Tigers Fall 4-2 At Home To Rebels
The Tigers returned home to take on the Red Deer Rebels in the back end of a home and home series. Last night, the Rebels took advantage of their home ice and came away with a 4-2 victory in the first of eight games between the two teams this season.
Jonas Woo opened the scoring 5:26 into the first period with his first as a Tiger. Woo drove hard to the net and flipped the puck over the goalie’s blocker shoulder as he cut through the low slot. Bryce Pickford picked up the assist on the opening goal. The Rebels would respond almost immediately though. 23 seconds later, Ollie Josephson walked into the slot from the blue line and let a wrister go that found the top corner. The Rebels would add another before the end of the first to take the lead into the intermission. Cohen Poulin scored his first career WHL goal to put the Rebels up one.
Red Deer added to their lead midway through the second period. Samuel Drancak found Jace Weir with a cross-ice pass. Weir let a low shot go from the top of the circle that found the back of the net. The Tigers continued to battle hard and keep the pressure on the Rebels defence. They outshot the Rebels 15 to 9 in the frame.
The Tigers cut the lead early in the third period with Andrew Basha’s first of the season. Basha finished off a great tic-tac-toe play with a tap in at the front of the net. Gavin McKenna and Shane Smith picked up the helpers on the goal. The Rebels would reinstate their two goal lead a few minutes later. Talon Brigley cut through the slot and let a backhand go that found the back of the net. The Tigers didn’t give up though and cut the lead back to one with 5:44 remaining. Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll found Hayden Harsanyi with a cross-ice feed while he was going hard to the net. Harsanyi took the pass and got off a quick shot that lit the lamp. Smith picked up his second assist of the night on the goal. The Tigers continued to pressure hard in the final minutes. They found themselves on the power play late and pulled the goalie for the extra skater. They had a few close chances but unfortunately they weren’t able to find the tying goal.
Ethan McCallum got the start in net for the Tigers. He made eight saves on 11 shots. Jordan Switzer took over halfway through the second and stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced.
Special Teams:
- PP: 1/6 – 16.7%
- PK: 2/3 – 66.7%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
- Rhett Stoesser – Red Deer
- Ollie Josephson – Red Deer
- Jonas Woo – Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Working Player – Niilopekka Muhonen
The Tigers are back in action on Friday night when they head to Red Deer for the third straight game against the Rebels. Game time is 7:00 PM. You can listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch on watch.chl.ca.
