Tigers roar again in the WHL

Medicine Hat returns to elite status after one rebuild year

Zach Fischer celebrates scoring a goal for the Tigers.

    It didn’t take the Medicine Hat Tigers long to start looking like themselves again, which means they alone are worth the price of admission on any of their Western Hockey League game nights.

    Last year, the Tigers saw their run of making the WHL playoffs for 13 consecutive years come to an end. Posting a 30-37-3-2 record in the regular season, the Tigers faced the Edmonton Oil Kings in a standings tiebreaking game for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and came away on the wrong end of a 6-4 final.

    After just over a third into the current campaign, the Tigers are back to their high speed and high skill form.

    On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the orange and black systematically dismantled the host Saskatoon Blades 8-2 before 3,802 stunned spectators. The win was Medicine Hat’s ninth straight victory and has vaulted the Tigers to the top of the overall WHL standings with a 20-5-1 mark.

Max Gerlach snipes his hat trick goal for the Tigers.

    The Everett Silvertips (18-3-4) trail the Tigers by a point for first overall with a game in hand.

Veteran Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston has no complaints about where his team is at.

    “It has been great,” said Clouston. “I think our older guys, our leaders are doing a terrific job of making sure the room is ready every night.

    “We’ve got lots of guys contributing. We’ve had some guys really step up and have breakout years. (Mark) Rassell and (Zach) Fischer are good players and they just really had breakout seasons.

    “James Hamblin who was 16-years-old last year, he has taken big strides. We are getting contributions from our imports. I think those two additions with (Kristians) Rubins and (John) Dahlstrom really helped us.”

    The only big down parts the Tigers faced against Saskatoon came from the fact Blades left-winger Braylon Shmyr opened the game’s scoring at the 1:56 mark of the first period, and he added a second marker with 53.8 seconds to play in the opening frame to ensure both sides entered the first intermission locked in a 2-2 tie.

Chad Butcher circles in the offensive zone for the Tigers.

    The rest of the contest belonged to the Tigers. They transitioned up ice at a lightning pace stringing together various quick passes and were on top of Blades goaltenders Logan Flodell and then Brock Hamm with prime scoring chances. Medicine Hat also kept Saskatoon pinned in its own zone with a fairly aggressive forecheck.

    Fischer and offensive defenceman David Quenneville netted the Tigers first period tallies. The visitors blew the roof off the building in the second frame. Overage centre Chad Butcher scored 17 seconds into the middle stanza and right-winger Max Gerlach netted a hat trick, which included two tallies on impressive snipes, to put the Tigers up 6-2.

    Flodell was chased after the Tigers fourth goal at the 2:27 mark of the second turning away 17-of-21 shots sent his way. Hamm stopped 18-of-22 shots sent his direction as the Blade dropped to 10-16-1.

    In the third, Butcher collected his second goal of the night and Dahlstrom added a single to round out the blowout score. Netminder Nick Schneider turned away 22 shots to pick up the win in Medicine Hat’s goal.

    The Tigers effort was businesslike. After each goal, the players took part in a small celebration and calmly skated into position for the next faceoff.

David Quenneville rushes into the offensive zone for the Tigers.

    “It was pretty close there for a bit,” said Quenneville, who had an assist to go along with his goal. “We just played our game, and the floodgates blew open.

    “They were bound to fly open for a time being there, and they did. Honestly, we could have had five or six more, which is really exciting. It shows that when a game is pretty out of hand like it was tonight, that we don’t stop. That is real important for our group.”

    Clouston said one of the big keys this season was the fact his club stuck with a younger group of inexperienced defencemen last season. The Tigers usually like to keep a core of four to five blue-liners together over a three-year period to create a base and chemistry at that position.

    Medicine Hat’s back end has always been key in helping the Tigers quickly transitioning up ice with a quick first pass on to the tape of the stick of a forward striding at full speed. Clouston didn’t want to waive from his team’s style.

    “We knew that there was a certain way that we like to play,” said Clouston. “We could have changed our style a little bit (last season).

    “It might have helped us for the short term. We kept playing the same way and practicing the same way.

    “When we finally got through all our injuries and got healthy, it was starting to pay dividends towards the end of the season, and I think that is continuing this year.”

Goaltender Nick Schneider passes a puck up the boards for the Tigers.

    While he didn’t have an active night against the Blades, Schneider has been solid in his second full season as the Tigers starting goalie after spending about a season and a half as a backup. In 21 games in the current campaign, he has posted an 18-2-1 record, a 2.70 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Clouston said Schneider has come a long way.

    “Last year, he struggled at the start of the year,” said Clouston. “It was his first opportunity to be the number one guy. It was a major challenge for him.

    “The way things worked out by the end of the year he was that number one guy again. Austin Lotz was with us for a short time, but had a season ending injury. By the end of the season, Schneids had kind of battled through his adversity and grew a lot from that experience, and that has carried over to this year.”

    Quenneville, who is in his third full season with the Tabbies, said it was important for his side to carry on and duplicate the team’s storied successes of the past. He believes his Tigers are getting back to that spot.

Captain Clayton Kirichenko gets set to drive a shot on goal for the Tigers.

    “Last year wasn’t our year, and we wanted to really get back to being a high caliber team in the Western Hockey League and dominating,” said Quenneville. “I think we have done that so far.

    “We have worked real hard. We’ve developed a lot in the last year, and we’re just continuing to get better, and that is the key for our group.”

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

Tigers break Blades' hearts

David Quenneville, right, celebrates his empty-net goal with his teammates.

    Brock Hamm returned to his early season form, but it wasn’t enough to help his Saskatoon Blades.

    The 18-year-old netminder, who has faced a lot of struggles for about the last month and a half, was flat out spectacular turning away 50 of 52 shots on Friday night before 5,073 appreciative spectators at the SaskTel Centre. Unfortunately for Hamm, the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers skated away with a 3-1 victory, which included an empty-net goal.

    Hamm had a number of strong outings helping the Blades jump out to a 7-4-3 start, but he and his team have struggled since falling from the top eight of the WHL’s Eastern Conference and out of a playoff spot.

    Against the Tigers on Friday, it appeared Hamm might steal the game. Early in the first period, he robbed Tigers left-winger Ryan Jevne on a breakaway making a sprawling stop with his left pad, which set the tone for what was to come that night.

    Just past the midway point of the opening frame, the Blades proceeded to jump ahead 1-0 on a power-play goal from speedy centre Cameron Hebig, who redirected a nice set-up pass coming across the face of the Tigers goal from linemate Connor Gay. The marker was Hebig’s 20^th goal of the season.

Brock Hamm stopped 50 of 52 shots taking the loss in goal for the Blades.

    Shortly after that tally, Hamm had to come up with a huge short-handed breakaway stop on Tigers centre Chad Butcher. Medicine Hat held a 17-12 shots on goal advantage after the opening 20 minutes.

    The second period was a high-tempo frame that resulted in both squads having quality scoring chances, where the Blades had a 14-12 edge in shots on goal. Hamm continued turn aside waves of Tigers chances, while Medicine Hat netminder Mack Shields kept the Blades at bay.

    Medicine Hat dominated the third with a big push and finally broke through on the scoreboard at the 12:28 mark of the frame while working on a two-man advantage. Butcher, who was on the point, fed a perfect pass to rearguard David Quenneville near the top of the left faceoff circle, and he wired a blast past Hamm to tie things up at 1-1. The goal game on the Tigers 42^nd shot of the contest.

Matthew Bradley picked up the winning goal for the Tigers.

    About three minutes later, Tigers winger Matthew Bradley fired home a shot low stick side on Hamm to put the visitors up 2-1. That tally came on Medicine Hat’s 47^th shot of the contest. Quenneville sealed with win with an empty-net goal with 23.2 seconds to play. Shields made 34 stops to earn the victory in goal for the Tigers.
    Medicine Hat improved to 15-21-3-1 to sit four points back of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings (17-20-4) for eighth overall in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton holds the conference’s final playoff spot. Saskatoon falls to 15-22-3 to remain five points behind the Oil Kings.

    The Tigers return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders (23-14-3-1).

    The Blades head to Moose Jaw on Saturday to take on the Warriors (20-15-4-1). Over the next five weeks, the Blades will play just four times at home, which increases the difficulty they face in attempting to move up the standings into a playoff spot. In total, Saskatoon plays 12 of its next 16 games on the road.
    The next home game for "The Bridge City" bunch is Jan. 23, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7 p.m. local time at the SaskTel Centre.

Sanford out after trade request

Cole Sanford (#26) in action for the Tigers on Dec. 27, 2015.

    The Tigers were without star overage right-winger Cole Sanford on Friday night, who requested a trade prior to the game.

    Sanford, who was the team’s captain, has 21 goals and 17 assists in 33 games this season. The Vernon, B.C., product had a career year last season piling up 50 goals and 45 assists in 72 games. During his WHL career, Sanford, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, has 106 goals and 111 assists in 230 regular season games.
    Sanford last dressed for the Tigers on Tuesday, when they dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat.

    With Sanford out of the lineup, the Tigers named overage defenceman Ty Stanton as their new captain.

    Sanford has spent his entire WHL career with the Tigers having been selected in the sixth round and 117^th overall in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft. The WHL’s trade deadline is set for 12 p.m. Mountain Time on Sunday.

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

Sanford deserves NHL shot

Lack of size stigma only obstacle in path of Tigers captain

Tigers captain Cole Sanford gets set for a faceoff.

    MEDICINE HAT - Cole Sanford chuckled at the notion that it might take an old Medicine Hat Tigers link to get a break at the professional level.

    The Vernon, B.C., product and current Tigers captain knows the fact that he stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds is the biggest obstacle he faces when it comes to trying to get an NHL entry-level contract offer. Playing in Medicine Hat, the thought does get booted around that maybe Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins might take an interest in Sanford and create a chance for the skilled right-winger, who is small in stature.

    Desjardins was with the Tigers as head coach from 2002 to 2010 and also held the general manager’s role for the last five of those campaigns. He had a string of success utilizing smaller, skilled players, so naturally one would think there would be fit for Sanford.

    “Obviously, connections are nice,” said Sanford, who did attend Edmonton Oilers training camp in September. “If that happened, obviously, that would be exciting for me.

    “I am sure whatever came up or if there is any kind of opportunity, I’d be excited. It doesn’t matter where it is.”

    For his part, Sanford has already done more than enough to earn an NHL deal. After potting two goals and nine assists in 53 games as a 17-year-old rookie in 2012-13, Sanford had a break-out year as a sophomore netting 33 goals, 40 assists and a plus-47 rating in the plus-minus department.

    As an established star last season, he became one of the few players in recent WHL campaigns to crack the 50-goal barrier recording 50 goals, 45 assists and a plus-24 rating. Sanford missed some time this season with a shoulder injury, but he has still recorded 17 goals and 15 assists in 30 games on a Tigers team that has seen its lineup shuffle due to a number of key injuries.

    Those challenges have contributed to the fact the Tigers, who have made the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, sit an uncharacteristic 10^th overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 12-20-3-1 mark.

    Sanford is hopeful a professional shot will come.

Tigers captain Cole Sanford gets set to wire a shot on goal.

    “It is my goal,” said Sanford. “Right now I have basically half a year to find something and find an opportunity up there.

    “Obviously, that is everyone’s goal is to move on. We will see what happens.”

    As far as Sanford’s time in Medicine Hat goes, Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said the veteran forward’s value cannot be overstated.

    “He has had a great career here,” said Clouston, who is second on the Tigers career regular season coaching wins list. “He has been a player that other guys can look up to.

    “He has gotten better, because he has committed to improvement. He has found ways to elevate his game at important times. He has been a great Tiger.”

    Clouston added that the uphill battle for smaller players to make the NHL seems to never go away, but he said Sanford keeps consistently doing his best to turn heads.

    “I think it is always a challenge,” said Clouston. “I think any time that a player is not 6-feet tall there is a bit of a label.

    “They have to fight through that. They have to prove themselves more so than a lot of the other players. He is a guy that continues to prove himself year in and year out.”

    The veteran bench boss added that Sanford’s game is still getting better.

    “He is a guy that has really committed especially late in games to doing the right thing, whether it is protecting the lead, finishing checks and getting clears,” said Clouston, whose team won four of five games heading into the WHL Christmas break. “He has been a real go to guy during this stretch where we have had more success.”

Cole Sanford (#26) celebrates a Tigers goal with his teammates.

    Sanford has put together a standout WHL career playing with a few different linemates as well. When he broke out offensively in 2013-14, Sanford was the triggerman on a high octane unit that contained Curtis Valk at centre and Trevor Cox at left wing. That trio formed one of the most exciting lines the Tigers had ever seen.

    Last season, Steven Owre stepped in at centre between Sanford and Cox after Valk was lost to graduation. Due to injuries and trades this season, Sanford has played with a variety of linemates.

    “It is definitely a lot different than the last two years, but I think it is good for me,” said Sanford. “It is good for me to play with different guys and adjust to that.”

    Sanford said he is a player that has a tendency to shoot more than pass in the offensive zone. With that said, he had a couple of nice assists in his club’s 5-4 overtime home ice loss on Sunday to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The best helper came on the Tigers third goal, when Sanford slipped a feed that had eyes across the face the Lethbridge goal to Mark Rassell, who capitalized on the chance.

Tigers captain Cole Sanford follows through on a shot on goal.

    Since joining the team, Sanford said he has been fortunate to play on lines that contained smart playmakers, who had great vision, which has resulted in him being the finisher around the goal. During his time in Medicine Hat, Sanford has made a number of good memories, which included helping the club advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series in 2014.

    He also had the chance to play in the Tigers first home rink, The Arena, and the team’s new home, the Canalta Centre, which opened this season. No matter what happens on the professional front, the Tigers will always have a place in Sanford’s heart.

    “I’ve come a long ways with this team starting off as a 17-year-old and not playing too much and kind of earning my ice there as an 18-year-old and then getting the opportunity to play,” said Sanford. “Obviously, last season was a career year for myself. Everyone here has helped me lots.

    “When I was 15 looking at this organization, I was real excited to see all the videos and the rich history here. To be a part of that now with the new rink and obviously the old rink it is pretty cool.”

Canalta Centre looks sweet

A look over Tigers goalie Nick Schneider into the Canalta Centre.

    On first impressions, I think the Medicine Hat Tigers time in the Canalta Centre is going to be alright.

    When the moment came for the storied WHL franchise to play in a new home rink, there was a bit of a fear that something might be lost due to the fact the team was no longer playing in The Arena, which was the only home rink the franchise had known until the current campaign got underway.

    The nostalgia and the lively boards are two things The Arena will always have. The Tigers and their fans shared countless memorable experiences in that old rink including Brennan Bosch’s double overtime goal that won the seventh and deciding game of the 2007 WHL championship series. That building rocked in the post-season as sellout crowds of 4,006 packed the place in its final seating configuration.

    With those memories in mind, it was cool to see the Tigers playing in a modern home facility that seats 6,016 spectators in the Canalta Centre. There are no bad sightlines, and even though the building is bigger, you don’t feel far from the action.

    The view from the “Bob Ridley Broadcast Centre” press box and the box seating have to the envy of the league. You think the view from those areas would be far, but when you are in them you feel on top of the action.

    When the Tigers fell 5-4 in overtime to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sunday, you could still sense a good atmosphere as 5,032 spectators filled most of the seats. The rival Hurricanes also brought a healthy contingent of a few hundred supporters, whose cheering helped engage the host side’s fans.

Tigers centre Chad Butcher gets set up in the offensive zone.

    The game was widely entertaining, and you could set the highlight video to the old Tom Cochrane song, “Big League.” Basically, that night was the Western Hockey League at its best.

    There was also a familiarity factor to the place, even though it is new. The majority of the game day staff from The Arena came over to the Canalta Centre, and all the Tigers ardent supporters came too. Anyone that was at the old facility would recognize most of the people at the new facility on a game night.

    There are still obvious signs that the move in isn’t complete. The Tigers are suiting up in what is supposed to be the visitors’ dressing room due to the fact the home one isn’t finished. The Tabbies still don’t have a merchandise store set up and none of the team’s banners are hanging in the rafters.

    All of those items will be looked after over time. There is only so much that can be done, when you undertake a major move, which also included issues with getting a framework down for a lease.

    There is also a bit of a sense that everyone is still getting used to the new building, but you do have a gut feeling the Canalta Centre will be the place to be during a long Tigers playoff run. The Tigers new home is sweet, and it will be interesting to see what a game experience will be like when the club has a full off-season to prepare for the Canalta Centre’s sophomore campaign without worrying about a move.

    Still, the Hat’s new rink even right now is a place you have to see.

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

Owre redemption equals Tigers victory

The Medicine Hat Tigers celebrate Steven Owre's overtime winner.

    Steven Owre went from goat to hero in a matter of minutes for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

    The 19-year Rocklin, California, product had what appeared to be a costly interference penalty in the final seconds of third period, with his club locked in a 2-2 draw in a WHL clash with the host Saskatoon Blades on Friday night. The infraction also wiped out the final seconds of a Medicine Hat power play.

    As the two clubs went into overtime, Owre had to wait for 97 seconds in the sin bin, as his team killed off a Blades four-on-three man advantage.

    Right after his penalty expired, the Tigers gained possession of the puck in their own zone. On a breakout, Ty Stanton and Cole Sandford teamed up to spring Owre into the Blades zone, and he slipped home a backhand shot to give the Tabbies a 3-2 victory before 3,550 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    Owre’s first goal of the season put a damper on a spectacular outing by Blades goaltender Brock Hamm, who made 35 saves in the setback. Hamm’s play was extremely key in getting the Blades to overtime, as he turned away 13-of-14 shots in the third period as the hosts found themselves pinned in their own zone for lengthy stretches.

Brock Hamm made 35 saves for the Blades.

    Saskatoon jumped out to a 2-0 in the first. Russian left-winger Nikita Soshnin netted his first of the season potting a power-play goal off a rebound from a Libor Hajek shot to give the Blades a 1-0 edge. With 1:33 to play in the opening frame, the Blades centre Cameron Hebig forced a turnover in the centre ice zone creating a two on nothing break into the Medicine Hat end. He fed a pass overtime linemate Ryan Graham, who put the host side up 2-0.

    The Tigers, who have made the WHL playoffs for 13 straight years and have advanced to at least the second round in 12 of those campaigns, began the rally in the second. They got on the scoreboard just past the midway point of the frame, when centre Matt Bradley slipped a pass across the front of the Saskatoon goal to linemate Chad Butcher, who fired the puck into an empty cage to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

    After a fairly even first 40 minutes, the Tigers took over territorial play in the third outshooting the Blades 14-3 in the third. Just 2:32 into the third, 17-year-old centre Mason Shaw potted the equalizer for the Tigers deflecting home a pass from Max Gerlach to lock the contest into a 2-2 draw.

    Medicine Hat continued to press for the go-ahead goal, but couldn’t get the winner past Hamm until overtime.

Blades winger Ryan Graham tries to screen Tigers goalie Nick Schneider.

    During a four-on-three penalty kill in overtime, the Tigers did a strong job collapsing around their net preventing the Blades from getting a decent shot on goal.

    Nick Schneider made 20 saves to earn the win for the Tigers, who improved to 2-1. The Blades record moved to 1-0-2.

    The Tigers return to action Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The Blades host the Vancouver Giants on Sunday (2 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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