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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Dreaming about the Blades keeping the band together

Saskatoon ultimately did right thing with reload

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Blades on March 22, 2024.

What could the Saskatoon Blades have done had they kept the band together in 2024-25?

As the CHL post-season has gone by, that thought does cross through a person’s head.

On Sunday, the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which determines a CHL champion, will be held at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers will take on the OHL champion London Knights in the tourney final (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

That contest features three players who started the 2024-25 campaign with the Blades.

Tanner Molendyk has been playing defence at an all-world level for the Tigers. The Blades defenceman of the year team award is named after him. 

Misha Volotovskii has become a shutdown checking centre for Medicine Hat who has chipped in goals and points at opportune times.

Austin Elliott is the netminder seemingly the entire WHL gave up on. In combined play in the WHL regular season, OHL regular season and post-season and Memorial Cup tournament, Elliott, who is in his overage season, has a 54-3 record. He went 3-0 with the Blades and has been 51-3 for the Knights.

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Tigers on April 13.

In 2023-24, the Blades had a stellar season finishing first overall in the WHL with a 50-13-2-3 mark. They advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual league champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

That epic series saw six games decided in overtime. In Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre on May 7, 2024, Warriors right-winger Lynden Lakovic got a positive bounced goal 36 seconds into overtime to deliver a 3-2 victory to Moose Jaw.

Lakovic put a backhand shot towards the Saskatoon net that deflected off the skate of Blades utility winger Tyler Parr into the net for the winning tally. Parr was covering Warriors star right-winger Atley Calvert on the play.

At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Parr, Brandon Lisowsky, Rowan Calvert, Evan Gardner, Lukas Hansen, Ben Saunderson, Grayden Siepmann and Morgan Tastad were all part of the core of the 2023-24 squad that was returning. 

Unfortunately for the Blades, they dealt away a lot of key draft capital to load up for the 2023-24 campaign.

They also had five significant losses after the completion of the 2023-24 campaign. Captain Trevor Wong, standout right-winger Easton Armstrong and sturdy defensive-defenceman Charlie Wright all aged out of the circuit. Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov joined the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, who are the affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, and star centre Fraser Minten started the campaign as property of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs before being dealt to the Boston Bruins.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Blades on April 3, 2024.

Minten saw action for the Maple Leafs, their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies, the Bruins and their AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.

On July 25, 2024, the Blades dealt steady defenceman John Babcock to the Regina Pats in an effort to get down to three overage players.

Elliott lost his spot as the Blades starting goalie to Gardner during the 2024 WHL Playoffs. 

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.

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.

Elliott would go on to have a sensational run with the Knights.

As the early part of the campaign moved on, the Blades sat first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third overall in the league with a 17-6-1-2 mark going into action on December 6, 2024. It was decision time when it came to keeping the band together.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Tigers on May 9.

Blades general manager Colin Priestner looked at what the team could potentially look like the next two seasons after the 2024-25 campaign if the band stayed together and decided to make deals to ensure the team didn’t bottom out.

Hansen, Lisowsky, Volotovskii and Molendyk were all dealt to bring in a haul of younger players and draft capital leading up to the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9. Overage left-winger Tanner Scott was the one veteran that came to Saskatoon in those deals.

Before the 2024-25 season started, the Blades acquired 19-year-old centre Ben Riche in a trade with the Victoria Royals. Riche was looking for a fresh start with a new club and had a major breakout half season with the Blades. He was dealt to the Prince George Cougars for two younger players and draft capital.

The Blades didn’t plummet down the WHL standings after the trades. They slowly dropped out of contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference but were battling for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

They closed the regular season with a home-and-home series against their archrivals in the Prince Albert Raiders and were looking to gain the East Division title. 

On March 21 at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime. One night later at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert in a winner take all battle for first place, the Blades fell 4-3 after the Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic netted the winner late in the third period.

Austin Elliott in action for the Blades on April 5, 2024.

Saskatoon finished third in the East Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 37-23-4-4 mark. The Blades were swept in a best-of-seven first round series by the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Playoffs.

Still, the Blades are looking wise going into the future with the likes of Hunter Laing, Hayden Harsanyi, Jack Kachkowski and Kazden Mathies. They will go well together with returnees like Gardner, Ethan McCallum, Zach Olsen, Parr, Calvert, Cooper Williams, David Lewandowski and Isaac Poll.

In 2025-26, the Blades should still be a club that will be in a solid post-season spot. Still, it is fun to dream about what could have happened had Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Lisowsky, Hansen and Riche all stayed.

Knights claim 5-2 win over Wildcats in Memorial Cup semi

The London Knights weren’t going to be denied a return trip to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Friday, the OHL champion Knights found themselves locked in a 2-2 after 40 minutes with the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats in the Memorial Cup semifinal at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The Knights rolled off three straight goals in the third period to pull out a 5-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators.

Left-winger Blake Montgomery scored the winner at the 3:35 mark of the third. Import left-winger Jesse Nurmi netted a dagger insurance tally with 6:49 remaining in the third. Knight star right-winger Easton Cowan scored into an empty net to complete the surge with 1:49 remaining in the frame.

With the win, the Knights advance to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which decides a CHL champion, to take on the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Last year when the Memorial Cup tournament was held in Saginaw, Michigan, the Knights, who were the OHL champions, fell to the host Spirit 4-3. Spirit 20-year-old left-winger Josh Bloom scored the winner with 21.7 seconds remaining in the third to break a 3-3 tie.

In Friday’s clash between the Knights and Wildcats, left-winger Landon Sim gave the Knights a 1-0 lead at the 4:07 mark of the first period. Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers scored on the power play with 1:40 remaining in the opening frame to even the score at 1-1.

Knights captain Denver Barkley tallied at the 5:24 mark of the second to put London up 2-0. Just 2:16 later, Wildcats defenceman Dyllan Gill fired home a power-play goal to even the score at 2-2. That set the stage for the Knights surge in the third period.

Austin Elliott stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Knights. During the 2024-25 campaign that began with three games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Elliott has a 54-3 record including play in the WHL regular season, the OHL regular season and post-season and the Memorial Cup tournament.

Mathis Rousseau turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Wildcats. The Wildcats downed the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 in the final round robin game on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal.

The Wildcats were 1-2 in round robin play, while the Oceanic were 0-3. The Tigers topped the round robin standings at 3-0, while the Knights were second with a 2-1 mark.

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.

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 Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

McDonald remains Raiders head coach, other notes

Ryan McDonald, centre, works the Raiders bench on March 18.

Ryan McDonald will remain the head coach of his hometown Prince Albert Raiders heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

On Tuesday, the Raiders removed the interim tag from McDonald’s job title as head coach. The 37-year-old first joined the club as an assistant coach in 2020-21.

McDonald was named the team’s interim head coach on March 10 after Jeff Truitt was dismissed as the club’s head coach. The Raiders went 5-1 in their last six regular season contests under McDonald allowing them to finish first in the WHL’s East Division with a 39-23-5-1 mark.

Following the team’s WHL Christmas break, McDonald took over for Truitt as interim head coach as Truitt left the team for medical reasons to have eye surgery. McDonald went 10-4-0-1 over that stretch to post a 15-5-0-1 mark in 21 regular season contests working the Raiders bench as head coach.

In the WHL Playoffs, McDonald saw his Raiders eliminate the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3 in a best-of-seven first round series after trailing the set 3-1. The Raiders were then swept in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

Way back in the 2002-03 campaign, McDonald suited up full time for the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team as a 14-year-old underage player. He played one more campaign for the Mintos before moving up to the WHL with the Regina Pats.

He was acquired by the Raiders from the Pats in a trade part way through the 2006-07 campaign. McDonald would play the next two full seasons with the Raiders before graduating from the WHL. In 2013-14, McDonald played in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team.

• London Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan leads the Memorial Cup tournament in scoring with six points coming off two goals and four assists in four games.
• Medicine Hat Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie leads the Memorial Cup tournament with four goals coming in three games.
• London Knights star goaltender Austin Elliott has the lowest goals against average at the Memorial Cup tournament at 1.74 and the highest save percentage at .936 over four games. He is tied with Medicine Hat Tigers star netminder Harrison Meneghin for the most goaltending wins at this year’s tournament at three.
• On Friday, Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reported that the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Men’s Hockey Team in the NCAA Division I ranks got verbal commitments from centre Cole Reschny and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who were both members of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, to play starting in the 2025-26 season. Reschny turned 18-years-old in April and had 92 points coming off 26 goals and 66 assists to go with a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department playing 62 regular season games for the Royals in 2024-25. He is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Verhoeff will turn 17-years-old on June 19. As a 16-year-old rookie with the Royals in 2024-25, he appeared in 63 regular season games recording 21 goals, 24 assists and a plus-23 rating. Some believe he has the potential to be selected second overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
• Nathan Reiter, who is a sports reporter for the Prince Albert Daily Herald, put together a column on the latest developments on the landscape between the CHL and NCAA. That piece can be found by clicking right here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bryce Pickford scored a pair of goals for the Tigers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ruck had an assist to go with his goal.

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

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

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

Tanner Molendyk had three assists for the Tigers.

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

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

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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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What a rally! – Tigers claim 7-6 OT win over Hurricanes

Medicine Hat takes 3-0 lead in WHL Eastern Conference final

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored the OT winner for the Tigers.

A game that looked strongly like it could be a Lethbridge Hurricanes victory turned into what might be a nightmare for their star goaltender Jackson Unger.

On Tuesday in Game 3 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series, the host Hurricanes held leads of 3-0, 4-1, 5-3 and 6-5 over the Medicine Hat Tigers in a contest played before 4,794 spectators at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. With 70 seconds remaining in the third period and star netminder Harrison Meneghin pulled for an extra skater, Tigers offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford put a seeing-eye shot from the right point through a screen to the top left corner of the Lethbridge net to force a 6-6 tie and overtime.

Just 2:41 into the extra session, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna intercepted a Hurricanes pass in the Lethbridge zone. He jetted down the right faceoff circle flanked on his left by Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt on a contested two-on-nothing break.

Staring down the two most dangerous offensive players in the WHL, Unger basically had no chance.

McKenna put a pass over top an outstretched stick of a diving Hurricanes back checker across the front of the Lethbridge net to Wiesblatt at the left side of the goal. Wiesblatt made no mistake knocking in the backdoor tap to give the Tigers a 7-6 victory to account for his 14^th goal and fourth winning tally of the post-season.

Gavin McKenna had three assists for the Tigers.

After scoring the goal, Wiesblatt put on an exuberant celebration and proceeded to quickly exit the ice surface with the rest of his teammates right on his tail.

With the win, the Tigers take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set over their Highway 3 rivals. The Tigers will attempt to close the series out in Game 4 set for 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

McKenna finished the contest with four assists extending his consecutive games points streak between the regular season and post-season to 52 games. His streak extends back to November 6, 2024.

During the 52 games of the streak, McKenna has recorded 133 points coming off 39 goals and 94 assists. 

McKenna’s consecutive games points streak is the longest in the CHL since 2000 when you include play in both the regular season and post-season.

Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk had arguably the best night of any Tigers player on Tuesday. Molendyk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators, recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus rating.

Ryder Ritchie, Liam Ruck, Mathew Ward and Kadon McCann all had singles for the Tigers. Ward also had a goal that was waved off after a video review in the second period due to a hand pass leading to the creation of that tally.

Noah Chadwick had a pair of goals for the Hurricanes.

Captain Noah Chadwick had a pair of goals for the Hurricanes, while Kooper Gizowski, Kash Andresen, Miguel Marques and Brayden Yager all had singles.

Meneghin stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Unger turned away 38 shots to take the setback in net for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in the first period and went up 3-0 in the second before the Tigers got their first goal of the contest to make Lethbridge’s lead sit at 3-1. 

The hosts pushed their edge out to 4-1 before the Tigers closed the second frame scoring twice to cut Lethbridge’s advantage to 4-3 heading into the second intermission.

Lethbridge scored early in the third to assume a 5-3 advantage. Medicine Hat replied with a pair of goals to even the score at 5-5.

With 3:19 remaining in the third, the Hurricanes forecheck caused the Tigers to give up the puck to Yager positioned in front of the Medicine Hat net. Yager wired a shot to the left side of the Medicine Hat goal to put the Hurricanes up 6-5.

That set up the dramatics for Pickford to get the equalizer that forced overtime and for Wiesblatt to get the winner in the extra session.

Tanner Molendyk had one goal and three assists for the Tigers.

During the regular season, the Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark. In their last 46 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Tigers are an impressive 39-4-2-1. Medicine Hat has also won nine straight games.

The Hurricanes finished sixth overall in the WHL with a 42-21-3-2 mark. Lethbridge entered the Eastern Conference final after getting past the Calgary Hitmen in a grueling Eastern Conference semifinal series that went seven games.

Medicine Hat will try to advance to the WHL Championship Series for the first time since 2007, which was the last time the Tigers won the league title.

Chiefs rely on offence against Winterhawks

It appears the Spokane Chiefs seem set to ride a hot offence to a potential appearance in the WHL Championship Series.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Portland Winterhawks in the best-of-seven Western Conference Championship Series thanks to their ability to score. Last Friday at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Chiefs tried to burn out the goal lights at the rink downing the Winterhawks 10-4.

On Sunday in Game 2 at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Chiefs outgunned the Winterhawks 6-5 in overtime. At the 2:25 mark of the extra session, the Winterhawks coughed the puck up to Chiefs left-winger Chase Harrington in their own zone.

Harrington broke in alone on the Portland goal down the right wing and ripped home the winner for the Chiefs.

So far in the series, three Chiefs players have recorded five points over the first two games of the set. Star right-winger Andrew Cristall and import right-winger Assanali Sarkenov both have four goals and one assist. Star centre and captain Berkly Catton has one goal and four assists.

Harrington has two goals and two assists in the series. Star left-winger Shea Van Olm has one goal and three assists in the set.

Cristall tops all scorers in the WHL Playoffs with 33 points coming off 17 goals and 16 assists. Catton also has 33 points coming off eight goals and 25 assists, but Cristall leads the scoring race due to having a higher goal total.

For the Winterhawks, star centre Diego Buttazzoni is having a big series with three goals and three assists. Winterhawks star 20-year-old captain Kyle Chyzowski has one goal and three assists in the set.

The Chiefs finished fourth overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 45-20-1-2 mark. The Winterhawks placed 12^th overall during the WHL regular season with a 36-28-3-1 record.

Portland is appearing in the Western Conference Championship Series for a second straight year. The Winterhawks were swept 4-0 in last year’s WHL Championship Series by the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The Winterhawks will have an opportunity to get back in this year’s Western Conference final against the Chiefs. Due to scheduling around other events at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the next three games of the Western Conference Championship Series are scheduled to be held in Portland.

Game 3 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Rush NLL semifinal schedule set, other notes

The Rush celebrate a goal from last Saturday.

The Saskatchewan Rush will be playing post-season games in May for the first time since 2019.

On Sunday, the Rush finalized their schedule for their best-of-three NLL semifinal series against the Halifax Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds will host Game 1 of the series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. local time at Scotiabank Centre.

The final two games of the series are set for the SaskTel Centre. Game 2 is slated for Saturday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be played on Sunday, May 11 at 6 p.m.

The Rush finished second overall in the NLL regular season with a 13-5 mark. The Thunderbirds were third overall at 11-7.

Last Saturday, the Rush defeated the visiting Georgia Swarm 13-9 in a single elimination NLL quarter-final contest. Also last Saturday, the Thunderbirds downed the visiting Calgary Roughnecks 16-12 in another single elimination NLL quarter-final.

The Rush’s last previous appearance in a post-season game in May came back on May 3, 2019, when they fell 11-10 in overtime to the Colorado Mammoth.

The other NLL best-of-three semifinal sees the two-time defending league champion Buffalos Bandits, who topped the regular season at 13-5, take on the Vancouver Warriors, who finished fourth in the NLL regular season at 11-7. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. local time at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

• Portland Winterhawks overager Tyson Jugnauth tops all defencemen in scoring in the WHL Playoffs. In Portland’s 16 post-season games, Jugnauth has posted 29 points coming off four goals and 25 assists.
• Spokane Chiefs netminder Dawson Cowan tops all puck stoppers in wins so far in the WHL Playoffs at 10. Cowan also had a 3.34 goals against average and a .872 save percentage in the post-season.
• There have been a total of seven shutouts so far in the WHL Playoffs. Medicine Hat Tigers netminder Harrison Meneghin and Victoria Royals goalie Johnny Hicks have each collected two shutouts.
• There have been four series-deciding Game 7s played in this year’s WHL Playoffs. A total of three series-deciding Game 7s were played combined in the 2023 and 2024 WHL post-seasons.

• On Wednesday, April 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on Carter Beck, who is a star outfielder with the Saskatoon Berries of the Western Canadian Baseball League. Beck is a homegrown high-end player from Saskatchewan growing up in Carnduff, which is a town with a population around 1,200 located in the southeast corner of the province. Beck had a classic small town introduction to the sport watching his father, Blair, play senior baseball. The piece on Beck can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by pictures of the Saskatoon Badgers Rugby Club taking part in a training session at the Indoor Training Centre. Last September, the Badgers claimed the division 1 provincial championship. It also includes photos from baseball, cricket, skiing and softball. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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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Hildebrand’s last stand – netminder makes 54 saves as Raiders season comes to a close

Tigers advance with 3-0 win in Game 4 to sweep series

Harrison Meneghin, left, and Max Hildebrand embrace.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Max Hildebrand went out in a blaze of glory.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to help his Prince Albert Raiders keep their 2024-25 campaign alive. The Raiders 20-year-old star netminder had a spectacular end to his WHL career stopping 54 shots before a standing room crowd of 3,208 spectators at the 2,591 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre on Thursday night.

The Raiders ultimately got overwhelmed by the speed and the skill of the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers and fell 3-0 in Game 4 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Tigers were able to sweep the series with the victory 4-0. They will play the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal that is currently tied 2-2 between the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Max Hildebrand leads the Raiders on to the ice.

While the Tigers celebrated advancing to the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 2014, Hildebrand turned out one of the best goaltending performances this season in the WHL. Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald was not surprised to see Hildebrand come up with another big game.

“He (Hildebrand) is the ultimate competitor,” said McDonald. “I’ve been working with Max for four years watching his work ethic and his attention to detail.

“He is a tremendous teammate and a tremendous leader. He is a Raider through and through. His battle out there and his compete are second to none.”

Max Hildebrand makes one of his 54 saves for the Raiders.

Hildebrand had a spectacular regular season posting a 33-16-5 mark, a 2.87 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts. In the Raiders 11 games in the post-season, he posted a 3.05 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout.

Thanks to his work in the regular season, Hildebrand is a nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL player of the year, the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as WHL goaltender of the year and the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s humanitarian of the year. Legendary Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins said Hildebrand definitely made things tough on his team.

Max Hildebrand had a sensation 2024-25 campaign for the Raiders.

“He (Hildebrand) was unbelievable tonight, and he has been unbelievable through the playoffs,” said Desjardins, who club took Game 3 of the series one night earlier 6-1. “I think he was a guy that got caught a little bit too.

“He played so much, and I think he was a little bit tired. But saying that, he rebounded hard after Game 3. Playing Game 4, he was unbelievable.

“He is a great goaltender. Obviously, he is up for player of the year and goalie of the year. It was good for us to find a way though.”

Tigers overage captain Oasiz Wiesblatt said his team had to keep getting as many shots on goal as they could on Hildebrand in order to get the goals they needed. Wiesblatt said you have to give Hildebrand credit for how well he played.

Max Hildebrand, centre, is consoled at game’s end.

“He was red-hot fire the whole series,” said Wiesblatt. “When you play a goalie like that, I think you just have to contest and put pressure on him.

“I thought he did a great job holding P.A. in the series. You kind of just have to keep attacking and not settle down. I thought we did a good job.”

The Hildebrand show hit top gear out of the game keeping the contest scoreless after 20 minutes, where the Tigers outshot the Raiders 17-6 in the opening frame. Hildebrand turned away Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie with a pad save, swallowed up a shot by star defenceman Tanner Molendyk who attempted a between the legs shot and denied Ritchie again with a glove stop.

“Obviously, their goalie is unbelievable,” said Molendyk. “He is the backbone to their team.

“We were told to get pucks on net, and I think we did a good job of that.”

Tanner Molendyk (#24) had the Tigers first goal on Thursday.

The Tigers broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:03 mark of the second. While working on the power play, Molendyk floated a seeing-eye shot from the left point to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna picked up an assist on Molendyk’s tally. With that helper, McKenna now has recorded points in his last 49 consecutive games including action in the regular season and post-season.

At the 10:40 mark of the second, Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt fired a shot from the right wing boards to the top left corner of the Prince Albert goal to push the visitors’ edge out to 2-0. Wiesblatt’s tally was his 10^th of the post-season.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

Medicine Hat outshot Prince Albert 27-6 in the second period, but Hildebrand ensured the visitors were only able to get two goals in the frame.

Just 59 seconds into the third, Tigers star 19-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin scored by roofing a shot off a rush down the left wing to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net to give the visitors a 3-0 advantage.

While they seemingly never had the puck, the Raiders did put in a good effort and had their chances to score. With about 7:10 remaining in the third, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic won a race to a loose puck to the left side of the Medicine Hat net and centred a pass to breakout star left-winger Brayden Dube.

Hunter St. Martin had the Tigers third goal on Thursday.

Dube wired a shot on goal, but it was turned away by an arm save from Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin. The puck rebounded to the right side of the Medicine Hat goal, and Dube got to the puck only to put a second shot wide of the mark.

Inside the final two minutes of the third, Raiders breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old in March, wired a shot on goal from the top of the right faceoff circle but was denied on a glove save by Meneghin.

Meneghin stopped all 18 shots sent his way to pick up the shutout victory in net for the Tigers.

Wiesblatt was pumped his Tigers could finish the series with the Raiders at the Hauser, because his older brother, Ozzy, helped the Raiders win a WHL championship in 2019. Oasiz was able to check out some of Ozzy’s games in that 2019 post-season run including the first two games of the WHL final at the Hauser.

Harrison Meneghin made 18 saves for the shutout victory.

“This place has a special place in my heart,” said Wiesblatt, who had an assist to go along with his goal. “I came here before I started in the WHL.

“I kind of really got a taste of playoff hockey and how crazy fans can kind of be. It was really cool to come down here. P.A. has great fans.

“They are a great fan base, and they’re really loud. This place is a hard place to play in. There is a lot of history involved in it.”

Molendyk got to play a part in knocking the Raiders out of the WHL Playoffs for a second straight year. A year ago, Molendyk helped the Saskatoon Blades take out the Raiders in five games in a first round series. The rearguard who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators said the emotions of beating the Raiders weren’t the same as a year ago.

Gavin McKenna had an assist in the win for the Tigers.

“It is different,” said Molendyk. “It is not as much of a rivalry as it is with Saskatoon.

“It is always fun coming in here. It is always packed. The crowd is always into it.”

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

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

The Tigers celebrate their win on Thursday night.

The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark. They took out the Swift Current Broncos in five games in a best-of-seven first round series. In their last 43 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Tigers are an impressive 36-4-2-1.

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

Overall, McDonald thought his squad put together a pretty memorable campaign.

The Raiders give a final salute to their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” said McDonald. “I liked the way that we continued to learn and work and improve throughout this season to the division championship, to coming back in the first round, and continuing to battle right until the bitter end against a really good team.”

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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