Edmonton forward Kaid Oliver taking a shot in Saturday's 4-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers (Photo courtesy of Randy Feere / Medicine Hat Tigers)

By Scott Roblin

WHL Hockey

Penalties plague Tigers in home rematch against Oil Kings

Apr 24, 2021 | 11:01 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat Tigers learned on Saturday night that you can only hold off the Edmonton Oil Kings’ offence for so long, especially when the power play is involved.

Despite hanging in for much of the game with the Central Division-leading Oil Kings, the Tigers allowed a pair of power play markers in the third period and fell 4-1 at Co-Op Place.

“We didn’t give ourselves a chance,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “We were in the box the whole last part of the game up there [Thursday] and it was the same thing tonight. I think the guys wanted to compete, I think they wanted to have a really good third period, I think the excitement was there. But, it’s hard when you’re killing to create momentum.”

Saturday’s loss was Medicine Hat’s fourth straight to Edmonton this season, with the Oil Kings outscoring the Tigers 14-4 over that span.

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According to captain Ryan Chyzowski, they haven’t been able to keep up with the explosiveness of Edmonton’s offence.

“Their speed it tires us out and it’s basically the exact same thing we want to do with them, but they’re just a little bit more consistent with it right now,” said Chyzowski.

Following a 3-0 shutout victory over the Tigers on Thursday night, Kaid Oliver kicked off the scoring for the Oil Kings three minutes into the rematch jumping on a loose puck in the crease.

Before the end of the first frame, Edmonton star Jake Neighbours added to his personal highlight reel with some nifty hand-eye coordination to knock the puck out of the air twice and swipe it past Medicine Hat netminder Garin Bjorklund to make it a 2-0 game.

“Their speed it tires us out and it’s basically the exact same thing we want to do with them, but they’re just a little bit more consistent with it right now,” said Chyzowski.

Medicine Hat’s fortunes improved as the second period went along with more sustained offence, culminating in a seeing-eye shot from the point by Cole Clayton on the man advantage to cut the deficit to one.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they began a parade to the penalty box after that goal with five straight penalties called against them including a four minute high-sticking minor to Corson Hopwo.

While Medicine Hat was able to kill off that lengthy Oil Kings man advantage, Edmonton was finally able to strike 6:53 into the third with Brett Kemp in the box by former Tiger Josh Williams.

Another Tigers penalty followed and another Oil Kings goal did as well, with New York Rangers prospect Matthew Robertson unloading a cannon from the point for his team’s fourth goal of the night.

“It was tough because we built so much momentum in the second and guys really were starting to play with some energy,” said Chyzowski. “I think with those penalties, it’s really tough to keep going with them. I think we just got to find a way to stay out of the box.”

Both Oliver and Neighbours finished with a goal and two assists each, while Sebastian Cossa stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced from the Tigers.

Bjorklund was a workhorse for Medicine Hat for the second consecutive game with 40 saves in the loss, adding onto his 49-save performance on Thursday night in Edmonton.

“He’s playing well,” said Desjardins. “He’s had a couple guys run into him in the crease too which is hard and he’s battled through that as well. He’s got good focus, he’s a good goaltender, we know every night he’s in there we’re going to have a chance to win.”

While the loss drops Medicine Hat’s record to 12-5-1 on the truncated 2020-21 WHL season, they still remain seven points up on the Calgary Hitmen for second place in the Central Division.

Facing one of the best junior teams in Canada, Chyzowski added there is a hint of playoff intensity however he knows his team has more to give.

“We got a young team who has never played in playoffs before and it’s something that’s a whole different ballgame than the regular season,” said Chyzowski. “It’s great for guys to be in that atmosphere and learn from it, but I think right now we just got to want it a little bit more and play a little bit harder like we do in playoffs.”

Medicine Hat will try to avoid the three-game sweep on Sunday evening, with the series shifting back north to Edmonton for a 7:00 pm puck drop.