Tigers Fall 4-3 to Seattle in Shootout
February 1, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
The Tigers' US road trip came to an end in Kent, Washington on Saturday night. The Tigers were looking to win their 13th game in a row and sweep the American teams this season.
The Tigers controlled much of the play in the opening frame outshooting the Thunderbirds 14-10. They had a number of good scoring opportunities but weren't able to put anything up on the scoreboard. Seattle put some pressure on late in the period but Jordan Switzer was great in net to keep it a scoreless tie heading into second period.
Medicine Hat got into some penalty trouble in the second period. The Thunderbirds were able to take advantage scoring a power play goal at 6:16 to take the lead. Radim Mrtka let a shot go off the faceoff that was stopped. The rebound fell in front of the net and Coster Dunn was there to bang the puck in along the ice for his 17th of the season.
Seattle would add to their lead with six minutes left in the middle frame. Matej Pekar intercepted a pass at the blue line and went in on a breakaway. He let a shot go that beat the netminder on the blocker side for his 10th.
The Tigers would finally get on the board late in the second. Coming into the offensive zone, Mathew Ward slid the puck to his left for Hunter St. Martin. He let a wrister go that found the netting for his team leading 31st goal of the season.
The Tigers power play got a chance just before the midway mark of the third period and they were able to even up the game at two apiece. Gavin McKenna dropped a pass that found St. Martin on the left side. He let a wrister go that found the top right corner to tie up the game. It was his second of the night and McKenna's assist extended his point streak to 26 games.
Medicine Hat kept the momentum and were able to grab their first lead of the game 12:53 into the third period. McKenna tried to move the puck across the slot to Oasiz Wiesblatt but it was blocked by a Seattle defender's skate. Fortunately, the puck came back to McKenna and he was able to bury to puck for his 27th of the campaign. Ryder Ritchie picked up the assist on the go ahead goal.
Unfortunately, the Tigers lead wouldn't last long as the T-Birds would even things up 90 seconds later. There was a scramble around the Tigers net and the puck came out front where Hayden Pakkala was able to jam it into the open net. Simon Lovsin and Sawyer Mayes grabbed the helpers on Pakkala's 11th.
The teams went back and forth for the remaining 5:37 of the third period but neither team was able to finish the game off in regulation.
The Tigers took a penalty in overtime and spent much of the extra frame playing defensively. They were able to kill off the penalty but weren't able to generate any offense of their own. With neither team being able to score in overtime we headed to a shootout to determine the winner.
The two teams went back and forth for 11 rounds in the shootout. Unfortunately, the Tigers win streak would come to an end with the Thunderbirds coming away with the victory.
Round Medicine Hat Result Seattle Result
1 Ryder Ritchie Miss Braeden Cootes Goal
2 Gavin McKenna Miss Brayden Schuurman Miss
3 Oasiz Wiesblatt Goal Antonio Martorana Miss
4 Hunter St. Martin Miss Matej Pekar Miss
5 Liam Ruck Goal Nathan Pilling Goal
6 Jonas Woo Miss Hayden Pakkala Miss
7 Markus Ruck Miss Coster Dunn Miss
8 Marcus Pacheco Goal Colton Gerrior Goal
9 Mathew Ward Miss Sawyer Mayes Miss
10 Josh Van Mulligen Miss Simon Lovsin Miss
11 Ethan Neutens Miss Radim Mrtka Goal
Jordan Switzer got the start in net for the Tigers. He made a number of great saves to keep the Tigers in the game throughout the first two periods. He saved 22 of the 24 shots he faced. He left the game after the second period after getting tangled up in front of the net with a Thunderbirds player. Harrison Meneghin came on in relief for the remainder of the game. He saved 14 of the 15 shots he faced and 7 of 11 shootout attempts. Scott Ratzlaff had a solid game in net for the Thunderbirds. He won his 14th game of the season making 31 saves on 34 shots and stopping 8 of 11 shootout attempts.
Shots:
Medicine Hat - 34
Seattle - 40
Special Teams:
PP: 1/6 - 16.7%
PK: 5/6 - 83.3%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
Simon Lovsin - Seattle
Radim Mrtka - Seattle
Scott Ratzlaff - Seattle
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Hunter St. Martin
The Tigers are back in action Friday night when they return home to host the Swift Current Broncos. Game time is 7:00 PM (MST) and tickets are available at tixx.ca. You can also listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch on watch.chl.ca.
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