Tigers tackle Rebels; Desjardins reaches 500 career wins

The Medicine Hat Tigers wrapped up their three-game homestand with a dominant 8–1 win over the Red Deer Rebels Friday night.

In the victory, Tigers Head Coach and General Manager Willie Desjardins became just the 12th WHL Coach ever to reach 500 career wins in the Western Hockey League.

The Tigers would open the scoring with six and a half minutes left in the first period when Tigers defenseman Bryce Pickford wired home his 18th of the year past Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

50 seconds later, Tanner Molendyk would pound home a one-timer past Wutzke for his fifth of the season and first as a Medicine Hat Tiger to extend the Tiger lead to 2-0 through 20.

The Rebels would start the second period with a bang as Nolan Schmidt finished a three-on-one rush tucking a puck past the outstretched pad of Harrison Meneghin for his first goal in the WHL while shrinking the Rebel deficit to one just 90 seconds into the middle frame.

The Tigers would respond short-handed seven minutes later when netminder Harrison Meneghin sprung Kadon McCann on an odd-man rush. McCann would lob a beautiful pass cross-ice to the streaking Marcus Pacheco, who rifled it home past Wutzke, for his fourth of the year to restore the Tiger two-goal lead.

Pacheco would get his second of the night courtesy of a pair of stunning moves from Gavin McKenna as McKenna stopped and started, spinning along the right-wing boards and was able to fool Rebels defenseman Luke Vlooswyk and then threaded a gorgeous cross-ice pass to Pacheco who tapped the puck into the yawning cage to make it 4-1 for the Tigers with his second goal of the night.

Hunter St. Martin would add a fifth goal late in the second after a three-on-one rush for the Tigers led to a scramble in front of the Rebel net where Jonas Woo shoveled a puck towards the crease, deflecting off St. Martin and in to make it a 5-1 Tiger lead through 40 minutes.

On the play, Jonas Woo extended his point streak to seven games. The Tigers defenseman has recorded at least one point in every game since the Christmas break.

To begin the third, Matthew Kondro would make his WHL debut as he entered in relief for Chase Wutzke who was pulled between periods after allowing five goals on twenty-four shots for the Rebels.

This is the second straight game where the Tigers have chased the starting goalie for the opposition. Max Hildebrand of the Prince Albert Raiders was pulled Wednesday night after allowing six goals on 23 shots.

Despite Kondro making his WHL debut, the Tigers would keep their foot on the gas to begin the third period. Just under two and a half minutes in, Ethan Neutens would net his third of the season, and second as a Tiger to make it a 6-1 Tiger lead.

Oasiz Wiesblatt would follow suit four minutes later, netting his 18th of the season off a failed “Michigan” attempt from Ryder Ritchie that saw the puck roll off the blade of Ritchie’s stick, bounce around in front of the Rebels net and be batted home by the Tiger captain to make it 7-1 for the Tigers.

The game looked to be locked in as a 7-1 final until the final minute of the hockey game when Marcus Pacheco found himself on a short-handed breakaway and would open up the wickets of Kandro, tucking the puck five-hole and send the hats flying onto the ice inside Co-op

place as Pacheco recorded his first career hat-trick and made it an 8-1 final score for the Tigers.

Post-game, Willie Desjardins was honoured on the big screen as the Tigers acknowledged Desjardins reaching the 500 career win milestone. He joined the Will Bryant, and long-time Tigers broadcaster Bob Ridley on the post-game show to discuss the milestone win.

Mid-interview, the Tigers players snuck around the corner and gave Willie an ice bath to celebrate their bench boss reaching a milestone, only 11 other Western Hockey League coaches ever have.

The Tigers will aim to collect Willie’s 501st career win Saturday night in Edmonton as they get set to take on the Oil Kings, and look to extend the Tiger win streak to four games, for the first time this season.