Tigers’ Commanding Victory Marks Desjardins’ 500th Win
After a back-and-forth first 13 minutes, the Tigers finally broke through when Ryder Ritchie carried the puck into the Rebels zone and spun to find a streaking Bryce Pickford. Pickford stepped into the slot and ripped a shot past Chase Wutzke, extending his league lead in goals by a defenseman to 18 and putting the Tigers up 1-0. Gavin McKenna also picked up an assist on the play giving him his 63rd point of the season.
Just over a minute later, Markus Ruck connected with Kadon McCann, who spotted Tanner Molendyk at the point. Molendyk unleashed a slap shot that beat Wutzke on the glove side for his first goal as a Tiger, giving Medicine Hat a 2-0 advantage with just over five minutes left in the first.
The Tigers carried their 2-0 lead into intermission, outshooting the Rebels 10-6 through 20 minutes.
Just over a minute into the second period, the Rebels cut Medicine Hat’s lead in half when Jaxon Fuder found Nolan Schmidt on the back door. Schmidt slipped it past the outstretched pad of Harrison Meneghin to make it 2-1 Tigers.
Midway through the frame, Oasiz Weisblatt’s high stick gave Red Deer their first power play, but the Tigers’ penalty kill rose to the occasion. Harrison Meneghin sprung Kadon McCann on a shorthanded 2-on-1 break, and McCann fed Marcus Pacheco, who fired it into the open cage to restore the two-goal cushion at 3-1.
Seconds after the penalty ended, Gavin McKenna spun while deep in the Rebels zone and sent a cross-crease pass to Pacheco, who buried another shot past Chase Wutzke to extend the lead to 4-1, with Niilopekka Muhonen also earning an assist.
With just under a minute left, Hunter St. Martin cashed in on a scramble at the front of the net, pushing the Tigers’ lead to four with some help from Jonas Woo and Mathew Ward, heading into the third. Medicine Hat outshot Red Deer 24-10 through 40 minutes, setting the stage for a pivotal final period.
The Rebels made a goaltending change during intermission, swapping out Chase Wutzke for Matthew Kondro.
Just over two minutes into the third, Ethan Neutens received a pass from Carter Cunningham and fired a shot from the top of the circles, beating Kondro on the blocker side for Neutens’ third goal of the season. 6-1 Tigers.
Minutes later, Gavin McKenna threaded a pass to Ryder Ritchie, who attempted a move from behind the net. The puck bounced out front to Oasiz Weisblatt, who snapped it past Kondro to make it 7-1 and put the game nearly out of reach for the Rebels.
With under a minute remaining, Marcus Pacheco struck again while shorthanded, maneuvering around a Rebels defender before slipping the puck past Kondro for his first career hat trick. The Tigers closed out an 8-1 victory, marking Willie Desjardins’ 500th career win in spectacular fashion.
Special Teams:
- PP: 0/4 – 0.0%
- PK: 4/4 – 100.0%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
- Marcus Pacheco – Medicine Hat
- Gavin McKenna – Medicine Hat
- Harrison Meneghin – Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Kadon McCann
The Tigers are back in action in Edmonton, Saturday night vs the Edmonton Oil Kings. Game time is 7:00PM (MST) You can also listen live on Wild 94.5 FM with the voice of the Tigers, Will Bryant or watch on watch.chl.ca.
