Photo Credit: whl.ca

By Aidan Boelsgaard

Royals come out on top of the Tigers in overtime thriller

Oct 30, 2022 | 9:55 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Tabbies fell short of the comeback against Victoria, in a tight Saturday night battle.

Tigers Goaltender Evan May was in the net for his second consecutive start on back-to-back nights. Managing to go another entire first period without seeing the puck behind him.

in a mirror image of Friday’s game he was matched through the first by the man in the Royals net, Tyler Palmer.

Scoring did open up in the second period, with the first strike coming from Tabbies forward Oasiz Wiesblatt on the powerplay. The tipped in goal was gifted by the vision of Andrew Basha who was able to find the open stick at the top of the crease.

For Wiesblatt that was his sixth goal of the season, snapping a three game scoreless drought for the centreman. For Basha that stood as his seventh assist, and eleventh point on the season.

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The goal scoring was not over in the second frame for the Tigers yet as they were able to make their lead 2-0 late. It was Pavel Bocharov with his third tally of the season, the assist going to recent acquisition Kurtis Smythe for his first point with the Tabbies.

The hat would carry that same lead into the third, making it the second straight game that May has not been scored on through the first two frames of the contest.

That lead would stay secure for more than half of the final period until 10:16 in when Royals right wing Jake Poole got his team on the board. For Poole that was his sixth goal of the 2022-23 campaign.

With the score now 2-1, and less than half a period to go the Royals were pushing the Tabbies. They managed to knot the game up only two minutes later on the third goal of the season from Riley Gannon.

The game would remain square for less than three minutes before Victoria would break the tie for their third goal in just under five minutes. That being the second goal of the night for Poole.

Medicine Hat was now on their heels, and needed to find the equalizer with time no longer on their side. The clock would trickle down to under a minute to go, when The Tigers Dallon Melin would bang one home passed the Royals to send the game into overtime.

The extra period would last less than two minutes before Poole would complete the hat-trick, pushing the Royals passed the Tigers. Poole came into Co-Op place with five goals on the season, and left making that number eight.

Third Star went to May, having stopped twenty-one of the twenty-five shots he faced.

Second Star was taken by the Royals Tyler Palmers, stopping thirty of the thirty-three shots put on him.

The man with the hat-trick Jake Poole would take the First Star honours, with his last tally counting as the game winner.

Following the loss the Tabbies record falls to 4-6-2, leaving them tenth in the Eastern conference.

The hat is back in action Tuesday night at Co-Op place, against the 4-6-1 Vancouver Giants for the final matchup of their five game home stand.