Carter Cunningham, Medicnie Hat Tigers rookie forward, scored his first goal in the WHL this week. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder, Jesse Gill

SPORTS

Tigers rookie scores first WHL goal as Medicine Hat kicks off road trip with a win

Oct 31, 2024 | 2:41 PM

Freshly-signed rookie Carter Cunningham scored the first goal of his Western Hockey League career as the Medicine Hat Tigers started a series of four games away from Co-op Place with a win.

The 18-year-old said he received “an insane pass” from the league’s lead point-scorer before finding the back of the net Wednesday in Calgary to kick off an exciting back-and-forth matchup.

“All it took was one shift with Gavin McKenna and we got the puck in the back of the net, he’s truly a special player,” Cunningham told CHAT News on Thursday.

It also marked a special moment between two junior hockey players of Indigenous background.

“It’s an honor just to be a role model to all these young Indigenous guys and guys like McKenna, they’re just, they’re great influences on the youngs,” forward Cunningham said.

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That pass was one of the assists that pushed McKenna to the top of the WHL’s point-scoring list, a first for the superstar winger.

Gavin McKenna, as of Oct. 31 the league’s top point-scorer, speaks to reporters on Thursday. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

“But I take it with a grain of salt as it’s pretty early on in the year, anything can happen,” McKenna said.

“I just got to keep working hard to hopefully stay at the top.”

McKenna was also named October’s WHL Player of the Month on Thursday, the second time he’s claimed the title after achieving it in January 2024. He also later acquired WHL Rookie of the Year.

Cunningham doesn’t know yet what he’ll do with his first-goal puck but he first has to find it.

“(McKenna) picked it up for me, so yeah I don’t know where it went after that,” he said.

McKenna later said he gave it to the equipment manager Mikki Lanuk, who will pass it on to Cunningham.

That first goal will relieve some pressure for the rookie, according to McKenna.

“It could be tough to come on a team midway through the year, so to have him score that one, I’m sure that feels really good,” McKenna said.

“He’s a really good player, a really good person, so it feels good to have a guy like that get his first and get the monkey off his back, and I’m sure there’s lots more to come.”

The Tigers beat the Calgary Hitmen 4-3 at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday evening, with McKenna notching the game-winning goal in a shootout.

The Tigers head to Regina to play the Pats on Friday before moving on to Brandon to play the Wheat Kings.

Medicine Hat will close out the road trip with a crucial matchup against the Central Division-leading Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Tigers return to Co-op Place to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings on Nov. 8.

Tune in live to all Tigers games live on Wild 94.5 radio.