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Game 5 comeback falls one goal short for Tigers in Edmonton

Mar 29, 2019 | 9:50 PM

EDMONTON, AB – For the first time this season, the Medicine Hat Tigers will face elimination after losing a pivotal Game 5 in Edmonton 5-4 to the Oil Kings.

The Oil Kings scored three times over the first eight minutes of Friday’s Game 5, while captain Trey Fix-Wolansky netted a pair to push the Tigers to the brink of the best-of-seven series.

James Hamblin and Ryan Chyzowski almost engineered a late game comeback, but a three-goal deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the visitors at Rogers Place.

On the first shot of the game, Oil Kings forward Andrei Pavlenko picked up the puck on the rush, beat Medicine Hat’s Cole Clayton outside, and converted on the wrap-around to open in just 16 seconds.

Medicine Hat was able to tie things up at 1-1 on their first shot as well, with Brett Kemp winning a face-off on the power play 23 seconds later to Linus Nassen, who unloaded a wrist shot from the point that beat Todd Scott.

Andrew Fyten was able to give Edmonton the lead again less than five minutes later, as Fyten found some room in the blue paint and received a backhand feed from David Kope to make it 2-1.

Edmonton boosted their lead to 3-1 off the rush a couple minutes after Fyten’s marker, with Fix-Wolansky cutting into the slot past Dylan MacPherson and sniping his first of the series past Mads Søgaard.

Near the end of the first, Medicine Hat was caught standing in the neutral zone and it was Scott Atkinson making the Tigers pay, getting behind the defence and going blocker side on Søgaard to give the Oil Kings a three-goal lead at the intermission.

Needing a boost to kick off the second period, the Tigers were able to cut the deficit to a pair of goals thanks to a Trevor Longo slap shot from the point that was tipped by Chyzowski for his second goal of the series.

A diving Fix-Wolansky was able to push the score back to three goals near the midway mark of the frame though, left all alone in front of Søgaard and flying over the Danish giant for his second of the night to boost Edmonton’s lead to 5-2.

With the puck deep in the Oil Kings zone eight minutes into the third period, Tyler Preziuso was able to set up Hamblin in the slot for the quick wrister to get the Tigers back in the game.

That was followed up by a laser beam of a wrist shot from Chyzowski from the right face-off circle with 8:38 left in the period to bring Medicine Hat to within a single goal.

The Tigers had a pair of late power plays and pulled Søgaard for the extra skater with one minute left, but the Oil Kings held off the late rally to take Game 5.

Søgaard allowed five goals on 39 shots against for his third loss of the playoffs, while Scott earned his second consecutive win with 27 saves on 31 shots.

Now trailing 3-2 in the series, the Tigers will face a must-win scenario this weekend to keep their season alive.

Medicine Hat will play host to the Oil Kings in an elimination Game 6 at 6:00 pm at the Canalta Centre.