Playoff Series Preview: Round 3 VS Prince Albert
WHL Medicine Hat Tigers

Playoff Series Preview: Round 3 VS Prince Albert

Published on April 23, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release


The 2026 WHL Eastern Conference Championship presented by Nutrien will feature the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, as the No. 1 seed Prince Albert Raiders face off against the No. 2 seed Medicine Hat Tigers.

Prince Albert will host Games 1 and 2 on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, respectively, before the series shifts to Medicine Hat for Game 3 on Tuesday, April 28.

The Raiders and Tigers both punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Championship by sweeping their respective second-round series.

Prince Albert made quick work of the Saskatoon Blades, completing a four-game sweep Wednesday, April 15.

Medicine Hat took care of the Calgary Hitmen, wrapping up a four-game run Wednesday, April 15.

The two beasts from the east split their four-game regular season series down the middle, which each Club winning two games. The Tigers claimed the first two games of the season set, claiming 3-2 and 7-1 victories on November 29 and December 3, respectively. The Raiders secured the final two contests, beating Medicine Hat by scores of 8-5 and 5-1 on January 17 and January 24, respectively.

Jonas Woo, who was ranked 179th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft, the Tigers in scoring against the Raiders this regular season, tallying six points (3G-3A) in four games. Fellow 2026 NHL Draft eligible Markus Ruck, who is ranked 23rd among North American skaters, also registered six points (1G-5A) in four games.

San Jose Sharks prospect Max Heise recorded seven points (4G-3A) in four games for the Raiders, while Dallas Stars prospect Brandon Gorzynski played a season high seven games against the Medicine Hat - two as a member of the Raiders and five as a member of the Calgary Hitmen. Gorzynski collected six points (3G-3A) over his seven outings.

Between the pipes, 2026 NHL Draft eligible netminder Michal Orsulak went 2-2-0-0 with a 3.94 goals-against average and .876 save percentage for the Raiders, while Jordan Switzer went 2-2-0-0 with a 3.52 GAA and .870 SV% for the Tigers.

The two teams last met during the second round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs, with Medicine Hat sweeping Prince Albert in four games en route to winning the 2025 WHL Championship.

STATS

2025-26 Standings:

Medicine Hat Prince Albert

50-10-5-3 52-10-5-1

Central - 1st East Div. - 1st

East - 2nd East Conf. - 1st

League - 3rd League - 2nd

Home - 28-3-2-1 Home - 26-4-3-1

Away - 22-7-3-2 Away - 26-6-2-0

Leading Scorers (Regular Season)

Medicine Hat

Markus Ruck - 68 GP - 21 G - 87 A - 108 PTS

Liam Ruck - 68 GP - 45 G - 59 A - 104 PTS

Jonas Woo - 56 GP - 29 G - 57 A - 86 PTS

Prince Albert

Daxon Rudolph - 68 GP - 28 G - 50 A - 78 PTS

Aiden Oiring - 68 GP - 28 G - 41 A - 69 PTS

Brandon Gorzynski - 65 GP - 27 G - 42 A - 69 PTS

Goaltenders (Regular Season)

Medicine Hat

Jordan Switzer - 44 GP - 30-7-2-2 - 2.85 GAA - .889 Save %

Carter Casey - 28 GP - 19-3-3-1 - 3.02 GAA - .882 Save %

Cash Christie - 1 GP - 1-0-0-0 - 2.78 GAA - .870 Save %

Prince Albert

Michal Orsulak - 36 GP - 28-4-3-1 - 2.22 GAA - .907 Save %

Steele Bass - 16 GP - 11-4-10 - 1.94 GAA - .915 Save %

Dmitri Fortin - 17 GP - 13-2-1-0 - 2.99 GAA - .883 Save %

Leading Scorers (Playoffs)

Medicine Hat

Andrew Basha - 9 GP - 3 G - 11 A - 11 PTS

Jonas Woo - 8 GP - 5 G - 6 A - 11 PTS

Bryce Pickford - 9 GP - 5 G - 4 A - 9 PTS

Prince Albert

Daxon Rudolph - 9 GP - 5 G - 7 A - 12 PTS

Braeden Cootes - 9 GP - 5 G - 6 A - 11 PTS

Brayden Dube - 9 GP - 3 G - 8 A - 11 PTS

Goaltenders (Playoffs)

Medicine Hat

Jordan Switzer - 6 GP - 5-1-0 - 2.67 GAA - 0.885 SV%

Carter Casey - 3 GP - 3-0-0 - 1.81 GAA - 0.937 SV%

Prince Albert

Michal Orsulak - 9 GP - 8-1-0 - 1.55 GAA - .919 SV% - 3 SO

Special Teams (Regular Season):

Medicine Hat Prince Albert

Power Play: 32.2% (1st) Power Play: 28.3% (5th)

Penalty Kill: 78.6% (11th) Penalty Kill: 79.4% (7th)

Special Teams (Playoffs):

Medicine Hat Prince Albert

Power Play: 24.1% (8th) Power Play: 25.0% (7th)

Penalty Kill: 87.9% (1st) Penalty Kill: 77.8% (8th)

HEAD TO HEAD STATS

Record

Medicine Hat - 2-2-0-0

Prince Albert - 2-2-0-0

2025-26 Season Series:

Medicine Hat 1 @ Prince Albert 5 (Jan 24 2026) Prince Albert 1 @ Medicine Hat 7 (Dec 3 2025)

Prince Albert 8 @ Medicine Hat 5 (Jan 17 2026) Medicine Hat 3 @ Prince Albert 2 (Nov 29 2025)

Leading Scorers

Medicine Hat

Jonas Woo - 4 GP - 3 G - 3 A - 6 PTS

Markus Ruck - 4 GP - 1 G - 5 A - 6 PTS

Liam Ruck - 4 GP - 3 G - 2 A - 5 PTS

Prince Albert

Max Heise - 4 GP - 4 G - 3 A - 7 PTS

Brandon Grozynski - 7 GP - 3 G - 3 A - 6 PTS

Daxon Rudolph - 4 GP - 2 G - 4 A - 6 PTS

Goaltenders

Medicine Hat

Jordan Switzer - 4 GP - 2-2-0-0 - 3.52 GAA - .870 Save %

Prince Albert

Michal Orsulak - 4 GP - 2-2-0-0 - 3.94 GAA - .876 Save %

Dmitri Fortin - 1 GP - 0-0-0-0 - 4.43 - .769 Save %

Previous Playoff Meetings

2025 Round 2

Tigers win in 4 games

2005 Round 2

Raiders win in 6 games

1996 Round 1

Raiders win in 5 games

1988 Round 2

Tigers win in 6 games

1986 Round 3

Tigers win in 7 games

1985 Round 3

Raiders win in 5 games

1984 Round 1

Tigers win in 5 games

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game Visitor Home Day Date Time

1 Medicine Hat @ Prince Albert Friday April 24 7pm ST

2 Medicine Hat @ Prince Albert Saturday April 25 7pm ST

3 Prince Albert @ Medicine Hat Tuesday April 28 7pm MT

4 Prince Albert @ Medicine Hat Wednesday April 29 7pm MT

5* Medicine Hat @ Prince Albert Friday May 1 7pm ST

6* Prince Albert @ Medicine Hat Sunday May 3 6pm MT

7* Medicine Hat @ Prince Albert Tuesday May 5 7pm ST

* = if necessary

Check out the Medicine Hat Tigers Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 23, 2026


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