Milestone Night: McKenna And St. Martin Power Tigers To Victory
The Tigers roared to life on home ice Saturday night as Gavin McKenna and Hunter St. Martin led the charge in a thrilling 8-4 victory. McKenna marked his 150th career point and 100th assist with a poised playmaking performance, while St. Martin’s lethal touch in front of the net secured a hat trick, including a shorthanded goal that ignited the Tigers’ offense. The night was a showcase of the Tigers’ firepower and resiliency, setting the tone for the weeks and months to come.
The game started quietly at Co-op Place, with both the Tigers and Warriors struggling to generate chances in the opening minutes. But Moose Jaw broke through first when a wild bounce set up Lynden Lakovic to score midway through the period, with the assists going to the warriors Parker and Yager.
Just minutes later, the Warriors struck again, as Tomas Kovacevic capitalized on a Tigers turnover, slipping past the defense to make it 2-0.
The Tigers were put on the back foot when Jonas Woo took a roughing penalty, sending Moose Jaw to the power play. Tensions began to rise and offsetting penalties to warriors Owen Berge and Tigers Mathew Ward brought the tensions back down to a simmer.
However, a sharp defensive read by Kadon McCann sparked a Tigers breakaway, though he was stopped it foreshadowed how the rest of the 1st would go for the Tigers.
Minutes later, the Tigers found their spark. Matt Ward slid a perfect pass under a Warrior’s defenseman’s stick, setting up Marcus Pacheco to tap in his second of the season and cut the lead to 2-1 Warriors.
With momentum building, Moose Jaw’s Berge took a late penalty, putting Medicine Hat on their first power play of the game. Gavin McKenna seized the opportunity, weaving into the zone and setting up Hunter St. Martin, who netted his 15th of the year to tie the game 2-2.
The Tigers came out strong in the second period, generating several early chances that Warriors goaltender Dimitri Fortin managed to turn aside. A slashing penalty early into the period on Moose Jaw’s captain Brayden Yager gave the Tigers another power play, but the Warriors would escape unharmed.
As the Tigers pressed, a puck slipped past the defender, leading to a breakaway for Moose Jaw’s Rilen Kovacevic, who slipped it around Jordan Switzer to make it 3-2 Warriors.
The Tigers quickly answer back, with Bryce Pickford burying a rebound to tie the game 3-3 with just over seven minutes remaining.
Momentum continued to build for the Tigers, as captain Oasiz Weisblatt fired a shot top shelf off an assist from Gavin McKenna, giving McKenna his 150th point as a Tiger and putting the Tigers up 4-3.
With just over a minute remaining, a point shot from Jack Kashkowski rebounded to Brayden Ryan-MacKay, who was in the perfect position for his first career WHL goal, extending the lead to 5-3.
The Tigers headed into the third period with a two-goal lead, energized by some a offensive display.
The Tigers began the third period shorthanded after a delay-of-game penalty on Veeti Vaisanen, but nothing would slow down St. Martin. The Tigers forward netted his 16th goal of the season on a shorthanded break, extending the Tigers’ lead to 6-3.
The game remained quiet until midway through the period when the Tigers’ top line connected with impressive passing from Weisblatt to McKenna, setting up St. Martin to complete his hat trick with his 17th goal of the season.
The Warriors responded with another goal from Lakovic, who fired a shot over Switzer’s blocker to narrow the gap. But the Tigers weren’t finished yet, as Weisblatt struck again, adding his ninth goal of the season and restoring the Tigers’ four-goal lead with just under five minutes to play.
As time wound down, tensions flared, and both teams were assessed offsetting penalties in the final minute of play.
The Tigers closed out the night with a decisive 8-4 victory.
Special Teams:
- PP: 1/4 – 25%
- PK: 2/2 – 100%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
- Hunter St. Martin – Medicine Hat
- Gavin McKenna – Medicine Hat
- Brayden Ryan-MacKay – Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Kadon McCann
The Tigers are back in action Wednesday night as they travel to Edmonton to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings for their second matchup in three games. Game time is 7:00PM (MST) You can listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch on watch.chl.ca.
