Tigers Win 5-3 in Saskatoon
February 11, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
The Tigers headed back on the road for a quick midweek trip to Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Starting off in Saskatoon on Tuesday night, the Tigers took on a team with some familiar faces. It was the first meeting between the two teams since they made the big deadline deal sending Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii to Medicine Hat in exchange for Hayden Harsanyi, Jack Kachkowski and picks.
Ryder Ritchie gave the Tigers the early lead 4:35 into the opening frame. Gavin McKenna put a backhand on net that was kicked to the side. Fortunately, Ritchie was there and quickly put the rebound into the net for his 21st of the season. McKenna's assist extended his impressive point streak to 29 games. Niilopekka Muhonen also picked up a helper on the opening goal.
The Blades would respond before the end of the first period to tie the game. Cooper Williams found Hunter Laing with a nice cross crease pass that just snuck by a diving defenceman that he was able to tap in on the backhand. David Lewandowski also picked up an assist on Laing's 15th.
The Blades came out firing in the second period and grabbed their first lead of the game 41 seconds in. The Blades came in on an odd man rush. Former Tiger Hayden Harsanyi kept the puck and let a snapshot go that found the left side just under the goaltender's glove. It was his eighth of the campaign. Tyler Parr picked up his first point of the night with the assist.
The lead wouldn't last long though. Just over two minutes later, Markus Ruck grabbed his own rebound and banked it off the goalie before he could get flush with the post. Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll picked up the assist on Ruck's 7th of his rookie season.
The Tigers would retake the lead before the second intermission. Oasiz Wiesblatt won the faceoff back to McKenna. He found Wiesblatt cutting towards the net with a nice pass. Wiesblatt beat the goalie with a backhand through the five hole for his 25th.
Saskatoon would continue to battle hard and they evened the game up again with just over seven minutes left in the third. Tanner Scott found Rowan Calvert with a cross-ice pass through a sea of bodies. Calvert let a big one timer go off the pass that found the netting for his 20th. Parr picked up the secondary assist for his second of the night.
The Tigers would respond almost instantly though with the two former Blades connecting to give the Tigers a late 4-3 lead. Tanner Molendyk let a wrister go from the blue line that Misha Volotovskii was able to tip past the netminder. The goal was Volotovskii's sixth of the season.
Medicine Hat would give themselves a bit of breathing room a couple of minutes later. McKenna dropped a pass to Wiesblatt and he was able to get a shot off. The shot was saved but McKenna was in the right spot to grab the rebound and fire a laser top shelf for his 29th.
The Blades would pull the goaltender late in the third but it wouldn't be enough. The Tigers had a few close chances on the empty net but the game would end in a 5-3 victory for the visitors.
Harrison Meneghin got his third straight start in net for the Tigers. He picked up his 15th win of the season stopping 15 of the 18 shots he faced. Former Tiger Ethan McCallum got the call in net for the Blades. He had a solid game saving 38 of the 43 shots he faced.
Shots:
Medicine Hat - 43
Saskatoon - 18
Special Teams:
PP: 0/1 - 0%
PK: 2/3 - 66.7%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
Gavin McKenna -Medicine Hat
Oasiz Wiesblatt - Medicine Hat
Ethan McCallum - Saskatoon
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Misha Volotovskii
The Tigers are back in action tomorrow night when they head to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders. Game time is 6:00 PM (MST). You can listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch for free on watch.chl.ca or the WHL's YouTube page.
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