Tigers forward Owen MacNeil (pictured) taking a face-off in the third period of Medicine Hat's 4-3 pre-season win over Lethbridge (Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin)

By Scott Roblin

Fans in Attendance

Tigers pick up first pre-season win as fans return to Co-Op Place

Sep 18, 2021 | 10:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It wasn’t their most polished pre-season victory in franchise history, but the Medicine Hat Tigers got it done when they needed to Saturday night.

Playing in front of fans for the first time since March of 2020, the Tigers held on for a 4-3 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes for their first victory this WHL pre-season.

“It adds a whole different element,” said Tigers assistant coach Joe Frazer. “We appreciate the fans coming out last night in Lethbridge and then tonight. So, it’s just great to have them back and hopefully we can get this place rocking again.”

Daniel Baker and Cayden Glover each had a goal and an assist in the win, while Beckett Langkow allowed just one goal on 10 shots in his 30 minutes of action between the pipes.

“A lot of them played with compete that we need to this year, obviously it showed,” said recently acquired forward Owen MacNeil. “We had a little bit of a lapse in the third, but I think overall we were by far the better team and it’s going to be huge for us moving forward.”

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Lethbridge dominated the first period with 10 shots to Medicine Hat’s four, opening the scoring 6:28 into the game with veteran Justin Hall netting his first of the pre-season.

The Tigers struggled to generate offence in the opening 20 minutes, however they were able to knot up the score at 1-1 less than eight minutes later with Glover finishing off a passing play from Hunter St. Martin.

“A lot of them played with compete that we need to this year, obviously it showed,” said recently acquired forward Owen MacNeil. “We had a little bit of a lapse in the third, but I think overall we were by far the better team and it’s going to be huge for us moving forward.”

Glover’s marker would kick off a run of four straight goals for the Tabbies, with Tigers’ 2020-21 rookie of the year Oren Shtrom converting on the power play midway through the second to give Medicine Hat its first lead of the night.

Under four minutes later, the Tigers made some passing magic with Andrew Basha and MacNeil feeding Latvian import Bogdans Hodass for his first goal with the black and orange to stake the home side to a 3-1 lead at the intermission.

Pending overager Baker extended Medicine Hat’s advantage to three early in the third, hopping on another pass off the rush from St. Martin to put the Tigers firmly in the driver’s seat.

That speed off the wing was something that usually takes weeks to get used to at the WHL level, but St. Martin said he’s been able to adapt quite well.

“[Friday] I just got a feeling for it and today I just came out, did my best and try to show off my skills to help the team,” said St. Martin.

The Hurricanes narrowed the gap to 4-3 with third period goals from Logan Barlage and Nolan Bentham, but the Tigers were able to run out the clock to nab their first exhibition victory of the year after losing 3-2 in Lethbridge the evening prior.

“We played really well to start the third,” said Frazer. “Once they got that second one we kind of sat back a little bit. But, it’s great experience for the young guys having to battle through that and get the win.”

Splitting their weekend series with the Hurricanes, the Tigers final two pre-season games will be next weekend with a home-and-home split with the Swift Current Broncos.

Starting Monday, all Tigers fans wanting to attend a home game must provide proof of full vaccination, proof of a single dose of vaccine administered within the last two weeks, or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours.

Those policies will apply for Medicine Hat’s pre-season finale on September 25 against the Broncos which is set for a 7:00 pm puck drop at Co-Op Place.