LATE PERIOD HEROICS LEAD TO TIGERS 4-2 VICTORY OVER REBELS

Red Deer, AB –  Zach Zahara (Rockyview, AB) makes 32 saves while Oasiz Wiesblatt (Calgary, AB) scores his 6th game winning goal of the season, all in part of the Medicine Tigers 4-2 win Wednesday night over the Red Deer Rebels.

The first period saw the Tigers penalty kill get some early work on back to back penalties but Tigers goaltender Zahara was up to the challenge making 11 saves on the 11 shots taken by Red Deer in the first. The visiting Tigers would get on the board shortly after their second straight kill as Dru Krebs (Okotoks, AB) would find a loose puck coming down from the point, solving Rebels starter Rhett Stoesser to make it 1-0. Gavin McKenna’s  (Whitehorse, YT) work below the Rebels red-line lead to the Krebs goal, notching the lone assist.

In the second frame, Zahara was busy again making 16 saves on 17 Rebels shots and it wouldn’t be till 15:24 on the Rebels 4th consecutive power play as Mats Lindgren would blast the Rebels first goal of the night to tie the game at 1-1.

The third period would see two early power plays for the Tigers which would see Shane Smith (Cessford, AB) cash in with his 18th of the season, just three seconds into the man-advantage at 3:22 from Andrew Basha (Calgary, AB). The Rebels would push on and eventually counter to tie the game at 2-2 as Jeramiah Roberts would score his first WHL goal at 14:13 to try and swing the momentum back in the Rebels favour. But it wouldn’t last, because 1:27 later, Oasiz Wiesblatt would re-direct a Reid Andresen (Saskatoon, SK) point shot to beat Stoesser to regain the lead at 3-2. While Gavin McKenna would notch his second point of the night.

Red Deer would get another chance to tie on a power play. But a pair of defensive efforts from Dru Krebs and timely goaltending from Zahara would help the Tigers get a 2 on 0 breakaway leading to a penalty shot for Andrew Basha but he couldn’t solve Stoesser to put things away. But the Tigers would eventually get it done as Hayden Harsanyi (Calgary, AB) would hit the empty net at 18:19 to seal the Rebels fate and the Tigers would improve their record to 22-9-2. Tops in the Central Division and nine points clear of the Rebels in the Central standings.

Next up for the Tigers, the start of three straight home games as the Swift Current Broncos will be at Co-op Place on December 29.

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