By / Darren Steinke
Be it ever so humble, there seems to be no place like home for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Over the first 17 games of their schedule, two trends have become obvious with the Tigers.
First, the team seems to always win at home as its record at The Arena is 6-1-0-1. Second, the club can’t seem to taste victory on the road as it has a 1-5-2-1 mark away from the Gas City.
“I think right now it is a little bit early,” said Tigers associate coach Shaun Clouston. “It is starting to become a concern.
“I think we have played some fairly solid road games. I thought we played quite well in Calgary in the 2-1 loss. We definitely had a chance to win the game in Cranbrook.
“On the other hand, I do think we have played better at home. How much better is debatable.”
Struggling on the road is something new to the Tigers. Over the last five seasons, the club has had a winning record away from home.
Last season, which was supposed to be a retooling year, the Tigers rolled off an impressive 21-11-3-1, while piling up the kilometres on the bus. The home record was actually only slightly better at 22-11-2-1 that season.
“It is different,” said Tigers captain Brennan Bosch, who is in his fourth full season with the club. “We’ve never really struggled on the road.
“We have always been a pretty good team. It is something that we are concerned about.”
At the start of the regular season, there did not seem to be any signs that the Tigers would have problems on the road. They opened the campaign on Sept. 19 against the Oil Kings in Edmonton and came away with an impressive 5-1 victory. None of the players suspected they would be unable to collect another victory over their next eight road contests.
The Tigers don’t want to push the panic button, but theories are starting to be collected about why the club is struggling away from home.
“When you go on the road, there is no secret. It is tougher to play in the opposition’s barn,” said Hamilton. “I think the biggest thing for us is we haven’t gotten the starts we’ve wanted.
“We always find ourselves behind a couple of goals early, and then we are play catch up for the rest of the game. That is always a tough spot to be in.”
Hamilton also added he thought the team took penalties at the wrong times in away games, and Bosch thinks his club’s system play isn’t where it needs to be on the road. Clouston thinks the struggles have more to do with another factor.
“I think mentally the players have to use the two hours before the game, once we arrive at the building, to make sure that they do everything that they possibly can to get themselves in the right state,” said Clouston.
“Some guys really need to work on getting their energy level up. It is hard getting off the bus sometimes to pick yourself up and wake up.”
If the Tigers can do better in those areas, they may become the road warriors of recent seasons once again. |