By Erin Schwab - Medicine Hat Tigers

GAME NOTES: Tigers host Hitmen to close out home and home series

Feb 16, 2019 | 1:19 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – After two straight losses, the Medicine Hat Tigers will be looking for a reset on Saturday night when they wrap up their home and home series with the Calgary Hitmen.

The Tigers return home from Calgary after suffering a 3-1 setback at Scotiabank Saddledome, only beating Hitmen netminder Carl Stankowski once with an Elijah Brown marker in the second period.

While Medicine Hat is looking to end the mini-slide, the Tigers have lost just five games in regulation since returning from the Christmas break on December 28, 2018.

Tigers vs. Hitmen

Saturday’s battle will be the fifth time these two Central Division rivals meet and the second time they do so in Medicine Hat this season. The home team has won all of the previous meetings which means the Tigers have only won once when they hosted the Hitmen in the second game of a home and home series in November. Over the past five years, the Tigers are 15-6-1-0 against the Hitmen.

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View from Calgary

The Calgary Hitmen went 1 for 2 on the power play and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill in Friday night’s contest against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Hitmen won 3-1 with Carl Stankowski stopping 29 of the 30 Tigers shots faced and earning the first star of the night. Calgary is 29-21-4-1 and they are led by veteran forwards Mark Kastelic with 63 points (39G, 24A) and James Malm with 57 points (23G, 34A).

Tigers Talent

Elijah Brown was the Tigers’ lone goal scorer in Friday night’s contest against the Hitmen. The 19-year-old Edmonton product is a gritty, fearless forward with an offensive upside. Brown uses his speed to create opportunity all over the ice and he isn’t afraid to mix it up. His work ethic and creativity make him a fun player for fans to watch. Look for Brown to drive to the net and create scoring lanes on Saturday.

Captain’s Corner

Captain James Hamblin has been the Tigers’ top point producer all season and he is currently ranked 11th in the league for scoring. The 19-year-old Edmonton native has stepped into a bigger role for the Tigers offensively this season and he has set new career highs in goals and points. He is also only 7 assists away from last year’s career high of 43. The Captain also leads his team in points against the Hitmen with 6 (all assists) in 4 games. Look for Hamblin to get his team going in Saturday’s battle.

Quick Hits

Mads Søgaard has been ranked 3rd among North American goalies in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm ranking.

Søgaard is also ranked 4th in the WHL among goalies with 2.36 GAA and 0.930 save percentage.

Brett Kemp has been ranked 156th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm ranking.

It has been a banner year for many of the Tigers with 10 of 15 veteran players have already set new career highs in goals, 7 of 15 have set new career highs in assists and 9 of 15 have set new career highs in points.

The Tigers continue to score by committee with all 20 skaters lighting the lamp at least once for the team’s 181 goals. Leading the way is James Hamblin (31G), Ryan Jevne (26G) and Brett Kemp (26).

The race for the Central Division crown is tight with only 7 points separating 1st and 5th The Medicine Hat Tigers are three points and a game in hand behind the first place Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Tigers are 14-8-2-0 against the Central Division this season.

Linus Nassen is ranked 12th in the league for defencemen scoring with 40 points (5G, 35A) in 40 games.

Daniel Baker is the Tigers’ top point producing rookie with 15 points (2G, 13A)

Against the Hitmen, the Tigers’ power play has been 35.7% effective (5/14) and their penalty kill has been 66.7% effective (3/9).