Tigers blank Hitmen, take front half of home-and-home in the ‘Dome

The results from the last five meetings could be all but crumpled up and tossed away entering the ‘Dome, as it marked the first meeting since the WHL trade deadline.

Both clubs had made blockbuster trades, leading up to the deadline and looked far different than any of the five previous affairs.

The Tigers acquired star defenseman Tanner Molendyk from the Saskatoon Blades, alongside forward Misha Volotovskii, adding a World Junior caliber defenseman in Molendyk, along with a sought-after forward in Volotovskii, that Tigers Head Coach and General Manager Willie Desjardins had been eyeing up for years.

The Hitmen had been even busier, making a trio of trades ahead of the deadline.

They acquired 20-year-old netminder Daniel Hauser from the Wenatchee Wild, star defenseman Sawyer Mynio from the Seattle Thunderbirds, and forward Carson Birnie from the Red Deer Rebels.

These moves came following a 5-2 Tigers victory against Calgary back on Dec. 30, 2024, inside Co-op Place.

Since then, the Hitmen had not lost a game, going 6-0-0-0 while not allowing more than two goals in a game over that span.

Not to be outdone, the Tigers too boasted an undefeated record since acquiring Molendyk and Volotovskii, having won three straight entering Friday.

Despite the makeovers, it would be more of the same for the Tigers as they got out to a fast start.

Two minutes and 15 seconds into the first period, Kadon McCann would find the puck off a rebound from a Josh Van Mullign point shot, and shovel the loose puck past the Hitmen netminder Hauser to get the Tigers in front early 1-0.

Shortly after the Tigers would find themselves in penalty trouble as they would head shorthanded 5-on-3 for 29 seconds.

The Hitmen would call their lone timeout of the game to scheme together a plan to even the game up. It would backfire.

The Tigers would win the ensuing faceoff, and stymie the following zone entry from the Hitmen to kill off the abbreviated 5-on-3.

Once 5-on-4, Tigers defenseman Jonas Woo would take a high-stick from Hitmen forward Ethan Moore which would draw blood, and take his team off the powerplay, heading off for a double-minor for high sticking.

The Tigers would seize the opportunity, making the game 2-0 with captain Oasiz Wiesblatt tapping home a rebound off a Gavin McKenna wrist shot to make it a two goal Medicine Hat lead.

The Tigers would control the rest of the opening frame to leave ahead 2-0 through 20 minutes while outshooting Calgary 23-8.

The second period would see Calgary bounce back early on. That would go by the wayside at the mid-way point of the period when the Tigers would head back to the powerplay.

On the man advantage, Ryder Ritchie would see an Oasiz Wiesblatt wrister ricochet off his shins, past Hauser for Ritchie’s 13^th goal of the season, and make it a 3-0 Tiger lead.

The Tigers would take that 3-0 lead into the intermission as they found themselves ahead through 40.

The final frame would prove scoreless with the Tigers locking it down defensively and thwarting an otherwise potent Calgary offense.

Late in the game tempers would flare from the Calgary side as they found themselves with three players stacked in the penalty box as frustration mounted.

The Tigers would end the game on the powerplay, finishing the game as they started it – in control, shutting out the Hitmen in Calgary for the first time since Mar. 20, 2011.

It was the Tigers’ third shutout win of the year, and the second for Harrison Meneghin who stopped all 20 shots he faced on the night.

With the win, the Tigers improve to 26-15-2-0 and extend their win streak to five games while taking a two-point lead over Calgary for first place in the Eastern Conference.

In the process, Medicine Hat snapped several streaks for Calgary, including their 11-game home win streak, Ben Kindel’s 23-game point streak, and Oliver Tulk’s 20-game point streak.

Medicine Hat will look to come away with all four points in the home-and-home tomorrow night as the two clubs face off for round two, this time inside the friendly confines of Co-op Place.

by Will Bryant

Tigers blank Hitmen, take front half of home-and-home in the ‘Dome

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