GAME DAY MARCH 19 @ CALGARY
LAST GAME 2-0 L Vs Calgary Hitmen: Hitmen goaltender Brayden Peters stymied the Tigers offence Saturday night at Co-op Place making 23 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season, while Carter Yakemchuk would notch the GWG on the power play at 16:14 of the second period before Sean Tschigerl hit the empty net with 34 seconds to go in regulation, on route to a Calgary win putting them just one point back of the Tigers for 7th in the Eastern Conference Standings.
Vs CALGARY: This is the 6th and final meeting between the Tigers and Hitmen, with the Hitmen leading the season series 3-2, after Saturday’s 2-0 win in Medicine Hat, Carter Yakemchuk scored the game winner on the power play in the second period while Brayden Peters made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season, while Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow made 30 saves in the loss for the Tigers
Shane Smith, Cayden Lindstrom, Dru Krebs & Dallon Melin all lead the Tigers in scoring against the Hitmen with four points. While goaltender Beckett Langkow is 2-2 in four starts, posing as .925 save percentage & 2.51 GAA.
Head to Head since the 1996-97 season has the Tigers sporting a 80-78-9-5 record with 3 ties, while at home Medicine Hat is 45-34-4-3 with a tie.
HEAD TO HEAD
Nov 4 @ CGY (5-1 L)
Nov 23 @ MH (5-2 L)
Dec 2 @ CGY (4-3 W)
Jan 21 @ MH (7-1 W)
Mar 18 @ MH (2-0 L)
Mar 19 @ CGY
TALE OF THE TAPE
MEDICINE HAT TIGERS (28-27-8-1) 65pts
3RD in Central Division
7TH in Eastern Conference
PP – Overall 51/269 – 19.3% – Away 26/140 – 18.6%
Vs CGY – 1/15 – 6.6% @ CGY – 1/12 – 8.3%
PK -Overall 213/289 -73.7% – Away 103/142 – 72.5%
Vs CGY – 14/18 – 77.7% @ CGY – 10/12 – 83.3%
CALGARY HITMEN (28-28-5-3) 64pts
4TH in Central Division
8TH in Eastern Conference
PP – Overall 52/276 – 18.8% – Home 28/136- 20.6%
Vs MH – 2/12 16.6% @MH – 4/18 – 22.2%
PK – Overall 238/285 -83.3% – Away 128/155 -82.6%
Vs MH – 11/12 – 91.6% @MH – 14/15 -93.3%
2022-23 REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
Goals – Lee (28) Wins – Langkow (23)
Assists – Basha (36) Shutouts – Langkow (1)
Points – Wiesblatt (58) Save % – Langkow (.889)
+/- Basha (+26) GAA – Langkow (3.06)
PIMS – Wiesblatt (107)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
– Andrew Basha 63 GP: 19-36-55 PTS – Oasiz Wiesblatt 64 GP: 24-34-58 PTS
– Brenden Lee 53 GP: 28-25-53 PTS – Cayden Lindstrom 57 GP: 18-21-39 PTS
– Dallon Melin 63 GP: 14-25-39 PTS – Bogdans Hodass 52 GP: 10-22-32 PTS
– Dru Krebs 63 GP: 8-32-40 PTS – Reid Andresen 64 GP: 7-27-36 PTS
MILESTONE WATCH
– Owen MacNeil: 7 GP away from 200 GP – Rhett Parsons: 4 GP from 150 career GP
– Reid Andresen: 11 GP from 150 career GP – Brenden Lee: 1 goal away from 50 in Career
– Oasiz Wiesblatt: 8 pts away from 100 in career
– Brenden Lee: 7pts away from 100 in career
HOW THE TIGERS WERE BUILT
WHL Draft (13): Andresen, Parsons, Wiesblatt, MacKenzie, Krebs, Smith, St. Martin, Boehm, Van Mulligen, Mrsic, Lindstrom, Basha, McKenna,
Trade (5): Bocharov, Lee, MacNeil, Smythe & May CHL Import Draft (1): Hodass
Listed/Signed (2): Langkow, Hanas Waivers (1): Melin
ROSTER AGE BREAKD OWN (* indicates rookie):
Alberta – 12 – Parsons, Wiesblatt, MacKenzie, Krebs, Langkow, St. Martin *, Smith *, Melin, Van Mulligen *, MacNeil, Basha,
BC – 5 – Smythe, Lindstrom *, Mrsic *, Boehm, & May
Saskatchewan– 1 – Andresen Manitoba – McCallum Yukon-1–McKenna*
USA – 3 – Lee, Hanas & Bocharov Latvia – 1 – Hodass
PREVIOUS THREE GAMES NEXT THREE GAMES (all times MT/SD
Sat Mar 11 Vs Regina Pats (7-0 W) Sun Mar 19 @ Calgary Hitmen (4pm)
Fri Mar 17 @ Edmonton Oil Kings (7-2 W) Wed Mar 22 Vs Edmonton Oil Kings (7pm)
Sat Mar 18 Vs Calgary Hitmen (2-0 L) Fri Mar 24 @ Swift Current Broncos (6pm)
NEWS & NOTES
Slip On Down To The Oasiz!: Tigers F Oasiz Wiesblatt is currently leading the Tigers in points with 58. (24 goals, 34 assists) and has suited up in every single game this season.
Defenders Attack: The Tigers defence core of Kurtis Smythe, Rhett Parsons, Bogdans Hodass, Dru Krebs, Pasha Bocharov, Josh Van Mulligen & Reid Andresen have contributed to 167 points (44 goals, 123) assists)
Bend It Like Beckett: Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow is 15th among WHL goaltenders, while he’s 3rd amongst WHL goaltenders with minutes played, 2848, as well as he’s 2nd in games played with 48. Langkow is also tied for the league lead with shootout wins with 3.
Young Bucks: Tigers Rookie forwards Hunter St. Martin & Shane Smith are tied for first in WHL Rookie Shorthanded scoring with 3 points. While Shane Smith is tied for 4th in WHL Rookie Goal Scoring with 19.
The Chetwynd Kid: Tigers Centre Cayden Lindstrom is 8th in WHL Rookie scoring with 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 57 games played.
Man Down, No Problem: Going into tonight’s game against Swift Current, the Tigers are tied for 5th in shorthanded goals for in the WHL with 11, (Smith x2, St. Martin, Bocharov, Boehm x2, MacNeil, Lee, Melin, MacKenzie, Krebs)
Mr. 400: Tigers Head Coach & Willie Desjardins notched his 400th win as a Head Coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers December 10th in a 6-3 win at home against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Desjardins record in his 13 seasons coaching in the WHL. Desjardins first win as Tigers Head Coach was a 4-3 win on September 24, 2002 against the Saskatoon Blades.
Latvian Leap: Second year defenceman Bogdans Hodass represented Team Lativa at the completed 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the second straight year. Hodass had 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists
Silver Lining: Tigers forward Tomas Mrsic returns to the Tigers after taking home a silver medal at the World U17s in Langley, BC. Mrsic had one goal and one assists for Team Canada Red. Cayden Lindstrom also participated in the U17s as a member of Team White scoring two goals and two assists in the tournament.
MacNeil’s Navy: The Tigers announced their leadership group for the 2022-23 WHL Season, Owen MacNeil was named the 39th Captain in Tigers history, while Rhett Parsons, Dru Krebs, Tyler MacKenzie & Dallon Melin will all wear alternate captain’s A’s on their jerseys this season.
