giving them the puck, especially in the second period and kind of put us on our heels for a little bit. We did stick around. We did find a way to get to 2-1.

“We’ve done that all year. We find ways to get back into games. We’ll go through the videotape, and we’ll make the corrections that we need to make for Game 2.”

Shea Van Olm had an assist on the Chiefs lone goal on Friday.

The Chiefs defensive players started to jump up in the play a little more in the third period attempting to help their squad get on even terms with the Tigers. 

Chiefs overage defenceman Brayden Crampton said the blue-liners understand the risks of jumping up in the play against the Tigers.

“We want to get up in the rush as much as possible,” said Crampton. “I thought there were times where, you know, we could jump up in a rush, but it is a bit risky just because they are such an offensive team.

“We know that. You just have to take your chances when you can go and when you can’t.”

Gavin McKenna had a pair of assists for the Tigers on Friday.

Overall, Meneghin had a night where Tigers fans could have been seeing flashbacks of Matt Keetley making stops in the Medicine Hat net, when he backstopped the Tigers to the WHL title in 2007 and was named the MVP of the WHL post-season.

“’Keets’ (Keetley) was an unbelievable goaltender,” said Desjardins, whose squad has won 11 straight post-season contests. “He was so good during that run.

“It is hard to say how good he was. He was there every night. Harrison (Meneghin) has been for us as well.

“We’ve had lots of tough games, and tonight, he was good. He was just so calm back there, and that gives you a lot of confidence, when he is that calm as well. There is a lot of series left here, and we’re going to need him to be big as we go forward.”

Ethan Neutens had the Tigers third goal on Friday.

The Tigers finished 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.

With the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band set to play Co-op Place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, the Tigers and Chiefs will enjoy a day off before going at it again in Game 2 on Sunday. Desjardins believes the day off will be good for both teams.

“We will get the rest we need,” said Desjardins. “We’ll go over video and take a look at it.

“It is good to get that break especially guys like Andrew (Basha) and Lindy (Lindstrom) where they haven’t been playing for a while. It is nice to get the break. It is good for everybody.

The Tigers enjoy their win on Friday night.

“Playoffs is such a hard time that you need every break you can get. They will get the same break though, and they’re going to be really hungry for Game 2. We’ll have to be better Sunday.”

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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