Randy Feere/Medicine Hat Tigers

By Will Bryant

Sports

Medicine Hat Tigers cap off emotional week with 4-0 Game 1 victory over Swift Current

Mar 28, 2025 | 11:01 PM

Some moments transcend sport, and Game 1 of the WHL Playoffs had one of those moments.

Just five days removed from the sudden and tragic passing of his father, Tigers goaltender Harrison Meneghin turned aside all 21 shots he faced en route to a 4-0 shutout victory.

After an emotional week, the Medicine Hat Tigers were excited for the playoffs to finally get underway.

The club wasted little time bringing the crowd to their feet.

Just over two minutes into the game, Gavin McKenna stole a pass in the slot of the Broncos zone and found a wide-open Oasiz Wiesblatt to get the Tigers ahead 1-0.

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Medicine Hat would head short-handed three times in the first period, but killed off all of them to head to the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

After a chippy first period, the Tigers began period two on the tail-end of a powerplay but failed to capitalize.

The Broncos would continue to push for their first goal of the postseason, but Harrison Meneghin continued to shut the door.

Late in the second, Gavin McKenna stole the puck in the slot of the Broncos’ zone, fed it to Oasiz Wiesblatt who out-waited Broncos goalie Reid Dyck to find the back of the net and stretch the Tiger lead to two.

Medicine Hat would carry that two-goal lead into the third period where they continued to pressure the Broncos.

That pressure would eventually lead to the Tigers third powerplay of the game, near the halfway mark of the period.

One minute into the man-advantage, Oasiz Wiesblatt completed the hat-trick, tapping home his third of the night to get the Cats ahead 3-0.

Following the goal, a partial line brawl unfolded that sent the Tigers back to the powerplay on the ensuing faceoff.

Swift Current would kill the penalty and spring Rylan Gould on a breakaway as the penalty expired.

Gould fired a snap shot from the slot that bounced off the shoulder of Meneghin as the Tiger netminder kept the Cats ahead 3-0.

Bryce Pickford would add an empty-net goal with 1:31 remaining to put the game on ice and get the Tigers ahead 4-0.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Tiger faithful rose to their feet and cheered on the Tigers and their netminder, Harrison Meneghin.

Despite enduring as devastating and emotionally draining a week as possible, Meneghin recorded his first-career playoff win, and it was a shutout, with the Tigers skating off with the 4-0 win.

Not to be lost in the emotion of the game, was Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt recorded his first career playoff hat-trick, while Gavin McKenna recorded a point on all four Tiger goals.

Game 2 goes tomorrow night inside Co-op Place at 7:00pm, where the Medicine Hat Tigers will look to take a 2-0 series lead.