Photo courtesy Calgary Hitmen / Twitter

By Scott Roblin

3-2 Loss

Tigers fall one tally short in Calgary, end goalless drought

Mar 30, 2022 | 10:40 PM

CALGARY, AB – Medicine Hat’s goalless streak finally came to an end Wednesday night in Calgary, however it wasn’t enough for two points.

In their final matchup against the Calgary Hitmen this season, the Tigers allowed three goals in the first period and came one goal short in a 3-2 loss at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Andrew Basha ended the club’s offensive drought with just under four minutes left in the first period, while Garin Bjorklund had another stellar night in the loss with 36 stops.

It was Calgary firing early offensively though, with Blake Stevenson picking up a Sean Tschigerl rebound 1:47 into the game for the quick 1-0 lead.

Calgary capitalized again on the Tigers’ inability to clear away the front of the net seven minutes later with Mason Finley hopping on a rebound to double the lead to 2-0.

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The Tigers began to apply pressure as the first period went along which came in the form of Basha’s wrist shot off the rush from line mates Oasiz Wiesblatt and Noah Danielson to get Medicine Hat on the board.

Basha’s goal marked the Tigers’ first since March 18, ending 11 periods of scoreless hockey for Medicine Hat.

Momentum swung back into Calgary’s favour in the dying moments of the frame however, as Hitmen captain Cael Zimmerman scored with under three seconds left before the intermission for the back-breaking 3-1 marker.

Bjorklund kept Medicine Hat close all throughout the second period by stopping all 17 shots he faced, keeping it a two-goal deficit heading to the third.

A little over four minutes into the third, Owen MacNeil was able to pick up a loose puck off a Hitmen turnover to go top shelf on Ethan Buenaventura to cut Calgary’s lead in half.

Medicine Hat pressed late with a power play chance and Bjorklund pulled looking for the tying goal, but Calgary was able to run down the clock.

With the loss, the Tigers wrapped up the season series against the Hitmen with a 1-6-1 record versus their divisional rivals.

It’s back to the drawing board for Medicine Hat this upcoming weekend as they launch into a highly anticipated home-and-home series with the Lethbridge Hurricanes beginning on the road Friday night at 7:00 pm.