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By Scott Roblin

Tigers Fall 11-1

Rebels put up an 11-spot on shorthanded Tigers, dropping 11th in a row

Mar 1, 2022 | 10:49 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – There’s defensive funks and then there’s what the Medicine Hat Tigers are experiencing this year.

A shorthanded Tigers squad was manhandled from start to finish on Tuesday night against the Red Deer Rebels, suffering their biggest margin of defeat yet this season in an 11-1 drubbing.

Closing the deficit to 2-1 midway through the first period, the Tigers looked listless for a good chunk of Tuesday’s contest and allowed nine straight goals to the Rebels to fall in their 11th consecutive game.

Prior to the game, the Tigers submitted a lineup card one skater short as forwards Tyler MacKenzie, Noah Danielson and Brendan Lee, netminder Beckett Langkow and captain Daniel Baker all were scratched due to injury.

In Baker’s case, it was reported earlier in the day that the five-year Tigers defenceman would likely miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to an upper-body injury suffered on Saturday.

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Red Deer was able to capitalize on that deficiency just 24 seconds into the game as Jhett Larson spotted Arshdeep Bains to keep up his high-scoring ways.

The Rebels doubled their lead to 2-0 less than six minutes later with a point shot by Jace Weir being tipped past Garin Bjorklund by Jace Isley to keep the ball rolling for the visitors.

Medicine Hat’s lone goal of the night came on the power play with 8:29 left before the intermission, as Oasiz Wiesblatt found Andrew Basha down low for the sharp angle shot and the Tigers rookie’s second career WHL goal.

Red Deer restored their two-goal lead before the end of the period though, completing a tic-tac-toe passing play finished off by Liam Keeler in front of the net to jump ahead 3-1.

The floodgates fully opened up in the second period with a Rebels power play goal scored on the backhand by Frantisek Formanek a little over seven minutes into the frame.

That was followed up by a one-timer courtesy of Kalan Lind from Jackson van de Leest, which spelled the end of Bjorklund’s night for the second straight game after allowing five goals on 17 shots against.

Call-up Zach Zahara didn’t fair much better in relief of Bjorklund, allowing a sharp angle goal by Bains for his second of the night with Talon Brigley adding another on a shorthanded breakaway to extend Red Deer’s lead to 7-1.

Dallon Melin brought the Rebels up to eight goals with 4:15 left in the period tipping home a shot from Weir at the point just five seconds into a power play, completing a five-goal middle frame for the visitors.

With the game fully out of reach Isley, Formanek and Hunter Mayo all recorded goals to keep the goal judge’s night busy, as the Rebels rolled to an 11-1 beat down of Medicine Hat.

Reid Andresen was the lone Tigers skater not to a minus next to his name on Tuesday, while Zahara stopped 20 of 26 shots against in relief of Bjorklund.

Outscored 20-3 over their last two games, the slumping Tigers turn around to face the CHL’s top-ranked club in the Edmonton Oil Kings on the road Wednesday at 7:00 pm.