Tigers Title Defence Comes to an End After 7-6 Loss to Raiders
Published on May 4, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
Medicine Hat, AB - The Tigers needed a win to stay alive in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Raiders came to Co-op Place with a 3-2 series lead on Sunday, May 3rd.
Right out of the gate the Tigers came ready to play. The first period was filled with fast-paced, hard-hitting Tigers hockey.
Jonas Woo capitalized on the Tigers' offensive efforts with his eighth of the playoffs at 13:29. Woo collected the puck in the high slot and fired a perfectly placed wrist shot past Michal Orsulak to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Raiders tied the game shortly after with Riley Boychuk's second of the playoffs at 15:43.
A strong first period from the Tigers saw them outshoot their opponents 12-9 and the two beast of the east were tied after one.
1:53 of a man advantage carried over into the second period for the Tigers and Noah Davidson capitalized to restore the Tiger lead. Davidson redirected a shot from Josh Van Mulligen to make it 2-1 Tigers at 1:15.
Prince Albert answered back quickly with back-to-back goals. The first came from Braeden Cootes on the power play at 3:47, and the second came from Daxon Rudolph off of a weird bounce at 5:39.
With his first playoff goal in the orange and black, Luke Cozens tied the game 3-3 at 8:31. Cozens carried the puck down the right side of the zone and fired a shot through Orsulak's five-hole all while muscling off a Raiders defender.
The Raiders had a spring of good luck to cap off the middle frame as they scored three straight in the last half. The first came from Rudolph on the power play at 13:12. Followed by Brayden Dube at 17:59, and Jonah Sivertson at 19:27.
As expected, the Tigers made a huge push in the third period to try and save their season. Kade Stengrim started the climb back early with his seventh goal of the playoffs at 2:20. Yaroslav Bryzgalov fed Stengrim with a seeing eye pass across the ice through a narrow lane to set him up on the power play.
The suspense was turned up to 11 when Van Mulligen brought the Tigers within one with his third of the playoffs. Andrew Basha recorded his third assist of the night as he fed Van Mulligen for a one-timer at 6:59.
Boychuk scored his second of the night at 12:59 to extend the Raiders' lead once again.
A last second goal from Liam Ruck at 19:54 made for a final score of 7-6 as the Raiders held on for the 2026 Eastern Conference Championship.
Jordan Switzer and Carter Casey split the crease for Game 6 with Switzer stopping 10 of 13 and Casey stopping 14 of 18.
Special Teams:
PP: 2/4 - 50.0%
PK: 1/3 - 33.3%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
Josh Van Mulligen (1G, 1A) - Medicine Hat
Andrew Basha (4A) - Medicine Hat
Ethan Neutens - Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Worker:
Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll
The Tigers would like to thank all of their fans for their unrivaled support until the very end!
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