Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and GM Willie Desjardins at practice on March 28, 2023. (Photo Courtesy Kevin Kyle)

By Chris Brown

Playoff spot a huge turnaround for Tigers after last year’s challenging season

Mar 28, 2023 | 3:45 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – For the first time since 2019, Western Hockey League postseason action returns to Medicine Hat.

The Tigers punched their ticket to the playoffs in the final game of the regular season, winning 4-3 over the Swift Current Broncos at Co-op Place.

The Tigers will play the Winnipeg Ice, the top team in the WHL and the third-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League. The series starts Friday in Winnipeg. The Tigers won one of four games against the Ice this season, a 6-4 home win on March 1.

Head coach and GM Willie Desjardins says it was a great feeling in the dressing room after the game and with winning only 11 games last season, getting to the playoffs this year feels a little more special.

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“And the way we did it too. At the trade deadline we weren’t in a really good spot. the boys just decided that they, that’s what they wanted to get and they played hard for it,” said Desjardins after practice on Tuesday. “And the other thing that was really special was the crowd too. Like we had a great crowd and you know our fans have been really good to us and it was great to see them coming out. It makes a difference and they’re, not only out there they were cheering. It was a good crowd so I appreciate the crowd for sure.”

More good crowds can be expected when the first-round series returns to Medicine Hat for Games 3 and 4 on April 4 and 5.

The Tigers saw plenty of big crowds over the last months of the season. Two games against the Regina Pats and Connor Bedard were sellouts and attendance at two of the final three home games topped 4,500, marking the only times attendance was more than 3,300 for non-Bedard appearances.

Desjardins says playing in those pressure-packed games will help in the post-season.

“Those games had to help us to get better. It just makes everybody more accountable,” he said. “That’s the way you get better so it was good for us and hopefully it’ll carry on into the playoffs.”

You can hear the call for all the games on Wild 94.5 with the voice of the Tigers Gino De Paoli.

Overagers honoured

Medicine Hat Tigers overagers Dallon Melin, Kurtis Smythe and Brendan Lee were honoured on Tuesday and given watches by the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds.

Photo Courtesy Kevin Kyle

All-star selections

Forward Oasiz Weisblatt and defenceman Dru Krebs were named to the Central Division Second All-Star Team for the 2022-23 WHL season on Tuesday.

Weisblatt suited up for all 68 games and led the Tigers with 60 points. Krebs was the Tigers’ top-scoring blueliner with 41 points in 67 games.

Joining the Tigers on the team are goaltender Harrison Meneghin (Lethbridge Hurricanes), defenceman Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary Hitmen) and forwards Jayden Grubbe (Red Deer Rebels) and Mathew Ward (Swift Current Broncos).

Selected for the Central Division First All-Star Team were goaltender Rhett Stoesser (Red Deer Rebels), defencemen Owen Pickering (Swift Current Broncos) and Christoffer Sedoff (Red Deer Rebels), and forwards Riley Fiddler-Schultz (Calgary Hitmen), Josh Filmon (Swift Current Broncos) and Kai Uchacz (Red Deer Rebels).