Tigers match win total from last season in 5-2 triumph over Pats
Medicine Hat, AB – Multi-point games from Gavin McKenna, Andrew Basha, Oasiz Wiesblatt & Bogdans Hodass grouped with 29 saves from Zach Zahara helped the Medicine Hat Tigers dispatch the Regina Pats 5-2 Tuesday night at Co-op Place.
Regina would open the scoring in the first period as Corban Almen would break-in and beat Tigers goaltender Zach Zahara (Rockyview, AB) to give the Pats the 1-0 lead at 3:23. It would take a while for the offence to get going for the Tigers but at 12:02, Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, YT) would backhand his 22nd past Pats goalie Kelton Pyne, Oasiz Wiesblatt (Calgary, AB) & Hunter St. Martin (Edmonton, AB) would draw assists on the goal. On a late Tigers power play, Wiesblatt would re-direct a McKenna point shot with his 21st of the season, while Tomas Mrsic (Surrey, BC) would notch his 4th point in the past three games at 18:28 to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead heading to the 2nd.
Medicine Hat would carry over their momentum as Andrew Basha would bust in for his 21st of the season at 2:12 from Bogdans Hodass (Jelgava, LAT) & Zach Zahara to make it 3-1 Tigers. The Pats would look to make it a one-goal game but Zahara would stand tall with three outstanding stops in tight on Zackary Shantz to get the crowd at Co-op Place on their feet. Those save would pay dividends at 7:21 as Basha would have his second of the period and 22nd of the year from McKenna & Hodass to give the Tigers the 4-1 lead heading to the third.
Regina would get on the board quickly in the final 20 as Sam Oremba would tap in his 15th of the season to make it 4-2 Tigers just 1:32 into the third. But the Tigers would regain the lead of three again shortly after on another power play at 6:09, Oasiz Wiesblatt would blast his 2nd of the night and 22nd of the season past Kelton Pyne from Basha and McKenna to close out the scoring on the Tuesday night affair at Co-op Place.
With the win the Tigers match their win totals from the 2022-2023 season and now are 30-16-3-1 on the the campaign and get a small space of breathing room atop the Central Division standings heading into this weekend’s games against Calgary and Red Deer.
The Tigers will head to the Scotiabank Saddledome Friday to face the Calgary Hitmen before returning home Saturday to face Red Deer in a battle for the top spot in the Division Standings and the final meeting of the season against the Rebels.
You can get your tickets for Saturday’s game HERE.
