Raiders versus Tigers conference final could be epic

Daxon Rudolph (#10) and the Raiders are ready to face the Tigers.

It has the potential to be one of the most epic post-season series ever played in the history of the WHL.

The heavyweight showdown for the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series has materialized. The Prince Albert Raiders will take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Raiders swept their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades in an Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Tigers swept their division rivals the Calgary Hitmen in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

Last year, the two sides met in an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series that the Tigers took in a sweep on their way to winning the WHL title. While the Tigers were one of the circuit’s powerhouses last season, they were powered by lots of emotion playing for star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin, whose father, Derek, passed on the final day of the 2024-25 regular season.

Meneghin was playing for his father, and the Tigers were playing for him. They rode that to the team’s sixth WHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament’s title game, where they fell 4-1 in the CHL championship contest to the London Knights on June 1, 2025 in Rimouski, Que.

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

Tigers of 2024-25 will always be Medicine Hat legends

Squad grew into family conquering adversity

The Tigers celebrate a goal by Bryce Pickford (#27) on May 9.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - There had to be times the Medicine Hat Tigers thought the dam was going to burst in 2024-25.

They faced a 1-4 stumble out of the gate, were forced to find some early season chemistry on a revamped back end, needed better early consistency in net and juggled the roster with numerous injuries that seemed to keep popping up. When they had everything corrected, it seemed there was a bad loss waiting around the corner that knocked the team down to earth.

After a stellar second half of the regular season, the Tigers faced a hurdle that could have derailed their entire campaign. When the Tigers closed their regular season schedule back on March 23 with a 5-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary, star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin found out about the passing of his father, Derek. Derek’s passing came in an unexpected fashion.

That news took away the high of the Tigers winning a 10^th straight game that allowed them to top the WHL’s Central Division, the Eastern Conference and sit second overall in the league standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark. Meneghin was acquired by the Tigers in a trade on October 5, 2024 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for reliable forward Shane Smith.

Fans at Co-op Place cheer on the Tigers.

The arrival of the veteran netminder allowed the Tigers to solidify their situation in goal. Now at the start of the WHL post-season, Meneghin had to grieve for the loss of a parent.

The toughest challenge any hockey player can face is the passing of a parent during their major junior career. It is a situation that doesn’t happen often, but it comes up from time to time.

Facing a physical and skilled Swift Current Broncos team in the first round of the WHL Playoffs, things could have easily gone south for the Tigers at this point. If Meneghin wasn’t able to be at his best due to his dad’s passing off the ice, it would have been understandable.

Instead, the Tigers rallied round Meneghin, and he brought his game up to another level. On March 28 at Co-op Place, the Tigers began their journey through the WHL Playoffs with Meneghin stopping all 21 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Broncos.

Harrison Meneghin was the MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

The Tigers would proceed to power through the WHL Playoffs with a 16-2 mark capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup becoming WHL champions for the sixth time in team history. Meneghin was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs posting a 14-1 record, a 2.35 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and three shutouts.

On May 16 when the Tigers won the WHL title with a 4-2 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series, Tigers overage captain Oasiz Wiesblatt called Meneghin over to receive the Ed Chynoweth Cup from WHL commissioner Dan Near and be the first from the team to raise the trophy.

At that moment, it became clear to how much of an extent the Tigers in 2024-25 had become a family. It would be safe to say even Meneghin earned a deeper appreciation for how much his teammates cared about him. As an added bonus, Meneghin signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning following the WHL championship win.

Oasiz Wiesblatt became one of the Tigers best ever captains.

From there, the Tigers jetted to the Memorial Cup tournament in Rimouski, Quebec. That annual event crowns a CHL champion from a field made up of the champions of the WHL, OHL, QMJHL and a host squad.

The Tigers went 3-0 in the round robin portion of the tournament to earn a bye into the event’s championship game held this past Sunday at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial. The Tigers fell 4-1 to the OHL champion London Knights while holding a 32-24 edge in shots on goal. The Knights proved to be opportunistic in building a 4-0 advantage after 40 minutes and closing out the contest defensively in the third period.

Over the Tigers four games at the Memorial Cup, Meneghin posted a 3-1 record, a 2.54 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. It is mind blowing to think about the run Meneghin and the Tigers went on after the passing of the netminder’s father. All one has to do is look back at this history of the Tigers franchise to put that run into perspective.

Way back in 1988 at the Memorial Cup tournament in Chicoutimi, Quebec, the Tigers were the defending Memorial Cup champions and had fallen in their last round robin game 5-2 to the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires. The Spitfires advanced to the Memorial Cup title game with the win, while the Tigers had to play the semifinal.

Gavin McKenna was the Tigers must-watch superstar.

Following that contest, the Tigers found out Helen Brady, who was the mother of veteran forward Neil Brady, passed away after a battle with cancer in Calgary. Led by captain Dean Chynoweth, the Tigers rallied around Brady.

The Tigers downed the QMJHL champion Hull Olympiques 5-3 in the tournament’s semifinal and outgunned the Spitfires 7-6 in the event’s title contest. To this day, that Tigers team considered it a major accomplishment to be able to rally back and win the Memorial Cup after finding out about Helen’s passing.

The 1987-88 season was the lone campaign Barry Melrose served as the Tigers head coach and he would go on to guide the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings to a Stanley Cup final appearance in 1993. Melrose said the most proud moment he had of his coaching career was seeing the Tigers rally back in 1988 to win the Memorial Cup after Helen’s passing. Had that Tigers team lost out after hearing of Helen’s passing, it would have been an understandable result.

What the 1987-88 Tigers did was incredible and that was just over the course of two games. The 2024-25 Tigers rallied around Meneghin for about two-and-a-half months after the passing of his father and won a WHL title and came up one win short of taking the Memorial Cup for the third time in team history.

Ryder Ritchie helped the Tigers have a stellar top line.

Wiesblatt will also go down as one of the most remembered players in the history of the Tigers. You could even argue he was the best captain the team ever had. For myself, he is the best WHL captain I have ever seen in the 26 seasons I have covered the circuit.

He played a huge role in helping steady the Tigers ship over the slow start, injuries and rallying around Meneghin. Even before this season rolled around, you could argue Wiesblatt was one of the most loved players in the history of the team.

If you spend any sort of time in Medicine Hat, stories are numerous of Wiesblatt going out of his way to sign items for kids, joke around and play with youngsters and do things to make their day. He is the type that would help an elderly person in a wheelchair to get across the street and help get a Tim Horton’s order or go out of his way to visit with team supporters who are battling illnesses like cancer.

On the ice, Wiesblatt finished fifth in WHL regular season scoring with 103 points coming off 36 goals and 67 assists to go with a plus-47 rating in the plus-minus department. He also had 148 minutes in penalties coming from the fact he wears his heart on his sleeve.

Tanner Molendyk played at an all-world level on defence.

The Tigers in 2024-25 emulated their captain. The fans in the Hat picked up on that by giving the team’s bus big sendoffs and welcome home greetings starting in the second round of the WHL Playoffs and continuing for the rest of the post-season.

The Tigers were also able to navigate the rough waters thanks to Wiesblatt’s linemate and 17-year-old superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna. McKenna was named the winner of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s player of the year for the 2024-25 campaign.

McKenna finished second in the WHL regular season scoring race with 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in 56 games. The product of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory took his game up to another level making national highlight shows on a regular basis. He had outings where he could put the Tigers team on his back to pull out victory.

McKenna, Wiesblatt and star right-winger Ryder Ritchie formed arguably the Tigers best line since Tom Lysiak, Lanny McDonald and Boyd Anderson were on a unit together helping the franchise win its first league title back in 1972-73.

A couple of Tigers fans raise popular signs at Co-op Place.

The Tigers got so many great contributions from their forward unit including Hunter St. Martin, Mathew Ward, Ethan Neutens, Marcus Pacheco, Kadon McCann, Misha Volotovskii and their rookie kid line of Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and twin brothers Liam and Markus Ruck. Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom came off long term injuries in the WHL Championship Series and added a spark with their respective returns.

Due to the fact the Tigers can score, it sometimes overshadowed the fact their back end was strong. Back on January 6, Medicine Hat acquired star defenceman Tanner Molendyk along with Volotovskii in a blockbuster trade with the Saskatoon Blades. Molendyk played at an all-world level and really raised the level of a solid back end.

The Tigers picked up veteran blue liners Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo in trades before the campaign began. Veeti Vaisanen and Niikopekka Muhonen came from Finland via the Import Draft, while local product Josh Van Mulligen was the reliable defensive-defenceman.

Josh Van Mulligen was a steady defensive-defenceman.

Tigers rookie netminder Jordan Switzer made a splash as a rookie and should be a player to watch as an 18-year-old sophomore in 2025-26.

With everything the Tigers went through, the team’s legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins was the right person to guide the squad in 2024-25. 

The master of social work degree he earned a while ago at the University of Calgary gives him a unique skill set that was needed for the storied Tigers squad more than ever.

His staff that includes associate coach Joe Frazer, assistant coach Josh Maser, goaltending consultant Matt Wong and video coordinator and son Jayce Desjardins are some of the best in the business.

Owners and brothers Darrell and Brent Maser still offer a steady hand and never make any rash or pressured decisions. Their family has been part of the Tigers ownership since the team’s start in 1970, and they have seen their share of ups and downs. They won’t overact to anything when adversity ultimately comes around.

Liam Ruck turned heads with a big rookie campaign.

Of course, the other huge part of the Tigers story this season has been the fans. The Tigers have always had some of the best fans in junior hockey. The passion for the team from the folks in Medicine Hat hit a whole new level in 2024-25, and it might be the best it has ever been.

The players took a reminder of that with them to Rimouski with a sign the fans signed for the team that was displayed in the club’s dressing room.

After a 1-4 start, the Tigers got their record up to 19-14-1 at the halfway point in the regular season. They posted an impressive 28-3-2-1 mark in the second half of the regular season. Including action in the regular season, WHL Playoffs and Memorial Cup tournament, the Tigers won 29 of their last 32 games.

In Medicine Hat sport lore, the 2024-25 Tigers have vaulted their way to legendary status.

Tigers players take part in a prayer circle after a win.

Their journey was one only they could navigate, and it is one that will likely never be emulated.

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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Not to be for Tigers, Knights win Memorial Cup

Experience gave London slight edge in CHL final

Experience matters.

In Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game between the OHL champion London Knights and the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers in Rimouski, Quebec, the Knights had an edge due to falling 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit in last year’s tournament final. A total of 13 players from the 2023-24 Knights returned to play for the 2024-25 Knights.

That included stars like Easton Cowan, captain Denver Barkey, Jacob Julien, Sam O’Reilly, Sam Dickinson and Oliver Bonk. While it can be argued the experience factor gave the Knights a slim edge over the Tigers, it was still an edge.

The Knights took a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, pushed their advantage out to 4-0 in the second and posted a 4-1 victory over the Tigers before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators at Coliseum Sun Life Financial.

Another difference in the contest came down to the fact the Knights capitalized on their scoring chances. The Tigers had their scoring chances and weren’t able to finish them off. They outshot the OHL champs 32-24 in the contest.

The Knights benefitted from getting another stellar outing from overage netminder Austin Elliott, who came up with 31 saves. During the 2024-25 campaign that began with three games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Elliott had a spectacular 55-3 record including play in the WHL regular season, the OHL regular season and post-season and the Memorial Cup tournament.

During London’s five games at the Memorial Cup tournament, Elliott posted a 4-1 record, a 1.59 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Between his time with the Blades and Knights, Elliott had a 7-1 career record against the Tigers.

Elliott’s journey to the OHL started after he was cut by the Blades and cleared WHL waivers. He 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 puckstopper never played a game for the Colts and had a sensational run with the Knights that concluded with a Memorial Cup title win.

In Sunday’s game, London broke through on the scoreboard with 8:39 remaining in the first period. Knights defenceman Henry Brzustewicz fed a pass from his own blue line to spring Julien into the Medicine Hat zone on a breakaway. The 19-year-old centre went forehand to backhand and tucked the puck in behind Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers came with a big push back after Julien’s goal which included veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens ringing the crossbar. The teams went into the first intermission with the Knights holding on to their one-goal edge.

In a crazy second period, the Tigers outshot the Knights 17-9 in the frame, but London outscored Medicine Hat 3-0 in the stanza.

At the 3:13 mark of the frame, O’Reilly had the puck down low in the right corner of the Medicine Hat zone and centred a pass to Cowan, who was streaking to the front of the Tigers goal. The star right-winger tapped the puck home to push the Knights edge out to 2-0.

Just 1:40 later, Dickinson poke checked the puck off the stick of Tigers star captain Oasiz Wiesblatt at the London blue line. Dickinson knocked the puck up ice enough to spring Barkey on a breakaway. Barkey went forehand to back to tuck the puck home to make the Knights advantage stand at 3-0.

At the 10:01 mark of the stanza, Cowan appeared to net his second goal of the contest, but the tally was waived off after the officials ruled O’Reilly bumped into Meneghin before setting up Cowan for the tally. The officials made an incidental contact ruling on O’Reilly, which nullified the goal.

With 7:52 remaining in the second, Barkey tallied on the power play for his second goal of the night. He fired home a mid range shot from the left side boards past a screened Meneghin to the top right corner of the Medicine Hat net to give London a 4-0 edge.

Just 2:43 into the third, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was finally able to solve Elliott. McKenna snapped home a shot from the front of the London net to trim the Knights lead to 4-1.

Gavin McKenna had the Tigers lone goal on Sunday.

The Knights at that point proceeded to trap things up through the centre ice zone and lock down the game defensively. While the Tigers were only able to hold a 4-3 edge in shots on goal for the frame, the Knights close out wasn’t all smooth.

With 5:21 remaining in the third, McKenna fired home a shot to the top left corner of the London net off a chance from the front of the goal. The officials reviewed the goal and determined Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie knocked the puck down with a high stick earlier in the play causing McKenna’s tally to be disallowed. The officials added nine seconds to the clock before play resumed.

After that scare, the Knights closed out the contest.

Meneghin turned away 20 shots in the final major junior game of his career. The Tigers netminder had a remarkable post-season playing heroically after finding out his father, Derek, passed away after Medicine Hat’s final game of the regular season.

Cowan won the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament. In the five games the Knights played, he recorded three goals, four assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category.

On top of being named the tournament MVP, Cowan was named to the tournament all-star team along with Barkey, Dickinson and Elliott. McKenna and star defenceman Tanner Molendyk were named to the tournament all-star team from the Tigers.

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.

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.

The Tigers overcame their share of adversities this season. They started out 1-4, and as they started to turn things around on the ice, the Tabbies had to battle through a massive amount of injuries.

Just when it looked like things were all ready to go full speed ahead at the end of the regular season, Meneghin’s father passed away. The Tigers rallied around their netminder, who was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs. When the Tigers were being presented the Ed Chynoweth Cup, Wiesblatt waved Meneghin in to accept and be the first to lift the trophy.

Including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament, the Tigers won 47 of their last 56 games.

For the Knights, they captured their third Memorial Cup title in team history with the two past victories coming in 2005 and 2016. Dale Hunter was the head coach for all of those Knights wins.

Over the past 21 years, the Knights are considered the standard in the CHL having won six OHL titles to go with their three Memorial Cup championships over that period of time. Whenever they make the Memorial Cup tournament, they are usually the favourites to win it.

The Tigers topped the round robin standings of this year’s Memorial Cup tournament with a 3-0 record earning a bye into the event’s championship game. It appeared they might be destined to be the team that ends the WHL’s Memorial Cup title drought.

After Sunday’s final, the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014 remain the last squad from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup. They also took the WHL title that year too.

The WHL’s drought of not winning the Memorial Cup now spans the last nine tournaments marking the longest the circuit has gone without winning the biggest prize in major junior hockey. Since the Spokane Chiefs dropped the Memorial Cup after winning it in 2008, the Oil Kings have been the only WHL club since that time to claim that trophy which leaves the feeling the “Curse of the Drop” still lingers over the circuit.

Still, the Knights’ experience – however slight it may have been – from losing the Memorial Cup final last season pushed them over the edge this season.

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 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.

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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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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Tigers take on “Curse of the Drop” at Memorial Cup

Gavin McKenna has had a spectacular season for the Tigers.

The Medicine Hat Tigers are now on the clock to see if the “Curse of the Drop” still lingers.

For the superstitious types, that event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.

Since that drop, the WHL has only won the Memorial Cup once coming with the Edmonton Oil Kings win in 2014. In 2014, Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3. At the moment, that marks the last time a team from the WHL has won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions.

The Tigers enter this year’s four-team tournament to be played in Rimouski, Quebec, as WHL champions. They will begin play on Friday taking on the host Rimouski Oceanic at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

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.

Currently, the WHL as a league is going through its longest drought of not winning the Memorial Cup. That drought stretches across the last eight straight Memorial Cup tournaments. That includes the tournaments played from 2015 to 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Memorial Cup tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

During the drought, there were a few times the WHL champion was worn down by the grind of the WHL post-season, and while the players tried, they just didn’t have gas in the tank. That included the Swift Current Broncos in 2018 and the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019.

In 2023, the Seattle Thunderbirds made the championship game, when the tournament was played in Kamloops, B.C. On June 4 of that year, the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts blanked the Thunderbirds 5-0 in the tournament final. That allowed then Remparts head coach, general manager and overall hockey icon Patrick Roy to raise the Memorial Cup for a second time.

Harrison Meneghin has been incredible in the WHL post-season.

For whatever reason, it seems like a dark cloud hangs over WHL representatives at the Memorial Cup since the Chiefs drop back in 2008.

This time the WHL sends one of its most storied legacy franchises to the CHL championship tournament in the Tigers. The Tigers and the Kamloops Blazers hold the distinction of collecting the most WHL title wins at six. Medicine Hat has won the Memorial Cup twice coming back in 1987 and 1988.

The Tigers head into the Memorial Cup guided by their legendary head coach and general manager in Willie Desjardins. He is aided by a high caliber staff that works behind the team’s bench.

Of course, Tigers superstar 17-year-old left-winger Gavin McKenna will be the player most hockey fans will be watching at the Memorial Cup. McKenna finished second in the WHL regular season scoring race piling up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department in 56 appearances.

McKenna was third in scoring in the WHL Playoffs piling up 38 points on nine goals and 29 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in 16 games.

Overage captain Oasiz Wiesblatt has vaulted his way to legendary status in the history of the Tigers franchise. He finished fifth in the WHL regular season scoring race with 103 points coming off 36 goals and 67 assists to go with a plus-47 rating in 66 appearances. Wiesblatt also had 148 penalty minutes during the regular season.

He was seventh in the scoring race in the WHL Playoffs posting 29 points coming off 14 goals and 15 assists to go with a plus-15 rating in 18 games.

Seemingly, everyone amongst the Tigers forward unit has skill with the big names including Andrew Basha, Cayden Lindstrom, Hunter St. Martin, Ryder Ritchie, Liam Ruck and Marcus Ruck.

Medicine Hat’s starting six on defence are as good as anyone’s in major junior hockey in Tanner Molendyk, Veeti Vaisanen, Bryce Pickford, Jonas Woo, Josh Van Mulligen and Niilopekka Muhonen.

The Tigers have received rock solid play in goal from star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin, who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Meneghin played one regular season game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes before being dealt to the Tigers.

In the 36 total regular season games he has played, Meneghin posted a 23-10-1-1 record, a 2.58 goals against average, a .900 save percentage and three shutouts. In 16 appearances in the WHL Playoffs, Meneghin posted a 14-1 record, a 2.35 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and three shutouts. He was named MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

Oasiz Wiesblatt (#7) is the Tigers fearless captain.

Back when the Oil Kings won the Memorial Cup in 2014 to be the only WHL club at the moment to beat the “Curse of the Drop,” they played with special emotion aiming to honour Pelss.

The Tigers might have a similar situation this 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. Perhaps what seems like the dark supernatural forces that are haunting WHL teams at the Memorial Cup tournament will take a pass in haunting this year’s Tigers.

Maybe, just maybe, fate will look favourably on Medicine Hat.

Former Blades goalie Elliott spectacular with Knights

Austin Elliott has been a man on a mission after continuing his major junior career in the OHL.

The Strathmore, Alta., product, had been a star netminder for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades playing two complete seasons for “The Bridge City Bunch” from 2022 to 2024. He struggled in the 2024 WHL Playoffs and the Blades turned the starting job over to Evan Gardner. With Gardner in net, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

As an overager in 2024-25, Elliott started the campaign with the Blades winning all three of his starts with the team posting a 2.33 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. When Gardner returned from NHL training camp activities with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared the WHL waiver wire.

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.

Elliott, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds, played in 33 regular season games for the Knights posting a 32-1 record, a 2.10 goals against average, a .924 save percentage and three shutouts. Thanks to Elliott’s work, 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.

Austin Elliott in action for the Blades on March 22, 2024.

He started all of the 17 games the Knights played in the OHL Playoffs posting a 16-1 record, a 2.46 goals against average and one shutout as London claimed a second straight league title.

Now, Elliott will try to backstop the storied Knights to a Memorial Cup title. The annual CHL championship tournament is being held in Rimouski, Quebec, and the Knights begin play on Saturday taking on the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (4 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

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.

Saturday’s battle between the Knights and Wildcats is viewed as a contest that you have to watch. Elliott might prove to be the difference again for the Knights in that contest in what has been an unbelievable run for him in 2024-25.

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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