Tigers Come Back to Beat Hitmen, 3-2, in OT
WHL Medicine Hat Tigers

Tigers Come Back to Beat Hitmen, 3-2, in OT

Published on February 27, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release


Calgary, AB - The Tigers took on the Hitmen for their seventh of eight matchups this season on Friday, February 27th in the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Both teams came out of the gate with the same energy as they split the shots 8-8 in the first period.

The three previous matchups between the Central Division clubs were all decided by a single goal with two requiring extra time. So it was no surprise the two teams were neck and neck to start the game.

20-year-old Tigers forward Ethan Neutens had a strong first period and helped establish a strong presence from the Tabbies to start the game.

Andrei Molgachev broke the scoreless tie with his 24th goal of the season to give the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 11:19.

Tigers goaltender Carter Casey had outstanding stats and a 5-0-0-0 record against Calgary prior to Friday's game. Casey continued his stellar play and although the Tigers went into the first intermissions trailing 1-0 they had lots of positives that could potentially shift the game's momentum.

The positive habits the Tigers established in the first period carried over into the middle frame and they used those to dominate puck possession.

Medicine Hat outshot Calgary 13-7 in the second period and spent most of their time in the Hitmen zone.

Their consistent pressure paid off when Noah Davidson scored his 25th goal of the season on a power play. Davidson was coming off of his first career hat trick Tuesday in Edmonton and followed it up with the first Tigers goal of the game in the Saddledome. Bryce Pickford sent a low pass to Davidson in the Hitmen crease who dropped to a knee to redirect the puck into the back of the net.

While the Tigers continued to dominate puck possession, the Hitmen did manage to sneak one more goal past Casey before the end of the second period with Julien Maze getting his 33rd of the year.

Medicine Hat was playing from behind but was making a great effort to come back and as time ticked down they were just looking to get one goal to bring it to overtime.

Josh Van Mulligen scored the game tying goal off of a beautiful passing play from the Ruck twins late in the third period to send the game to overtime. Van Mulligen's long wrist shot led to his fourth goal of the season at 16:57.

The Tigers were looking for an overtime hero and they turned to a familiar face who scored an overtime winning goal less than a week ago in Co-op Place. Pickford collected the puck from Casey in his own end and weaved his way through the Hitmen defenders. He fired a wrist shot from the right side of the zone and secured the overtime win for the Tabbies at 2:33.

Special Teams:

PP: 1/2 - 50.0%

PK: 2/2 - 100.0%

Stringam Law Three Stars:

Julien Maze (1G, 1A) - Calgary

Eric Tu (32SH, 29SV) - Calgary

Josh Van Mulligen - Medicine Hat

Supplement King Hardest Worker:

Ethan Neutens

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, February 28th in Co-op Place. Tickets are available at the box office or Tixx.ca.

Check out the Medicine Hat Tigers Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2026


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