TIGERS WIN 5-3 THRILLER
Medicine Hat, AB — The Medicine Hat Tigers won their fourth straight game by defeating the Red Deer Rebels 5-3 during the Rebels’ WHL Suits up for Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation game.
Elijah Brown had his first two-goal performance of the year to help the Tigers improve their record against the Rebels to 5-0-0-0 this season.
After a scoreless first period, Brown broke the stalemate early into the middle frame by firing in a shot through traffic on the power play. Cole Clayton and Bryan Lockner assisted on the play.
Midway through the stanza Rebels’ Ryan Gottfried scored to tie the game up 1-1.
Just over five minutes later, Corson Hopwo passed the puck out from behind the net and James Hamblin fired it high past Rebels’ goaltender Ethan Anders’ glove to score his 27th goal of the season.
Shortly after Hamblin’s goal with 14 seconds left on the power play, Logan Christensen deked around a Rebels’ player and then roofed a puck over Anders from a sharp angle to pick up his 5th goal of the season. Lockner and Tyler Preziuso assisted on the play.
Eighteen seconds into the final frame, Rebels’ leading scorer Brandon Hagel scored to make it a 3-2 hockey game.
On the power play with four and a half minutes gone in the period, Christensen and Lockner combined to set Brown up to score his second of the night and 9th of the season.
Veteran forward Reese Johnson responded for the Rebels to once again cut the Tigers’ lead to 1.
With less than 10 minutes left to play in regulation, Baxter Anderson scored his second goal of the season. Ryan Chyzowski combined with Clayton to set Anderson up.
Rookie goaltender Mads Søgaard stopped 36 of the Rebels’ 39 shots while Anders turned aside 29 of 34 shots faced.
The Medicine Hat Tigers improve their record to 27-16-2-2 and will return home to host the 26-11-6-2 Moose Jaw Warriors Saturday night. The game will start at 7:30 PM and it is a NewRock Developments Chuck a Puck night in support of the Medicine Hat Skateboarding Association.
