Tigers Beat Rockets, 8-4,in Game 1 of the WHL Yukon Showcase
WHL Medicine Hat Tigers

Tigers Beat Rockets, 8-4,in Game 1 of the WHL Yukon Showcase

Published on September 12, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release


The Tigers faced off against the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night in Whitehorse, Yukon for the first of two matchups in the WHL Yukon Showcase.

Medicine Hat opened the WHL Yukon Showcase with two straight goals. Brayden Ryan-Mackay fed Dub Eunice III with a cross-ice pass from the opposite corner in Kelowna's zone. Eunice III received the pass and buried it with a wrist shot for the first goal of the game at 2:23. Misha Volotovskii picked up the secondary assist for his first point of the pre-season. Liam Ruck found his brother Markus wide open on the far side, who walked in and scored with a five-hole shot on the breakaway at 9:48. Kade Stengrim received the secondary helper on the goal. Gojsic and Folstrom would score back-to-back goals for the Rockets at 13:49 and 14:20 to tie the game 2-2. Carter Cunningham would take the lead back for the Tigers before the end of the first period with a goal at 18:01. Dayton Reschny with an elusive spin-o-rama pass from behind the net got him the first helper on that goal, and Noah Davidson picked up the secondary assist. Carter Casey stretched out to make some big saves in the first period. His 11 saves on 13 shots allowed the game to stay close at 3-2 going into the first intermission.

The Tigers exploded offensively in the second period, outscoring the Rockets 4-1 in the second frame. The first goal of the period did not come until 14:10 where Yaroslav Bryzgalov tapped in a rebound off of his own wraparound attempt. Zack Nieckar would score soon after at 15:02 with a wrist shot from the half wall. Cunningham and Davidson would grab the assists on the goal. Davidson would go on to get his third point of the night with a goal at 16:53. Liam Ruck found him all alone in the slot from behind Kelowna's net. With less than a minute remaining in the period, Nieckar would flip a pass over Kelowna defenders to Gavin Kor. Kor accepted the pass out of mid-air and scored a breakaway goal with a five-hole shot. Medicine Hat would put 17 shots on goal this period, while Kelowna put up 8.

The third period had action on both ends of the ice, with each team picking up a goal. At 16:39 Liam Ruck would score the only power play goal of the night as he continued to connect with his brother, Markus, who picked up the primary assist. Tyson Moss grabbed the secondary helper. Eli Barrett scored for Kelowna at 18:17 to make the final score 8-4. The Rockets had 8 shots in the third period, and the Tigers had 7. Casey stopped 25 of 29 shots in net for the Tigers.

Special Teams:

PP: 1/7 - 14%

PK: 5/5 - 100%

Stringam Law Players Of The Game:

Medicine Hat: Noah Davidson (1G, 2A)

Kelowna: Levi Benson (1A)

Game Two of the WHL Yukon Showcase will be Saturday, September 13th @ 7:00pm PDT. The winner of the two-game series will be presented with the Northern Lights Cup.

Check out the Medicine Hat Tigers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from September 12, 2025


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.

OurSports Central