By Ryan Plysuik

GAME NOTES: Tigers on the verge of sweeping Wheat Kings

Mar 29, 2017 | 1:46 PM

DAUPHIN, MB — Tonight the Tigers and Wheat Kings battle it out in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. Medicine Hat has the opportunity to close out the series and book their ticket to the next round of the playoffs with a win. Brandon looks to stay alive after losing 6-2 last night and being outscored 18-7 in the series overall.

BY THE NUMBERS – MEDICINE HAT TIGERS

2016-17 WHL RANKINGS:

OVERALL: (51-20-1-0)

HOME: 25-9-1-0

HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW

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AWAY: 25-11-0-0

2017 PLAYOFFS

TIGERS LEAD BEST OF 7 SERIES 3-0

INJURY UPDATES:

NONE

Man Games Lost to Injury: 90

16-17 SEASON SERIES VS. WHEAT KINGS

OVERALL: 3-1-0-0

HOME: 2-0-0-0

AWAY: 1-1-0-0

LAST 5 SEASONS: 7-8-0-1

LAST WIN: Feb. 25, 2017 – 4-0

2017 PLAYOFF LEADERS:

GOALS: MARK RASSELL (4)

ASSISTS: DAVID QUENNEVILLE (7)

POINTS: DAVID QUENNEVILLE (8)

PIM: ZACH FISCHER (9)

PLUS MINUS: SCHULTZ, OWRE, BUTCHER (+5)

WINS: MICHAEL BULLION (3)

LAST GAME AT A GLANCE:

Steven Owre opened the scoring with his 1st goal of the playoffs and 10th career playoff goal
Michael Bullion allowed 2 goals on 29 shots, while the Tigers put 46 shots on goal towards Brandon’s Logan Thompson, who stopped 41 shots and allowed 3 unanswered goals in the final period
David Quenneville recorded a 4 point game (1G, 3A), he leads the entire WHL playoffs with 7 assists and 2nd with 8 points in 3 games
Mark Rassell scored his 4th of the playoffs, tying him for the league lead in playoff goal scoring

TIGERS FAST FACTS:

Compared to last season’s post season run for Brandon, out of their 5 losses on their road to the Cup, the Wheaties gave up more than 5 goals just 3 times (all losses)
The Tigers come into tonight having won 5 straight games dating back to the last weekend of the season. Brandon has lost 5 games heading into tonight dating back to the regular season by a score of 31-8

POWER STRENGTH: The Tigers power play has been electric over their past few weeks leading to the post season. Medicine Hat is 11/42 against Brandon this season

CONSISTENT TIGERS: The Tigers have won their first two games of the opening round of the playoffs for the past 4 playoff appearances. This year the Tigers made it 5 playoff rounds and have the opportunity to sweep their opponent for the 3rd time in those 5 appearances.

PLAYOFF HISTORY VS. BRANDON: There are several Tiger players riding point streaks heading into tonight’s game:

10-11 – Medicine Hat def. Brandon 4-2 – Eastern Conference Quarter Finals
08-09 – Brandon def. Medicine Hat 4-0 – Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
03-04 – Medicine Hat def. Brandon 4-1 – East Conference Semi-Finals
92-93 – Medicine Hat def. Brandon 3-1 – East Division Quarter Finals
83-84-  Medicine Hat (4-0) advances with Regina (2-2), while Brandon was eliminated (0-4) – Conference Quarter-Finals Round Robin
79-80 – Medicine Hat (3-1) advances with Regina (2-2), while Brandon was eliminated (1-3) – Conference Semi-Final Round Robin

WHO TO WATCH: Tigers – Ty Schultz: Schultz has points in back to back games since coming back from injury in Game 2. Schultz is a leader on the blue line for Medicine Hat and a key cog on the penalty kill. Wheat Kings – Kale Clague– A high end player in the Western Hockey League, Clague anchors the Wheat Kings power play and has been a catalyst offensively for Brandon in this series.

NHL DRAFTED / SIGNED PLAYERS: Matt Bradley (Montreal Canadiens), Nick Schneider (Calgary Flames), John Dahlstrom (Chicago Blackhawks), David Quenneville (New York Islanders)