By Scott Roblin

Tigers edged out at home by Hurricanes in regular season finale

Mar 16, 2019 | 10:59 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It was a game with no statistically impact on the standings, but the Medicine Hat Tigers wanted to give fans one last hurrah before playoffs.

They made it close in the end, but the Tigers dropped their final game of the regular season on Saturday night 3-2 to their Highway 3 rivals in the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Knowing their playoff position was secure, Medicine Hat elected to scratch captain James Hamblin and overage defenceman Dylan MacPherson ahead of the post-season.

That also gave veteran Ryan Jevne the chance to wear Hamblin’s familiar captain’s patch, a first for the 20-year-old in his 273 career games in a Tigers sweater.

In front of a packed house of over 5,500 spectators on Fan Appreciation Night, it was Brett Kemp opening the floodgates late in the first period with a power play goal from the slot to make it 1-0.

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Extending his point streak to seven games, Kemp closed out the regular season with five goals over his last three games.

Medicine Hat’s lead was short-lived though, as Lethbridge’s Nick Henry responded with a goal of his own 51 seconds later to beat the first intermission buzzer and knot up the score at one goal a piece.

That wouldn’t be Henry’s only marker of the evening, as the third-year winger beat Jordan Hollett for his second of the night six minutes into the second period.

Lethbridge extended their lead to 3-1 near the midway mark of the second with Jake Elmer, fresh off his newly inked NHL contract with the New York Rangers, picked up the puck shorthanded and fired home his 39th of the season.

Captain Jevne was able to pull the Tigers to within a goal in the later stages of the third period, netting his 32nd of the year in his final regular season game at the Canalta Centre.

However, Hurricanes 16-year-old rookie netminder Bryan Thomson quashed any chance of a Medicine Hat comeback to give Lethbridge the 3-2 victory.

Jevne extended his season-ending point streak to six games in the loss, while Hollett made 29 stops between the pipes for Medicine Hat on Saturday.

The Tigers finish the regular season with a record of 35-27-4-2 and will enter the post-season in the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 76 points.

That sets up a first round series with the Central Division champion Edmonton Oil Kings, which will get started on March 23 at Rogers Place.

Following the opening weekend of playoffs, the series will head back to the Canalta Centre on March 26 for Game 3 of the best-of-seven tilt.