Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild

By Will Bryant

Sports

Tigers defeat Wild, extend win-streak to ten for first time since 2016-17 season

Jan 28, 2025 | 11:24 PM

The Medicine Hat Tigers have their first ten-game win streak since the ’16-17 season after defeating the Wenatchee Wild 5-2 Tuesday night.

The Tigers would start the game strong with Gavin McKenna getting the game’s opening goal just 0:26 in.

McKenna would fire a cross-ice pass for Ryder Ritchie that would be tipped home by Wenatchee’s Deegan McMillan, to get the Cats in front 1-0.

The goal would extend McKenna’s point streak to 23 games, tying Calgary’s Ben Kindel for the longest point streak this season.

Med Hat’s good fortune would keep coming eight minutes later.

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Marcus Pacheco sprung Hunter St. Martin on an odd-man rush into the Wild’s zone when St. Martin would find Mathew Ward streaking in the far circle and he would one-time a howitzer past Wenatchee goaltender Brendan Gee to make it a 2-0 Tiger lead.

Then with 2:35 left in the opening frame, Oasiz Wiesblatt would make it 3-0 with a beautiful deke in the slot, launching a rolling puck above the shoulder of Gee to make it 3-0 for the orange and black through twenty minutes.

However, Wenatchee would come out strong to begin the second.

After the Tigers killed off an early powerplay, the Wild would get their first of the night when Luka Shcherbyna capitalized on a Tiger turnover, tucking a puck five-hole on Medicine Hat netminder Jordan Switzer, to get the Wild within two.

Minutes later, the Tigers would respond.

Ryder Ritchie would find himself on a breakaway after Tigers defenseman Jonas Woo blocked a point shot, and Ritchie pounced on the loose puck in the neutral zone.

With all the time in the world, Ritchie would slow up in the Wenatchee zone and fire the puck off the far post and in, restoring the Tiger three-goal lead.

The teams would trade chances late in the second but neither could break through, and the Tigers led 4-1 heading into the third.

To start the third, the Wild established a physical brand of hockey, not giving the Tigers any breathing room.

Ten minutes into the final frame, it would pay off.

Off a scramble in front, Tye Spencer would wrap a loose puck around the out-stretched leg of the Tiger netminder Switzer to shrink the Tiger lead back to two, and get the Wild within striking distance.

The Tigers would remain in front by two, when with 1:40 left in the game, Tigers forward Mathew Ward got called for holding, sending the Wild to the powerplay.

Down two, the Wild pulled the goalie, going six-on-four, needing to score two goals in the final 100 seconds to tie the game.

That wouldn’t happen.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Tigers defenseman Bryce Pickford cleared the puck to center ice, and Oasiz Wiesblatt tipped it ahead to Hunter St. Martin, who would streak in alone to the Wild zone, and put the puck into the yawning cage to ice the game for the Tigers.

The Wild would push in the final 1:30 but came up empty, seeing the Tigers skate away with a 5-2 victory.

Medicine Hat (31-15-2-0) will travel to Everett tomorrow to take on the league-leading Silvertips (34-6-4-3).

The game is featured as the WHL’s ‘Wednesday Night in the Dub’ game and can be viewed for free on YouTube, on WHL Live, or can be heard on WILD 94.5.

Puck drop in Everett is scheduled for 8:00pm MST in a game that could be a preview of the WHL Finals.