Tigers Win 16th in a Row, 8-3, over Thunderbirds
Published on January 9, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
Medicine Hat, AB - The Tigers took on the Thunderbirds for their lone matchup of the season. The last time the two clubs met was a very close match, with Seattle coming out on top in a shootout.
Both teams were busy at the 2026 WHL Trade Deadline that had finished just one day prior to Friday's matchup. Seattle was one of the busiest teams in the WHL, making six transactions from January 2nd to the January 8th deadline. The Thunderbirds had a lot of new faces slotting into the lineup for Friday's matchup, and the Tigers had newly acquired forward Luke Cozens making his debut in the orange and black as well.
The Thunderbirds set the tone early in the first period with two goals in quick succession. The first coming at 2:43 from Vanek Popil to break the scoreless tie with his second of the year.
One of the newest Thunderbirds, Cameron Schmidt, scored his 29th of the year to pass Bryce Pickford for first in the league in goals at 3:07.
Seattle continued piling the pressure on the Tigers with their third unanswered goal of the first period. Their third goal of the evening came from Joe Gramer at 13:57, his first of the season.
The Tigers went into the second period down 3-0, desperate to spark a change. That spark the team needed to ignite the flame came from the Tigers Captain. Markus Ruck sent a pass from down low all the way to the point for a Pickford one-timer on the power play at 11:40.
The team and crowd came to life with the Tigers next goal coming from Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll on a penalty shot. Before he could even touch the puck, Gordon-Carroll was showered with "SGC" chants from the stands. The already roaring crowd exploded when the Utah native went five-hole for his ninth tally of the year, making it a 3-2 game.
With his first goal of the night, Pickford tied Schmidt for the league lead in goals, and with his second of the night he took it back. Pickford's 30th of the season was fed cross-crease from his D-partner Jonas Woo on the power play to tie the game 3-3 at 14:11. With that goal, Pickford became just the second defenceman in Tigers history to hit 30 goals in a season.
The Tigers wasted no time continuing their momentum after the second intermission, scoring just 0:26 into the third period. Kadon McCann scored his 14th of the year from in tight after a spin-o-rama shot from Cam Parr got the puck to the net.
Possibly the prettiest play of the night came on another Tigers power play. This time it was the Ruck twins that used their twin telepathy to connect on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play for Liam Ruck's 21st goal of the season at 3:07.
Kade Stengrim scored the Tigers sixth goal of the night and his eighth of the year off of a Pickford rebound to make it 6-3 at 4:26.
Pickford secured the hat trick with his third goal of the night and 31st of the season on the power play at 13:38. The Tigers Captain took his time at the point to fire a strong wrist shot through traffic for his third power play goal of the night.
Markus Ruck capped off the night with the Tigers' eighth unanswered goal at 17:31. Liam Ruck picked up a Pickford rebound, and Markus picked up Liam's rebound, which finally went to the back of the net to make it 8-3 Tigers.
Special Teams:
PP: 5/6 - 83.3%
PK: 0/3 - 0.0%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
Bryce Pickford (3G, 2A) - Medicine Hat
Markus Ruck (1G, 3A) - Medicine Hat
Andrew Basha (3A) - Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Worker:
Kadon McCann
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, January 10th to take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Co-op Place.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2026
- Chiefs Fall, 2-1, to Royals Friday in First of Back-To-Back Contests this Weekend - Spokane Chiefs
- Winterhawks Come up Short Against Rockets on Pride Night - Portland Winterhawks
- Vees Earn Eighth Straight Win - Penticton Vees
- Game Preview: Cougars vs. Silvertips: 0 - Prince George Cougars
- Americans' comeback falls short in overtime loss to Giants - Tri-City Americans
- Tigers Win 16th in a Row, 8-3, over Thunderbirds - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Early Push Sends Warriors to Win over Wild - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Broncos Drop 6-1 Decision to Raiders - Swift Current Broncos
- Three Oil Kings Powerplay Goals Lead to Win in Saskatoon - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Giants Name Ryan Lin Captain - Vancouver Giants
- Paranych Pots Pair as Pats Snap Skid with 5-2 Win over Rebels - Regina Pats
- Hurricanes Announce Resignation of General Manager Peter Anholt - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- WHL Statement on Resignation of Peter Anholt - WHL
- Game Preview: Vees vs Blazers - Penticton Vees
- Game Preview: Game 39 vs. Thunderbirds - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Oil Kings Re-Assign Hejda to NAX U18 Prep - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Howell, Sparks Expected to Make Chiefs Debut Tonight as Spokane Takes on Victoria - Spokane Chiefs
- Broncos Release Jackson Gillespie - Swift Current Broncos
- Broncos Add Trae Johnson to Roster - Swift Current Broncos
- Warriors Head South to Begin Road Swing - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Oil Kings Continue Road Trip in Saskatoon - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Game Day Hub: January 9 vs Kelowna - Portland Winterhawks
- Preview: Americans at Giants - January 9, 2026 - Tri-City Americans
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