TIGERS TAKE DOWN THE BLADES
WHL GAME SUMMARY – TIGERS WEBTV HILITES
Medicine Hat, AB – The Saskatoon Blades are the second ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League and have given the Tigers a bit of trouble so far this season. This was the final meeting between the two teams and the Tigers were determined to prove to the Blades that if they met later in the playoffs that Medicine Hat was not a team to be taken lightly.
The first period was action packed right from the initial face off. The Tigers scored within the first minute to take the very early lead. Wacey Hamilton scored the statement making goal before falling into the net. Hunter Shinkaruk and Tyler Pitlick were credited with the assists. Less than a minute later the Blades would score their first of the game to even the score. Curtis Hamilton was the goal scorer for the Blades. Approaching the midway point of the period, Reid Petryk scored his 10th of the season to reinstate the Tiger lead. The Blades would respond again before the period was over. Marek Viedensky scored on the power play to even up the game at 2-2 with 3:23 remaining. The game looked like it was going into the intermission tied but Tyler Pitlick had other ideas. The forward scored with 32 seconds remaining to give the Tigers the 3-2 lead heading into the intermission.
The second period didn’t see much in the way of scoring but each team had plenty of chances. The period also featured a great fit between Thomas Carr and Ryan Olsen. Olsen laid a big hit on Curtis Valk which Carr took exception to. Carr got the better of Olsen in the tilt but was assessed the extra two minutes for instigating and was given a 10 minute misconduct as well. The Tigers took the momentum from the fight and kept pressuring the Blades’ zone. The Tigers received a power play with 30 seconds remaining in the period and it didn’t take long for them to put another one on the board. Emerson Etem scored his 34th goal of the season just 15 seconds into the power play to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead going into the final period.
Saskatoon tried feverishly to get back in the game but the Tigers’ defense stood tall limiting their chances. Tyler Bunz also made a number of great saves and moved the puck effectively to transition the play out of the defensive zone quickly. With a few minutes remaining, Tyler Pitlick put an end to any hope the Blades had of a comeback. Pitlick scored his second of the night by popping the puck over Steven Stanford’s shoulder while he drove hard to the net. Pitlick’s marker gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead which they held until the final buzzer.
Goaltender Tyler Bunz (30-12-4-1) played a fantastic game saving 31 of the 33 shots that he faced for the victory.
Three Stars of the Game:
1) Tyler Pitlick – Medicine Hat Tigers
2) Emerson Etem – Medicine Hat Tigers
3) Wacey Hamilton – Medicine Hat Tigers
The Tigers (38-17-5-1) now face the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday, February 23rd. Game time is 7:00 PM (MST) and can be heard live on CHAT 94.5 FM at tigershockey.com or watched via webcast at livestream.whl.ca.
