Switzer steals the show, Tigers sweep season series against Regina with 2-0 victory

The game began with the Tigers on the front foot, buzzing around the Regina zone, but failed to find the back of the net.

That was until the 11:10 mark of the first when Tigers forward Liam Ruck found a puck at the bottom of the left circle and sent a no-look spinning back-hand pass onto the tape of Marcus Pacheco.

Pacheco tapped the puck into the back of the net for his 12th goal of the season, and second in as many games.

Moments after taking a 1-0 lead, the Tigers were in the offensive zone, but got caught and the Pats countered the other way on a 2-on-1 rush.

Switzer would bail his team out, sprawling across with the blocker to rob Pats forward Julien Maze who took the cross-ice pass and fired it towards the Tiger goal but was stoned by the standout rookie netminder.

The Tigers would fend off a late Regina powerplay and carry the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period saw plenty of back-and-forth action, but neither team managed to tickle the twine as the game remained 1-0 Tigers.

With 3:30 left in the middle frame, the Tigers would head to their second powerplay of the night.

Oasiz Wiesblatt would have a golden chance to stretch the Tiger lead to two, finding a puck alone in the slot, but Regina netminder Kelton Pyne sprawled onto his belly and kicked his pad up as the shot from Wiesblatt came through to make a spectacular save, keeping the Regina deficit to one.

The Pats would kill off the remainder of the penalty, and then would be gifted a powerplay in the dying seconds of the middle frame when Veeti Vaisanen got called for interference.

The third period would see the Tigers begin with 1:37 of penalty kill time to kill off and they would be pushed to their limits.

The Pats would have chance after chance in the opening minute of the period but were stopped by Switzer every time.

With 20 seconds left, Pats forward Zach Lansard was sent on a breakaway alone on Switzer, and Switzer stood tall making a tremendous blocker save to keep the Cats in front.

The Pats kept pressing, at one point outshooting the Tigers 15-2 in the final frame, but Switzer stood tall making save after save.

The Pats would pull the goalie with two minutes left, but Medicine Hat locked it down and were able to clear a puck to center, where Oasiz Wiesblatt would skate it inside the Regina blue-line and score to make it 2-0 Tigers with one minute left.

Medicine Hat would fend off the final Regina surge and leave with a 2-0 victory over the Pats, and a sweep of the season series 5-0.

With the win, Jordan Switzer ties a Medicine Hat Tiger record for consecutive games with a shutout with three, and is a game shy of tying the WHL record.

Switzer has now played 209:43 of consecutive shutout hockey, now sitting 16:06 shy of the Medicine Hat record of 225:49.

The Medicine Hat Tigers (40-17-3-1) are back in action tomorrow night inside Westoba Place when they’ll take on the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-18-4-3) for the final time this season.

by Will Bryant

Switzer steals the show, Tigers sweep season series against Regina with 2-0 victory

Our Community