Tigers goaltender Garin Bjorklund stopping a wraparound by Edmonton captain Scott Atkinson in Saturday's 3-1 loss (Photo courtesy of Randy Feere / Medicine Hat Tigers)

By Scott Roblin

Tigers Drop to 2-2

Puck over glass call haunts Tigers in 3-1 loss to Edmonton

Mar 6, 2021 | 10:20 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s rare to see a single penalty call have a profound impact on a single game, but the Medicine Hat Tigers found themselves unlucky on Saturday night.

Scott Atkinson’s late power play with under five minutes left in regulation proved to be the difference, giving the Edmonton Oil Kings a 2-1 victory at Co-Op Place and the series sweep.

The Oil Kings captain was able to score the game-winning tally with Tigers veteran Cole Clayton in the box, serving a two-minute minor for a puck-over-glass call.

“We shot a puck over the boards, they scored on the power play and that was the difference,” said Tigers head coach & GM Willie Desjardins.

Offence proved to be a challenge this weekend for Medicine Hat, scoring a combined three goals over the weekend against the Oil Kings.

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But unlike Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the Oil Kings, it was the Tigers striking first with some cycling finished off by Ryan Chyzowski off a set-up from Lukas Svejkovsky less than five minutes in.

Both Medicine Hat’s Garin Bjorklund and Edmonton’s Sebastian Cossa came up with some monster saves as the first went along, but the Tabbies skated into the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Edmonton was able to get onto the scoreboard midway through the second from a familiar face, with Jalen Luypen scoring his third goal in as many games off a three-on-one rush.

While the score remained close, the Tigers saw their attack dry up in the third period failing to record a single shot on goal until the final minute of the game.

“I thought we just didn’t manage the puck and it didn’t go our way,” said Tigers captain Ryan Chyzowski.

Clayton’s puck-over-glass penalty came with just 4:37 left in regulation, which came off a faceoff win in the defensive zone for Medicine Hat.

Atkinson needed just five seconds into the power play to score the eventual game-winner, while Jake Neighbours added a late empty-net goal for the Oil Kings.

“For the first couple games our top line there was putting a lot of pucks at the net,” said former Tiger and Oil Kings winger Josh Williams. “Now, we’re starting to see some of our depth guys start to put the puck in. I think if we get all our lines rolling like that and all lines scoring, we’re going to be a pretty scary team.”

Cossa earned his fourth win of the season with an 18-save effort, while Bjorklund was easily Medicine Hat’s best player on the night with just two goals allowed on 25 shots.

“[Bjorklund] has been really good,” said Chyzowski. “He’s our backbone and he kind of saves us a bit. So, we got to be better in front of him.”

Falling in both of their games against Edmonton this weekend, the Tigers now hold a 2-2-0-0 record but still sit in second place in the Central Division with four points.

Desjardins added there are some lessons to be learned from this series, especially when it comes to staying disciplined against one of the WHL’s top clubs.

“They come at you every shift and the minute you break they’ll capitalize,” said Desjardins. “It’s a team where it’s hard to win and unless you’re committed to your structure and your systems, they’ll break you down.”

Medicine Hat embarks on the first of two three-game series this month on Friday night, kicking off three games in three days on the road against the Calgary Hitmen at 7:30 pm.