Tigers Take Game One With a 5-2 Victory
April 26, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Medicine Hat Tigers News Release
The Eastern Conference Finals kicked off Friday night with Game 1 between the Tigers and their Highway 3 rivals, the Lethbridge Hurricanes. It's the first time the two teams have faced off in the playoffs since 2017 and only the third time overall. The Tigers held the advantage in the season series 5-3 and are coming in well rested after sweeping the Prince Albert Raiders. The Hurricanes are fresh off a Game 7 victory only a couple of days ago against the Calgary Hitmen.
The Tigers came out firing and got the crowd into it with a quick opening goal. Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll entered the zone and dropped the pass back for Marcus Ruck. Gordon-Carroll immediately cut towards the net and Ruck found him with a return pass that he was able to tap in to open the scoring. Tanner Molendyk also picked up a helper on Gordon-Carroll's second of the playoffs.
Gavin McKenna brought the fans back up out of their seats only six seconds later. Oasiz Wiesblatt won the faceoff and McKenna skated into the zone with the puck. He passed the puck to Ryder Ritchie and the defender followed. Ritchie quickly passed the puck back to an open McKenna who wristed in his seventh of the playoffs. The goal extended his point streak to an unbelievable 50 games (39 G, 85 A, 124 PTS) tying the modern CHL record.
The Hurricanes would get on the board a few minutes later, cutting the lead back to one. Caden Price put a shot on net from the point but it didn't make it through traffic. The rebound bounced back to Logan Wormald who put a hard shot on net that found its way into the net for his fifth of the postseason.
The Tigers offensive onslaught just kept coming. They reinstated their two-goal lead just before the midway mark of the frame while on the man advantage. Wiesblatt brought the puck over the blueline and passed it back to McKenna. He quickly feed a pass to Ritchie as he cut to the net. He wasn't able to gather the pass but Wiesblatt grabbed the loose puck as he crashed the net. He let a wrister go that found the left side of the net for his team leading 11th goal of the postseason.
The second period was much of the same for the Tigers. They put another 12 shots on net in the frame for a total of 28 in 40 minutes of play. Their offensive pressure paid off again early in the period. Ritchie grabbed a bouncing puck along the side boards and skated in alone. He was able to deke around the goalie and tuck in his seventh of the playoffs to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Wiesblatt picked up the lone assist on the goal.
The Tigers would strike again just over five minutes later. Bryce Pickford moved the puck across the blueline to Jonas Woo. He made a nice move to get around a defender and put a wrister on net. Ethan Neutens was able to get his stick on the puck to redirect it. The puck went through the goalie's five hole and trickled over the goal line to increase the lead to four. The goal was Neutens' first of the playoffs.
Lethbridge would put one more on the board before the end of the second. While on the powerplay, Caden Price moved the puck down low to Wormald. He spotted Brayden Yager alone in the slot and hit him with a pass. Yager one-timed in his seventh of the playoffs to cut the lead to 5-2 for the Tigers.
The defence in the third period tightened up with only 13 shots on net between the two teams. The action also got a little chippy and both teams had chances on the power play. Neither team was able to take advantage though and the game would end in a 5-2 victory for the Tigers.
Harrison Meneghin had a great game in net against his former team. He made 17 saves to pick up his seventh win of the playoffs. Jackson Unger got the start in net for the Hurricanes. He allowed five goals against on 22 shots. Koen Cleaver came on in relief midway through the game. He kept the Hurricanes in the game stopping all 14 shots that he faced.
Shots:
Medicine Hat - 36
Lethbridge - 19
Special Teams:
PP: 0/5 - 0%
PK: 2/3 - 66.7%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
Gavin McKenna - Medicine Hat
Oasiz Wiesblatt - Medicine Hat
Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll - Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Ethan Neutens
The series continues tomorrow night with Game 2 at Co-op Place. Game time is 7:00 PM (MST). Tickets are still available at tixx.ca. You can also listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch free on the Victory+ app.
• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...
Western Hockey League Stories from April 26, 2025
- Tigers Put up Seven Goals to Take a 2-0 Series Lead - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Game Preview: Round 3 - Game 2 vs Lethbridge Hurricanes - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Chiefs with a Ten-Piece, Overwhelm Winterhawks in Game 1 - Spokane Chiefs
- Tigers Take Game One With a 5-2 Victory - Medicine Hat Tigers
- McKenna Magic Reaches 50 Consecutive Games - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Spokane Chiefs Win Game 1 of Western Conference Championship - Portland Winterhawks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
