Medicine Hat Tigers host Prince George Cougars in battle of top-ranked teams

Tigers forward Gavin McKenna is off to a strong start to the season having 13 points through 8 games.

McKenna has scored a goal in each of his last two games, breaking his six game goal scoring slump to start off the year.

McKenna said he knows the Cougars are going to play hard.

“They’re a fast offensive team. I think if we just play our defensive game, then we’ll get offensive chances,” McKenna said.

“I think we owe them from last year. They beat us when we went into their barn. We got to do the same here and it’ll be a fun one for sure.”

Tigers Defenseman Jonas Woo, played with the Wenatchee Wild last season, making the Cougars a familiar opponent.

He expects them to come into Co-op Place with high energy.

“Prince George, has a lot of skill. It’s just like every other team. They play with pace, and they want to win,” Woo said.

“We’re going to try and win, so do what it takes.”

Woo had three assists over the last two games, and has started to settle in with the Tigers.

“Great city, and this rink’s amazing. I haven’t played in a setup like this, so it’s awesome to have what I have here,” Woo said.

“My billet family is great. Just living with the guys and having fun away from the rink’s really good,” he added.

“These guys are super open, and we’re all around the same age, and we just want each other to be better. So it’s a really good environment.”

Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer got his first start of the season in the Tigers 5-2 win over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday.

Switzer said getting the start was a little different then his two relief appearances.

“When you hop in there, obviously there’s less nerves going into the game,” Switzer said.

“But when you start, you can kind of get your mind into it, get it going a little bit more than just hopping in there unexpectedly. So that’s a good part.”

Switzer like a lot of goalies has a routine heading into games.

“I stretch out, throw some balls, but I try not to be too superstitious because it can kind of throw me off my game if I’m not doing little things,” Switzer said.

“I try not to be too superstitious with it. I’m more relaxed with it.”

With the Tigers regular starting goalie Harrison Meneghin, winning goaltender of the week for last week, Switzer knows he’ll have to stay sharp to get into more games.

“You’re always pushing to get more starts. But I think you can always learn something from guys like that with so much experience,” Switzer said.

“He’s won goalie of the year [Central Division] last year, so he knows what it takes to perform at this level. So learning lots and then pushing it as well.”

Also pushing for starts in net will be Ethan McCallum.

The Tigers traded out goaltender Zach Zahara to the Wenatchee Wild on Wednesday.

This will also be the first game the Tigers play since announcing their leadership group for the season on Monday.

The Tigers leadership group for the 2024-25 season. Medicine Hat Tigers/Facebook

Gavin McKenna has been named an alternate captain for home games this season.

“It’s an honour for sure. There’s lots of great leaders in that room, so to have the privilege to kind of be part of that leadership group, it’s huge,” McKenna said.

“As a team, I think we’ve really started to come together and find our mojo and stuff and it’s been clicking, so it’s been good.”

Also named alternate captains are Andrew Basha, Josh Van Mulligen, Hunter St. Martin, and Bryce Pickford.

Basha wearing an “A” for all games, with Van Mulligen during home games and St. Martin and Pickford on the road.

This will be the only regular season meeting between the Tigers and the Cougars this season.

It all gets underway tonight with puck drop at 7 p.m. at Co-op Place.

The radio broadcast pre-game underway with Will Bryant and Lance Doll at 6:30 p.m. on Wild 94.5.

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat Tigers host Prince George Cougars in battle of top-ranked teams

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