Game 54 at Portland
February 10, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
The Story Coming In
The Medicine Hat Tigers will play the final game of their four games in five nights road trip tonight in Portland. The Tigers are 2-0-1-0 on their road trip after falling 4-3 in overtime to the Seattle Thunderbirds last night. The Orange and Black are led by veteran forwards James Hamblin with 64 points (30G, 34A) and Ryan Jevne with 52 points (24G, 28A)
Tigers vs. Winterhawks
Tonight the Tigers and the Winterhawks will meet for the first and only time this season. The last time these two clubs faced off, the Winterhawks won 5-2 on November 29th, 2017. Medicine Hat is 0-3-0-0 against Portland over the past five years and they have not defeated the Winterhawks since Oct 26th, 2011, in a 4-2 home victory.
View from Portland
The Portland Winterhawks will play their third game in so many nights tonight against the Tigers. The Winterhawks defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1 on Friday before falling 5-0 to the Everett Silvertips Saturday night. Portland is led by 2016 San Jose Sharks draft pick Joachim Blichfeld with 92 points (44G, 48A) and 2017 Vegas Golden Knight draft pick Cody Glass with 64 points (13G, 51A).
Tigers Talent
Linus Nassen is a smooth skating, highly skilled defenceman in his second season with the Orange and Black. The 20-year-old Norrtalje, Sweden native was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 2016 NHL Draft. Nassen is ranked 10th among defencemen in the league with 40 points (5G, 35A). He has sharp puck skills and a high hockey IQ. Look for Nassen to make an impact on both ends of the ice in tonight's contest.
Captain's Corner
Captain James Hamblin is the Tigers' top point producer this season with 64 points (30G, 34A). The 19-year-old Edmonton native was selected by the Tigers in the first round of the 2014 Bantam draft. In his career as a Tiger, Hamblin has 76 goals and 103 assists in 247 games played. He is a speedy, intelligent, two-way player who works hard every game to help set the tone for the team. "The keys to this road trip are to have a lot of energy, continue to play as quick as possible, manage the puck and play as a team," said Hamblin of this week's four games in five days' road trip.
Quick Hits
Mads Søgaard has been ranked 3rd among North American goalies in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm ranking.
Søgaard is also ranked 4th in the WHL among goalies with 2.24 GAA and 0.933 save percentage.
Brett Kemp has been ranked 156th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm ranking.
James Hamblin is the Tigers' top point producer and he is ranked 11th in the league with 64 points (30G, 34A).
The Tigers' power play is ranked 5th in the league and 23.6% effective. James Hamblin leads the Tigers in power play goals with 11 and Ryan Jevne is the top set up man on the power play with 18 assists.
Daniel Baker is the Tigers' top point producing rookie with 14 points (2G, 12A).
The Tigers are 3-0-1-0 against the US Division this season.
The Tigers continue to score by committee with all 20 skaters scoring lighting the lamp at least once to score the team's 175 goals.
The race for the Central Division crown is tight with 7 points separating first and fifth place. The Tigers currently sit in second place, one point behind the Edmonton Oil Kings in first and one point ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 3rd.
Ryan Jevne and James Hamblin are currently on 4 game point streaks. Jevne has 10 points (3G, 7A) and Hamblin has 7 points (3G, 4A). About the Medicine Hat Tigers
The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play out of Medicine Hat, AB and were established in 1970. In 48 seasons of playing major junior hockey, the Tigers have won 2 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies, as well as, 210 playoff games which led to winning 43 playoff series, raising 33 banners, winning five Ed Chynoweth Cups and two Memorial Cups.
• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...
Western Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2019
- Blades Plow Through Wheaties Sunday at SaskTel Centre - Saskatoon Blades
- Six Scorers Left Hitmen - Calgary Hitmen
- Bad Third Dooms Cougars - Prince George Cougars
- Pats Leave Road with Loss - Regina Pats
- Giants Punch their Ticket to the Playoffs in a 4-1 Win over Prince George - Vancouver Giants
- Preview: Blades Welcome Wheaties - Saskatoon Blades
- Wheat Kings, Don Cherry to Help Promote Organ Donations - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game 54 at Portland - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Calgary Hitmen Game Preview - Sunday, February 10 vs. Moose Jaw - Calgary Hitmen
- Winterhawks Game Day Preview: Portland vs. Medicine Hat - Portland Winterhawks
- Game Day Preview: Pats Wrap Four Game Alberta Road Trip in Edmonton - Regina Pats
- Christiansen Has Hat Trick, Wolf Another Shutout in 5-0 Playoff Clincher - Everett Silvertips
- ICE Fall 5-2 to Chiefs - Kootenay Ice
- Ams Unable to Overcome Early Flurry of Royals Goals, Fall 7-4 - Tri-City Americans
- Rebels Stymied by Warriors Netminder Evanoff and a Severe Shortage of Puck Luck - Red Deer Rebels
- Rockets Build Lead, Cruise to 4-1 Win - Kelowna Rockets
- No Dice in Everett - Portland Winterhawks
- Royals Storm Past Americans - Victoria Royals
- Tigers Outlasted by Thunderbirds 4-3 in OT - Medicine Hat Tigers
- T-Birds Tame Tigers In Overtime - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Chiefs Complete Season Sweep of ICE with 5-2 Win - Spokane Chiefs
- Raiders Down Hurricanes, Habscheid Records 500th WHL Win - Prince Albert Raiders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Medicine Hat Tigers Stories
- McKenna, Team Canada Open-Up World U18's against Sweden Thursday
- Tigers Sign Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll to WHL Scholarship & Development Agreement
- Four Tigers Named in Final NHL Central Scouting Rankings
- McKenna & Lindstrom Named to Canada's U18 Team
- McKenna Wins 2024 APTN Bryan Trottier Most Valuable Player Award