Tigers Host Oil Kings on Tiebreaker Tuesday
CALGARY, AB – Chad Butcher and the Medicine Hat Tigers take on Brett Pollock and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday night for a tiebreaker game to determine who will claim the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. WHL fans can watch the tiebreaker game for free on WHL Live with puck drop set for 7:00pm MT/6:00pm PT.
The Edmonton Oil Kings and Medicine Hat Tigers finished the 2015-16 regular season tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 65 points apiece, forcing a tiebreaker game to determine who will advance to the WHL Playoffs as the eighth seed. The Medicine Hat Tigers received home-ice advantage in the match-up because they finished with more victories (30) than the Oil Kings (29) in regular season play. Chad Butcher led all Tigers skaters in scoring with 74 points (27g-47a) in 71 games this season.
Medicine Hat heads into the tiebreaker game having won their final regular season contest by a score of 4-2 over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on home ice. Tigers forward Brian Williams notched his 10th goal of the season at the 1:26 mark of the third period which stood as the eventual game winner. Nick Schneider was solid in the Tiger’s cage as he turned aside 29 shots to claim first star honours. Furthermore, the Tigers went 7-3-0-0 over their last 10 games to catch Edmonton and force a tiebreaker.
The Edmonton Oil Kings closed out their regular season with a 7-2 loss on the road against the Red Deer Rebels and lost eight of their final 10 contest in regulation. The Oil Kings lost all six head-to-head meetings with the Tigers this season, outscored 26-17 along the way. Oil Kings forward Brett Pollock led the Club in scoring with 78 points (30g-48a) to go along with a plus-21 rating while playing in all 72 games this season. Pollock was a member of the Memorial Cup Champion Oil Kings squad in 2014.
Tuesday night’s tilt marks the sixth tiebreaker game in WHL history, and first since the 2013-14 campaign. The Prince Albert Raiders defeated the Red Deer Rebels by a score of 5-3 to advance to the WHL Playoffs in 2014.
History of WHL Tiebreaker Games
1981: Spokane 10 @ New Westminster 9
1984: Calgary 8 @ Saskatoon 7 (OT)
1990: Brandon 4 @ Swift Current 5
2009: Edmonton 2 @ Prince Albert 1 (OT)
2014: Prince Albert 5 @ Red Deer 3
The winner of Tuesday’s contest will face the Eastern Conference regular season champion Brandon Wheat Kings in Round 1 of the 2016 WHL Playoffs.
Watch the action tonight on WHL LIVE
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