GAME DAY PREVIEW MARCH 22 VS EDMONTON
GAME DAY LINE-UP DIGITAL GAME NOTES & PROGRAM WHL MEDIA KIT
LAST GAME 4-3 L @ Calgary Hitmen: Goals from Brenden Lee, Gavin McKenna & Bogdans Hodass weren’t enough as the Hitmen scored three different times in coming back on the Tigers for the 4-3 win at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Road to the Post Season: The Tigers find themselves 8th the Eastern Conference heading into tonight’s game, to guarantee a playoff spot of any kind, the Tigers need four points in the next three games against Edmonton & Swift Current twice. To clinch 7th a combination of one win with three Calgary losses, two wins with two Calgary losses or 3 wins and one Calgary loss would give the Tigers a shot at 7th place in the conference.
Vs EDMONTON: This is the 6th & final meeting between the Tigers and Oil Kings with Medicine Hat a perfect 5-0, including the most recent match-up occurring March 17 at Rogers Place where Dru Krebs lead the the Tiger charge with a third period hat-trick on route to a 7-2 victory over the Oil Kings. Brenden Lee, Hunter St. Martin, Dallon Melin & Cayden Lindstrom also benefited with tallies in the win while Evan May made 20 saves for his 5th win of the season.
Brenden Lee lead the Tigers in scoring against Edmonton this season with nine points (4 goals, 5 assists), while Beckett Langkow is 3-0 vs Edmonton with a 1.67 GAA & .930 save percentage.
Head to Head dating back to the 1996-97 Season Series against Edmonton, the Tigers are 58-36-3-2 and 30-17-2-0 at home.
HEAD TO HEAD
Nov 22 @ MH (6-1 W)
Dec 6 @ EDM (3-2 W)
Jan 6 @ EDM (3-2 W)
Mar 3 @ MH (5-2 W)
Mar 16 @ EDM (7-2 W)
Mar 22 @ MH
TALE OF THE TAPE
MEDICINE HAT TIGERS (28-28-8-1) 65pts
4TH in Central Division
8TH in Eastern Conference
PP – Overall 51/271 – 18.8% – Home 25/129 – 19.4%
Vs EDM – 2/4 – 50.0% @ EDM – 3/13 – 23.0%
PK -Overall 213/289 -73.7% – Away 103/142 – 72.5%
Vs EDM – 7/7 – 100.0% @ EDM – 16/19 – 84.2%
EDMONTON OIL KINGS (9-51-4-0) 22pts
6TH in Central Division
12TH in Eastern Conference
PP – Overall 39/285 – 13.7% – Away 19/123- 15.4%
Vs MH – 3/19 15.7% @MH – 4/18 – 22.2%
PK – Overall 238/285 -83.3% – Away 128/155 -82.6%
Vs MH – 15/17 – 88.2% @MH – 14/15 -93.3%
2022-23 REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
Goals – Lee (29) Wins – Langkow (23)
Assists – Basha (36) Shutouts – Langkow (1)
Points – Wiesblatt (58) Save % – Langkow & May (.888)
+/– Basha (+26) GAA – Langkow (3.08)
PIMS – Wiesblatt (109)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
– Andrew Basha 64 GP: 19-36-55 PTS – Oasiz Wiesblatt 65 GP: 24-34-58 PTS
– Brenden Lee 54 GP: 29-26-55 PTS – Cayden Lindstrom 58 GP: 18-22-40 PTS
– Dallon Melin 64 GP: 14-25-39 PTS – Gavin McKenna 13 GP: 2-10-12 PTS
– Dru Krebs 64 GP: 8-32-40 PTS – Reid Andresen 65 GP: 7-28-37 PTS
MILESTONE WATCH
– Owen MacNeil: 7 GP away from 200 GP – Rhett Parsons: 4 GP from 150 career GP
– Reid Andresen: 11 GP from 150 career GP – Brenden Lee: 1 goal away from 50 in Career
– Oasiz Wiesblatt: 8 pts away from 100 in career
– Brenden Lee: 7pts away from 100 in career
HOW THE TIGERS WERE BUILT
WHL Draft (13): Andresen, Parsons, Wiesblatt, MacKenzie, Krebs, Smith, St. Martin, Boehm, Van Mulligen, Mrsic, Lindstrom, Basha, McKenna,
Trade (5): Bocharov, Lee, MacNeil, Smythe & May CHL Import Draft (1): Hodass
Listed/Signed (2): Langkow, Hanas Waivers (1): Melin
ROSTER AGE BREAKD OWN (* indicates rookie):
Alberta – 12 – Parsons, Wiesblatt, MacKenzie, Krebs, Langkow, St. Martin *, Smith *, Melin, Van Mulligen *, MacNeil, Basha,
BC – 5 – Smythe, Lindstrom *, Mrsic *, Boehm, & May
Saskatchewan– 1 – Andresen Manitoba – McCallum Yukon-1–McKenna*
USA – 3 – Lee, Hanas & Bocharov Latvia – 1 – Hodass
PREVIOUS THREE GAMES NEXT THREE GAMES (all times MT/SD
Fri Mar 17 @ Edmonton Oil Kings (7-2 W) Wed Mar 22 Vs Edmonton Oil Kings (7pm)
Sat Mar 18 Vs Calgary Hitmen (2-0 L) Fri Mar 24 @ Swift Current Broncos (7pm)
Sun Mar 19 @ Calgary Hitmen (4-3 L) Sat Mar 25 Vs Swift Current Broncos (7pm)
NEWS & NOTES
Giddy for Gavin: Tigers #1 pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft Gavin McKenna has joined the Tigers on a full-time basis after the conclusion of the 2022-23 CSSHL Season. In 13 games played this season McKenna has 12 points (two goals, ten assists) and has a two game goal scoring streak.
Slip On Down To The Oasiz!: Tigers F Oasiz Wiesblatt is currently leading the Tigers in points with 58. (24 goals, 34 assists) and has suited up in every single game this season.
When Defenders Attack: The Tigers defence core of Kurtis Smythe, Rhett Parsons, Bogdans Hodass, Dru Krebs, Pasha Bocharov, Josh Van Mulligen & Reid Andresen have contributed to 167 points (44 goals, 123) assists)
Bend It Like Beckett: Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow is 16th among WHL goaltenders, while he’s 3rd amongst WHL goaltenders with minutes played, 2905, as well as he’s 2nd in games played with 50. Langkow is also tied for the league lead with shootout wins with 3.
Young Bucks: Tigers Rookie forwards Hunter St. Martin & Shane Smith are tied for first in WHL Rookie Shorthanded scoring with 3 points. While Shane Smith is tied for 6th in WHL Rookie Goal Scoring with 19.
The Chetwynd Kid: Tigers Centre Cayden Lindstrom is 8th in WHL Rookie scoring with 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 58 games played.
Man Down, No Problem: Going into tonight’s game against Swift Current, the Tigers are tied for 5th in shorthanded goals for in the WHL with 11, (Smith x2, St. Martin, Bocharov, Boehm x2, MacNeil, Lee, Melin, MacKenzie, Krebs)
Mr. 400: Tigers Head Coach & Willie Desjardins notched his 400th win as a Head Coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers December 10th in a 6-3 win at home against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Desjardins record in his 13 seasons coaching in the WHL. Desjardins first win as Tigers Head Coach was a 4-3 win on September 24, 2002 against the Saskatoon Blades.
Latvian Leap: Second year defenceman Bogdans Hodass represented Team Lativa at the completed 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the second straight year. Hodass had 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists
Silver Lining: Tigers forward Tomas Mrsic returns to the Tigers after taking home a silver medal at the World U17s in Langley, BC. Mrsic had one goal and one assists for Team Canada Red. Cayden Lindstrom also participated in the U17s as a member of Team White scoring two goals and two assists in the tournament.
MacNeil’s Navy: The Tigers announced their leadership group for the 2022-23 WHL Season, Owen MacNeil was named the 39th Captain in Tigers history, while Rhett Parsons, Dru Krebs, Tyler MacKenzie & Dallon Melin will all wear alternate captain’s A’s on their jerseys this season.
