Curtis Valk Named CHL Player of the Week

Valk collected 10 points, scoring seven goals and three assists to go with a +4 rating, in four games over the past week helping the Tigers to a 4-0-0-0 road record.
http://www.whl.ca/article/valk-named-denny-s-whl-player-of-the-week
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Here are a couple former Tiger stats this year and last.

Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Linden Vey - 4 points in 6 games, +3. (Last season he had 43 points in 74 games as a first year pro)


Norfolk Admirals (AHL)Emerson Etem - 0 points in 6 games

Oklahoma City (AHL)
Tyler Pitlick 2 points in 7 games (Pitlick had 23 points in 62 games as a first year pro)

Adirondack Phantoms (AHL)
Matt Konan  no games played due to offseason surgery.

Stockton Thunder (ECHL)
Tyler Bunz ((3-1-1) 1.97 G.A.A and a .915 save percentage

Binghamton Senators (AHL)
Wacey Hamilton (first year pro 11 points in 74 games -18 rating, 46 PM)
No data for this season.

Tigers Defeat Warriors 3-2 OT

1st Period

Warriors get a couple lucky bounces. Morgan Rielly missed a shot from the point but the puck bounced off the boards behind the net over to Justin Kirsch. Kirsch would throw a puck on net from behind the goal line which bounced in off of Cam Lanigan's pads. 1-0 Warriors

The Tigers would get the equalizer very late in the period. Curtis Valk made a nice move in his own end and took off down the ice.  Valk would pass the puck over to Elgin Pearce at the Tigers blue-line. Then at the Warriors blueline Pearce threaded a perfect pass back to Valk as he got a step on the Moose Jaw Defender. Valk drove to the net, looked to be going for the far side, then slid the puck short side past Moose Jaw goalie Justin Paulic. 1-1 Tie

2nd period
No Scoring.

 Both teams had some scoring chances. The Tigers generated quite a few prime scoring chances (including a couple short breakaways in close but could not close the deal. Lanigan also made a couple good saves including a breakaway save shorthanded.

I thought the Tigers did a really good job blocking shots.  Off the faceoff warriors big defenceman Joel Edmundson had room to lay into a slapshot from the high slot, and one of the smaller forwards went down and blocked it perfectly.

3rd Period
Just over 5 minutes in the Tigers would strike. Dylan Bredo and Jake Doty were both in a battle for the puck along the boards. Bredo would gain control walk out front, and his second shot found the five hole of Warriors Tender Justin Paulic. 2-1 Tigers

The momentum would change after Derek Ryckman tripped himself up and took out a warrior player causing the Tigers to go down shorthanded. The warriors wouldn't score but kept the play in the Tigers zone for a good chunk of time untill Tyler Lewington got called for roughing a couple minutes later.

On the Warriors powerplay they got another lucky break.  Justin Kirsch deked out Jayden Hart at the point. Walked to the middle and fired a pass through a maze of players. The pass would hit Sam Fioretti's skate and bounce into the net. 2-2 TIE

After this the Tigers picked up their game again.

Overtime
Some really good work by Boston Leier and Dylan Bredo.  Dylan Bredo was able to strip the puck off of Moose Jaw player Sam Fioretti. Bredo then found Derek Ryckman at the far side point.
Ryckman's shot would be blocked but Boston Leier who was in a battle for position in front was able to beat the warrior defenseman to the loose puck, then draw 3 warriors over to him behind the net. Leier threaded a nice pass through feet and sticks, over to a streaking Bredo. Bredo the lifted a high shot past the fallen Justin Paulic to seal the 3-2 Tigers Victory.

I thought Dylan Bredo and Boston Leier had incredible game tonight for the Tigers. Lanigan played very solid once again. 4 Game Winning Streak puts the Tigers back to .500

Next Action: Kale Kessy comes back to town as the Tigers take on the Vancouver Giants on a rare Thursday Night game. The giants have struggled as of late sporting a 3-10-0-0 record. However one of those 3 wins was a 6-1 Giants win over the Tigers.

Tigers Defeat Regina 5-4

No Recap Tonight.

3 Game winning Streak puts the Tigers back to 1 game below .500.
Cam Lanigan left the game in the 3rd period. The coaches mentioned they took him out as a precaution after getting crashed into by Morgan Klimchuck.

3 Stars
1. Hunter Shinkaruk
2. Curtis Valk
3. Morgan Klimchuck

Tigers Destroy Calgary 10-1

Suprising Note
Kootenay overage Captain Drew Czerwonka decided to retire from hockey and start welding school. Kootenay Traded Elgin Pearce to the Tigers early in the year to cut down on their overagers and are now an overager short. 

Pre-Game

Calgary picked up Brendan Hurley prior to the game and he is in the lineup for Calgary.  The hitmen also have 4 guys out with injuries Brady Brassart,  Calder Brooks, Chase Clayton, Jayden Rissling.

Prior to the game
The Hitmen are 8-2-1-1 this season.
Tigers are 5-8-1-0 this season.



1st Period
Cam Lanigan with a couple good saves on an early Hitmen powerplay after Curtis Valk took a slashing penalty.

Then 5 minutes into the first the Tigers had some good pressure pinning the Hitmen in their zone. The Hitmen  would be forced to call a timeout to ease the pressure.

Hunter Shinkaruk had a breakaway opportunity but was stopped by Chris Driedger

At the 13:20 mark along the boards Jake Doty made a perfect pass over to Boston Leier streaking in from center ice who was able to get a step on the defender. Leier walked in and roofed it high glove side on Chris Driedger 1-0 Tigers

Late in the first period at the 19:25 mark. Dylan Busenius was just able to coral a bouncing puck at the blueline. Busenius would feed Shinkaruk on the half-wall who rifled a shot on net. Not quite sure exactly how the puck went in as the ref initially waved it off. But the hitmen team hesitated not knowing where the puck was, then made a mad dash for it behind the goalie but it was too late.
2-0 Tigers.

2nd Period

The Tigers completely dominate the Hitmen during this period.  They had something like three 5 on 3's during the period, and 5 goals. Keeping the goal summaries brief.

Hunter Shinkaruk went behind the net on an attempted wrap around. The puck would bounce in off Curtis Valk in front. They would go upstairs briefly and count it a goal. 3-0 Tigers

The Hitmen would change their goaltender Chris Driedger giving way to Mack Shields, but it didn't seem to help.

Fight
Boston Leier vs Pavlo Padikin.

After Dylan Bredo fired a shot and 2 rebounds on net Boston Leier would come in and take a swipe at the loose puck.. He was immediately grabbed by Padikan, and a wrestling match ensued.

Padikan would get an extra 2 for roughing.

On the powerplay play Dylan Busenius fed Curtis Valk in the middle who wired a shot top shelf
4-0 Tigers

Five minutes later Ty Stanton would get his first whl goal. The puck came out to him at the point and he fired a wrist shot on net to the far side. Their was a big scrum in front and the goalie couldn't see it in time. 5-0 Tigers

Off a bad Hitmen change Shinkaruk found Curtis Valk on the far side who walked in alone. Valk did a half second toe-drag and fired it over the shoulder of Mack Shields. 6-0 Tigers

Late in the period on a 5 on 3. Dylan Bredo fired a shot from the half-wall who beat Shields high on the short side. 7-0 Tigers 
 (The gamesheet says Valk scored this goal, but I believe thats wrong)


3rd Period
A minute in on the powerplay Tyler Lewington would blast one from the point and Chad Labelle would get a stick on it tipping it past Mack Shields. 8-0 Tigers

Hunter Shinkaruk with a couple dandy moves in the corner shovelled it out to Curtis Valk who rips his 4th of the game top shelf. 9-0 Tigers (Tigers top line was benched after this)

Hitmen would finally break the goose-egg. Cody Sylvester put one past Lanigan on a wrap around with a shot through Cam Lanigan's Five-Hole. 9-1 Tigers

Hitmen Josh Thrower was trying to goad a Tiger into a fight but it would give the Tigers a 3 on 2 rush up the ice. Broadhead shot went through the defenceman's leg putting it past the goalie glove side. 10-1 Tigers.

Didn't expect that.....Hands are tired from typing... Hurley was a -3 on the night for the hitmen.

 Valk with 4 goals. Busenius a +4 rating. Shinkaruk a goal and 4 assists.

Tigers VS Calgary Pre-Game

 Thanks to an anonymous commenter on the last post for picking this up.

Brendan Hurley has been picked up by the Calgary Hitmen. In 12 games for the Dauphin Kings Hurley picked up 18 points(12 goals 6 assists), including 40 penalty minutes. 

Found this on the Hitmen Informant.   


INJURIES:
Calgary:
#14 Brady Brassart, F, upper body, 2 weeks
#19 Calder Brooks, F, upper body, 30 day list
#15 Chase Clayton, F, lower body, 2 weeks
#9 Jayden Rissling, D, upper body, 1 week

It looks like Calgary is nursing a few injuries at forward, and needed some help and that's why they picked up Hurley.

I will be recapping tonight's game vs the Hitmen.

Tigers Defeat Kelowna 4-3 SO

Well I think Cam Lanigan is going to quickly become a fan favorite if he has more in him like he did tonight. Lanigan's Tiger debut at the Arena would turn out to be a game he probably won't forget as he stopped 55 of 58 Kelowna shots, including both shoot-out attempts for the win.

Kelowna scored the tie-ing goal with 24 seconds left in the game, however Lanigan made 2 highlight reel saves before Kelowna's leading scorer Myles Bell was able to roof it over top of him.

Late in the overtime Lanigan was able to stretch out his pad and make an unbelievable stop giving the Tigers a chance to win the game in the shootout.

  I thought the Tigers played the game like they were on the penalty kill. Kelowna likes to shoot from anywhere. Their were a lot of outside shots, but for the most part the defenceman did an incredible job at knocking away loose rebounds with the exception of the last Kelowna goal. I thought Kelowna looked frustrated at the end of the second period.

 I also thought Kelowna started the third period playing rope-a-dope, they weren't sharp, but the Tigers were unable to gain some momentum and it felt like Kelowna was then able to generate some chances because the Tigers laid back too much.


The difference tonight we all can agree on was the goaltending, the tigers were fortunate to come out with 2 points.

Links
Gamesheet
Regan's Rant
MH News - Lanigan Steals a win

Oil Kings Defeat Tigers 4-2

 Cam Lanigan is the Starter Tonight. He first appeared in the whl with the Edmonton Oil Kings and is facing them in his Tigers Debut.


First Period
Tigers get off to a good start. On their second Shift Curtis Valk and Trevor Cox went down on a 2 on 1. Valk fed Cox a nice pass who tipped a pass five hole passed Edmonton netminder Lauren Brossant. 1- 0 Tigers

FIGHT
Dylan Busenius fed Trevor Cox a bit of a suicide pass and Oil King defender Stephen Shmoorkoff stepped up and leveled Cox with a high hit.

Dereck Ryckman immediately stepped up and engaged Shmoorkoff in a fight. It was a short Fight but it was all Ryckman as he fed Shmoorkoff knuckle sandwiches until the refs stepped in.Shmoorkoff would go the the dressing room leaking.

Shmoiirkoff would get a major for elbowing, and Ryckman would get the instigator. It would still lead to a Tigers Powerplay.

On the powerplay, Miles Koules would feed Curtis Valk at the point. Valk onetimed it past Lauren Brossoit for a 2-0 Tiger Lead.

It looks like the coaches were preaching defense, as the Oil kings only had1 decent opportunity on net.

Second Period
Would belong to the Oil Kings


Steven Owre was would get called for a tripping penalty after over-reaching and knocking an Oil King player over. On the powerplay Dylan Wruck would blast a shot from the point. Curtis Lazar would get his stick on it, tipping it past Cam Lanigan top shelf.   2-1 Tigers.

The Tigers defense would get caught. Keegan Lowe from his blueline would feed a very long pass to Mitch Moroz in behind the Tigers Defense. Morox would have a mini breakaway and beat Lanigan blocker side. 2-2 TIE

The Tigers Defense is playing a lot better, but a PP goal, and a slight hiccup by Busenius and Ryckman would leave the game tied heading into the third period.

Third Period
Controversial play. Off the rush Keegan Lowe ran into Cam Lanigan knocking off his glove and stick. The puck would bounce into the corner where Oil King Edgars Kulda would immediately throw the puck on net. The puck would bounce off Lanigan's pad into the net from a bad angle.
 The refs would go upstairs and take while but ruled it a goal. 3-2 Oil Kings.

Some bad puck luck. A tip in, a controversial goal, and a goal where an Oil King player was cherry picking led to another loss.

Cam Lanigan couldn't be faulted for any of the goals, and played well in his Tiger Debut. It just seems like whenever the Tigers are playing good, they fall victim to some bad luck, or a bad goal. Overall the game was pretty boring, as their wasn't a whole lot of offensive chances, but the Tigers had a couple chances late in the game to tie.

Next Action: Wednesday Night Kelowna Rockets Come to town.

Tigers Re-assign Dawson MacAuley

MacAuley has been sent down to the Yorkton Terriers of the SJHL

Prospects
Also 7 Tiger prospects have been named to teams for the 2012 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.

Jordan Xavier - Calgary Northstars (5th round pick) Team Alberta
Ty Schultz - Vancouver Candians (1st round pick) Team British Columbia

Mitchell Dyck - Pembina Valley Hawks (6th round pick) Team Manitoba
Bradley Forrest - Calgary Buffaloes (8th round pick) Team Alberta
Jake Fletcher - Valley West Hawks (9th round pick) Team British Columbia

Mathew Bradley - Valley West Hawks ( 2nd round pick) Team British Columbia

Late Edit (Found another one, Not sure if he is still on their ppl or not)
Justin Szeto -  Vancouver Canadians   Team British Columbia

Tigers website just updated their article, and only mentioned the 6 guys mentioned above. Not sure if Szeto is on their PPL or not.

Tigers Aquire Overage Goaltender

Medicine Hat, AB – Medicine Hat Tigers announced this afternoon the acquisition of 20-year-old goaltender Cam Lanigan from the Portland Winterhawks. The Tigers will send Portland a seventh round pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

The native of Calgary, AB is off to a terrific start in his fifth WHL season, posting a 1.00 goals against average in his first three games including one shutout. He also sports a very impressive .960 save percentage and leads all WHL goaltenders in both categories.

Lanigan helped the Kamloops Blazers take the Portland Winterhawks to a seven-game series in last year's Western Conference final.

“We are pleased with the overall effort of our team and are especially excited about the development of our younger players. At this time, we believe it is necessary to bring in a veteran goaltender. We look forward to Cam joining our organization,” said Tigers’ general manager/head coach Shaun Clouston.

The move gives the Tigers four overage players with Lanigan joining Elgin Pearce, Derek Ryckman and Alex Theriau, who is currently on the injured reserved list.

“We will continue to evaluate our overage situation as we move forward,” stated Clouston

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-deal-for-veteran-cam-lanigan 
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Just when you think the over-ager situation is  solved..... I think a 7th round pick is pretty cheap as the Tigers were probably the only team on the market looking for overage goaltender. (Lethbridge gave up a 2nd and 3rd for their overage goalie for reference)

  I think with the goaltenders that Dawson MacAuley might be the odd man out ,although the Tigers have some room to be flexible and see what exactly Lanigan Brings to the table.

 When Alex Theriau comes back it will give the Tigers two weeks (Edit Originally had one, that was incorect) to make their decision on who to keep. With the impact that Pearce has made in the lineup, and knowing what Theriau brings to the table I find it difficult to see either one of those 2 players leaving.

The scouting report on Lanigan says that he shows a lot of athleticism, and has the ability to make a key save but sometimes his mental focus isn't their. He played great for Kamloops down the stretch run last year, and some portland fans are wishing they had kept him.

Brandon Defeats Tigers 7-6

Frustrating Loss. The Tigers blew 3 two goal leads.

 Positives
 I thought in the first half of the second period the Tigers were playing pretty good defense. Brandon had a slight territorial edge during this time but the Tigers never really gave up any good scoring chances, and it led to Curtis Valk putting the Tigers up 4-2 at that point. If they are looking for video of what they did right, that is the part of the game they did well on.

 I thought the best players on the ice for the Tigers was the 4th line, Elgin Pearce, and Tyler Lewington. Ryckman played good as well. The Tigers coaches were throwing the 4th line out almost double shifting them in the third period, because they seemed to be the only line that was playing in Brandon's end consistently.

 I was impressed with Cole Sanford I thought it has been a couple games in a row where he has played really well.

The powerplay was 2/3 with both goals coming off shots from the half-wall.

 Now for the Negatives
I thought the Tigers defenseman got caught too many times trying to skate the puck out of their own end and turning the puck over when their were passing options open, (more-so directed towards Busenius, and Becker)

 Dylan Busenius has a tendency to hesitate with the puck instead of head-manning the puck, and whenever he does this I cringe a little because his % of making a decent play drops like a batter on an 0-2 count. I counted 3 plays tonight where he didn't headman the puck and put himself in a low percentage spot which resulted in Brandon turning the puck over and scoring.

Its hard to fault a goalie when a team gives up 42 shots on net, but I thought MacAuley didn't look very good in the net against Brandon. He wasn't very good fighting or controlling his rebounds and his reaction time was slow.

A little concerned as Jayden Hart wasn't dressed tonight. I Hope he didn't get sick again?  

Thoughts/Ideas

 This may sound funny to you but despite the Loss I thought the bottom 3 forward lines took a baby step forward in their defensive play. The top line however a combined -11 is unacceptable. (-16 if you count Bus)

 What do you guys think of breaking up Shinkaruk and Koules? Perhaps testing out Pearce on 1st line right wing, and dropping Koules to the 2nd? I think it may be an idea worth exploring if Pearce can play right wing.

This team is 4-7-1-0 but I think with some better play in their own zone the record could have been reversed.  Now that Bunz isn't here mistakes in the D Zone will be magnified.

Blades Defeat Tigers 6-3

4th Game in 5 nights and I thought it showed on the ice. I thought the Tigers weren't very sharp and it was a bit of a sloppy game from the Tigers perspective. I thought this was a game the Tigers could have won if they had brought a better work ethic, but they didn't deserve the 2 points tonight.

 A major factor in tonight's game was the powerplay/penalty kill. The blades were 3 for 4. The Tigers were 0 for 6.


Jake Doty had another highlight reel fight this time with Saskatoon's Jessey Astles. Doty served his penalty played a shift and then wasn't seen back on the ice afterwards. The coaches mentioned on the radio that he sprained a finger and couldn't grip the stick afterwards.

 I thought the rookie line showed a lot of spark


Update on Former Tigers
Rhyse Dieno (SJHL La Ronge Ice Wolves) - 15 points in 9 games
 (1st in league scoring)
Brendan Hurley (Dauphin Kings MJHL) - 14 points in 9 games
(3rd in league scoring)
Kenny Cameron (Spruce Grove Saints AJHL)  - 5 Wins 2 losses  2.38 GAA  .886 save percentage

Riley Sheen (Seattle WHL) - 8 points in 7 games
Reid Petryk (Everett WHL) - 5 points in 9 games.

It's good to see these guys not only doing well but excelling with their new teams.


Doty Vs Astles Fight

Tigers Clobber PG 7-2

 Brief Thoughts

Tigers had a bit of a rough start but I thought Marek Langhamer made a couple really good saves and If it wasn't for his early stops the Tigers could have been down a few quick goals early. I also thought Langhamer showed a lot more confidence playing the puck behind his net.

Jayden Hart was back after his unknown illness and looked really good scoring a pair of goals.
 I thought his line of Boston Leier, and Jake Doty played really well together. Doty scored his first goal as a Tiger and also just missed an open net chance.

Boson Leier also had a helluva game with 4 assists on the night. He is finding his game like he did at the end of last season.

The Tigers  put Kyle Becker back on the first PP unit and whaddya know their powerplay scored 2 goals, including a goal by Becker. Becker didn't have his best game tonight but as of right now I think he should be a staple on the first PP unit until proven otherwise.

Chad Butcher also scored his first goal as a Tiger.

Elgin Pearce had a 2 point night and is looking like a very good pickup. Getting him for a 5th rounder will make up for the deal when the Tigers gave up a 3rd for Hurley.


I thought PG's forwards got caught up in the rush way too often and their goal-tending wasn't very good. They fumbled the puck around lots and it just wasn't their night.


With the big lead by the second period the Tigers were able to give a lot of ice time to the 4th line, and that should help out fatigue-wise as tomorrow is their 4th game in 5 nights.

Tigers Trade Kessy to Vancouver

Medicine Hat, AB – The Medicine Hat Tigers announced this afternoon they have traded 20-year-old forward Kale Kessy to the Vancouver Giants. The Tigers will receive a conditional 5th round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft.

“We would like to thank Kale for the time, effort and contribution he made over the last three seasons to our organization,” stated Tigers’ GM  Head Coach Shaun Clouston. “We wish Kale great success with the Giants.”

The move of Kessy to Vancouver brings the Tigers into line with the WHL’s 20-year-old limit of three players. The three 20-year-olds will be recently acquired Derek Ryckman and Elgin Pearce along with defenseman Alex Theriau who is now back in Medicine Hat finishing up rehab after off season surgery.

The Tigers embark on a busy weekend with three games in three nights beginning in Red Deer tonight prior to hosting Prince George tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.and Saskatoon on Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

http://tigershockey.com/article/tigers-deal-kessy-to-giants

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I think their is a strong chance Kessy will be sent back to the whl from Portland Pirates (ahl)
With all of his suspensions it looked like Kessy wore out his welcome with the coaches. I think he is a player that fans either loved or hated. I thought that Kale improved a lot towards the end of last season and the playoffs before his concussion. Even at the start of this season he showed improvement untill the elbow that took out Ryan Pilon deflated everything. (Pilon is still out with an injury)

I think Kessy has November 1st circled on his calendar when the Giants next visit Medicine Hat. The giants focus a lot on their cycle down low and work ethic and I think Kessy will be able to play a big role within the giants system if he can keep his nose clean.

Also I wont be able to recap tonights game in Red Deer due to other commitments.

Oil Kings Defeat Tigers 4-2

Their were a bazillion scouts in the stands, watching Hunter Shinkaruk go head to head with the Oil King's Curtis Lazar. Both players are expected to be high first round picks in next years NHL Draft.

Shinkaruk had an extra jump in his step and played really well despite only getting 1 powerplay assist, and a -1 rating.
 

Tigers out-shot Edmonton 36-21, the Oil Kings also took 9 penalties, yet it was the Oil Kings who jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead. I thought the Tigers started the game off well, but the Oil Kings had the Tigers on the ropes after they killed their first of two 5 on 3's. When Boston Leier took the slashing penalty 6:16 into the first, the momentum changed in favor of Edmonton, and it stayed that way till the middle of the second period.

 I thought the Tigers could have weathered the storm a lot better. To me it seemed like mentally they zoned out for a bit. The small things like not throwing any hits, putting passes just out of reach, and not sticking with their man got them in some hot water. Towards the end of the first they started playing a little better but still gave up a couple high quality scoring chances. They need to find a way to limit these defensive lapses as a couple shifts in their own zone tends to knock em out for a while.

Halfway though the game the momentum changed a complete 180. Highlighted by 2 goals, 2 minutes apart and Jacob Doty getting into his first fight this season laying a beatdown on  6'4-203 lb Mason Geertson.(Doty got a standing ovation from both the fans and his teammates)  For the rest of the game the Oil Kings were in trouble as the Tigers were swarming the Oil Kings zone, but it was their goaltender Laurent Brossoit bailing them out.
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I really liked Dylan Bredo's play tonight. I usually don't mention him because he always plays solid, but he made quite a few really smart plays. I also thought Ty Stanton took some steps being a lot more comfortable on the ice back from injury. We got our first look at Elgin Pearce and he didn't disappoint.  Gavin Broadhead also layed out a couple good hits, although the last one was a borderline penalty.

Edmonton is ranked #9 in the country and the Tigers severely outplayed them for half the game.  Even though this was a loss in the standings I hope they take away some confidence from this game and use it on the weekend.

Next Up: Tigers play all 3 nights this weekend, starting Friday in Red Deer then back home Saturday/Sunday against P.G and Saskatoon.

Doty vs Geertsen Fight

Giants Drop the Tigers 6-1

 Edit: Tyler Bunz was sent down to Stockton of the ECHL Saturday morning. He had an excellent AHL camp, but the plan was for him to see a lot of games in the echl this year.


 1st Period

Last night the Tigers got out to a quick 3-0 lead. Tonight it was the other way around and a bit uglier.

48 seconds into the game the Giants rushed down the Ice on 3 on 2. The puck would get passed to the trailer and he fired a shot on net. Langhamer stopped it but left a rebound, in which Riley Kieser smoked it in. 1-0 Giants

Cain Franson would carry the puck into the zone, circle back and draw Derek Ryckman over to him. Franson fired a high shot on net.  Langhamer would give up another rebound right onto the stick of Brett Kulak who pinched in from the point and buried it. 2-0 Giants

The Tigers would call a Timeout, but it didn't seem to help as right off the next draw Tyler Lewington would get called for tripping.

On the ensuing poweplay Cain Franson would walk off the half-wall and take a shot through traffic. The puck somehow found its way passed Marek Langhamer, and trickled in. 3-0 Giants

That would end Marek Langhamer's night, giving way to Dawson MacAuley. MacAuley was tested immediately stopping a breakaway chance.

Late in the period on a mini 2 on 2. Marek Tvrdon would make a nice move but ran out of real-estate as he crashed into Dawson MacAuley. The puck would lay at the side of the net with MacAuley down and Jackson Houck would get his first of the season. 4-0 Giants

2nd Period

 Dawson MacAuley comes with up two awesome saves early in the period.
About 6 minutes into the period the Tigers switched up their line combos, and it has seemed to give them a spark.

On the powerplay. Well officially it was not credited as a PP goal, but Kyle Becker threw a shot from the point on net. Curtis Valk would get his stick on it for a tip and put the Tigers on the board
4-1 Giants.

The giants still managed too many scoring chances for my liking, but the Tigers looked a lot better after they switched up their lines. Trevor Cox was robbed with an open net on a rebound by Vancouver Goaltender Tyler Fuhr.

3rd Period

 Giants would strike a couple more times in rapid succession early. David Musil would fire a shot from the point and it would bounce off the back of Tristan Sieben and into the net. 5-1 Giants

14 seconds later the Giants would strike again. Elgin Pearce's breakout pass would get intercepted and the giants would generate a 2 on 1 down low.  Marek Tvrdon would give a perfect cross ice pass over to Nathan Burns, who tipped it in the open net.. MacAuley had no chance on it. 6-1 Giants

Game Over

 Thoughts
Marek Langhamer had some troubles with his rebounds early, and that quick 3-0 giants lead seemed to deflate the Tigers. This game could have been uglier, Dawson MacAuley made some high quality stops in relief. I thought the Vets didn't show up tonight, and it was a disappointing effort all around. Changing up the lines in the second period created a small spark but the Tigers couldn't establish a consistent fore-check.

I thought these past 5 periods the second and third efforts in the Tigers game has dissipated. I wasn't happy with the efforts of some of the veteran players. Perhaps its getting used to the road again, but I wanna see the "pop" back in their game before it turns into a bad habit.


One player that stood out for the right reasons in both road games was defenceman Spenser Jensen. Jensen looked really good and was a big physical presence on the ice.

Note: I will be unable to recap Saturdays game against Kamloops.

Victoria Defeats Tigers 4-3 OT

Elgin Pearce is wearing #15

Ridley Mentioned Alex Theriau skated with the Tigers last night at practice, and his Time-Frame to return is late October, early November.
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1st Period

Tigers get off to another good start. It seems to be a common theme early in the season so far, and I like it!

The Tigers would score on their first shot of the game. Boston Leier fed a pass to Trevor Cox who would cross into the zone and let a shot rip from the high circle area. It beat Victoria Goaltender Patrik Polivka glove side. 1- 0 Tigers

A little past the halfway point Victoria's Austin Carroll would get penalized for knocking the stick out of Miles Koules hands.

On the Power-play Trevor Cox fed a pinching Spenser Jensen in the high slot area. Jensen's first shot would be stopped, however Cox was Johnny on the spot for the rebound to score his 2nd of the game. 2-0 Tigers.

The first period saw the Tigers completely roll all 4 lines. I wouldn't have been surprised to see the rookie line earn more Ice-Time than the Tigers top line.
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2nd Period

The Royals would come to play in the second period.  But despite this the Tigers would increase their lead to three.


13:44 into the second period, the forwards were on a partial line change. Kyle Becker made a nice pass up the boards to Hunter Shinkaruk streaking to the opposite side of the bench. He managed a nice little give and go with Elgin Pearce.  This gave Shinkaruk lots of room in the slot and Fired a bullet in off the post. 3-0 Tigers.

With 5 minutes to go in the period the Royals got a lucky bounce on a 2 on 1. Jamie Crooks tried to make a cross ice pass but a fallen Tyler Lewington would block the pass after he fell over backwards. Tthe momentum would squirt the puck right back to Crooks who slid it along the ice past Langhamer who had Tyler Lewington crashing right into him. 3-1 Tigers

Late in the period the Royals had an extended shift in the Tigers zone. The group of 5 were worn out after a long shift, and Elgin Pearce would get called for tripping.

With 7 seconds left in the period former Hitmen Alex Gogolev found Defenseman Tyler Stahl at the point. Stahl would fire a slapper at the net, and amid the scramble in front Brandon Magee would get a stick on the puck for a deflection and the puck would squirt between the pads of Marek Langhamer. 3-2 Tigers

The royals were the slightly better team in that period. The Tigers didn't get too many prime scoring chances, whereas the Royals had a few extended shifts in the Tigers zone.

3rd Period

Watching was a bundle of nerves. The Royals were all over the Tigers, Marek Langhamer made a number of very good saves, as it felt like the Tigers were gripping their sticks tight with nervous hands. They only managed 1 shot the whole period. It seemed like a matter of time before......

Very Late in the period with the goalie pulled, the Tigers forgot about the man on the far side of the net. Ben Walker threw a pass across the crease over to Alex Gogolev. Gogolev had some time to roof it past a fallen Langhamer. 3-3 TIE

Overtime
Hunter Shinkaruk would attempt to drive the net wide and pass it back to the point. The puck was picked of by Royal Forward Logan Nelson. Nelson would then shove a bank pass off the boards to get a step on Derek Ryckman. Nelson would attempt a wrap around, he missed the wrap around but the puck came squirting right into the slot area. During the wrap-around somehow Marek Langhamer's stick and glove would come off.  Royals Defenceman Brett Cote would fire a shot, and it bounced off of Lewington's shin pads passed Langhamer stick side who was missing both his stick and glove. 4-3 Royals Win
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 Marek Langhamer was phenomenal in net and a big reason why the Tigers managed to get a point. At one point in the third he stopped a side to side to side shot barrage, and then a mini-breakaway right after.  Langhamer was also run over about 5 or 6 times through the game by both teams. I thought he had a stellar night.  Their were some missed defensive assignments late in the third period that I'm sure the coaches will be looking at to fix.

Tigers Trade Prospect

MEDICINE HAT, AB - The Medicine Hat Tigers announced this morning they have traded 17-year-old prospect Devon McAndrews to the Tri-City Americans. In return, the Tigers will receive a conditional 6th round pick in the 2014 Bantam Draft.

"EDIT: The WHL website lists the pick as a 6th round pick in the 2014 Bantam Draft."
(Tigers site says 2013)

McAndrews is currently playing with Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

"The Tigers appreciate the time and effort Devon has put into his game since being put on our protected list," stated Tigers' gm/head coach Shaun Clouston. "We wish Devon all the best in his future hockey endeavours."

The Tigers will embark on a three game road trip into the BC division beginning on Wednesday in Victoria before heading to Vancouver on Friday and rounding out the trip in Kamloops on Friday.

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-deal-prospect-mcandrews-to-tri-city

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Bob Tory the Tri-City GM comments on the trade

"Devon is a big power forward with a huge upside," stated Tory. "We hope that, after conversations with Devon and his family, he decides to join our program."


http://www.kapptv.com/article/2012/oct/01/americans-deal-forward-prospect/

Hunter Shinkaruk Named WHL Player of the Week

CALGARY, AB. - The Western Hockey League announced today that Medicine Hat Tigers’ forward Hunter Shinkaruk is the Denny’s WHL Player of the Week.

Shinkaruk collected six points, scoring one goal and five assists to go with a +2 rating, in two games over the past week helping the Tigers to a 2-0-0-0 record.

On Friday, September 28, the Tigers were in Red Deer to face the Rebels at the Enmax Centrium. Shinkaruk picked up two assists in Tigers 5-4 win over the Rebels. The next night, Saturday, September 29, the Tigers were back at the Arena in Medicine Hat hosting the Regina Pats. Shinkaruk scored one goal, added three assists and was named the game’s 1st Star in the Tigers 5-1 victory over the Pats.

http://www.whl.ca/article/shinkaruk-denny-s-whl-player-of-the-week

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Shinkaruk racked up quite a few points on special teams last week. The Tigers have already scored 10 powerplay goals in just 4 games.