By Darren Steinke /
The Medicine Hat Tigers are hoping the playoffs can make all the pain go away.
Heading into the WHL Christmas break, the Tigers appeared to have the potential to record yet another 40-win campaign, as they had a 21-11-3-3 record. Since returning from that break, the Tabbies put together an uncharacteristic 15-18-1 mark.
A rash of lengthy injuries helped contribute to the up-and-down performance. After Matt McCue signed an entry-level contract with the NHL`s Anaheim Ducks, he missed five games, because his status with the Tigers was in limbo.
The Ducks were thinking about assigning McCue to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Iowa Chops in Des Moines. The overage rearguard would ultimately be assigned back to the Tigers in time to play in their 5-1 home ice victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Jan. 10.
Besides the injuries, the Tigers were also haunted by a number of third period collapses in the second half of the season.
When the regular season wrapped up, the Tigers sat fifth overall in the WHL`s Eastern Conference. They drew the Broncos for a best-of-seven first round playoff series. Swift Current finished fourth overall in the conference posting a solid 42-28-1-1 mark.
The Broncos also had an outstanding 8-2 mark over the final 10 games of their regular season, and they were playing more consistent than the Tigers. Going into the first round of the playoffs, the Broncos were slight favourites over the Tigers despite the fact the clubs split their four head-to-head regular season games winning two contests each.
After the first two games of the post-season series between these two teams at the Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current, the Tigers were heading back to Medicine Hat with the series tied 1-1. The Broncos took Game 1 on March 20 by a 4-2 score, and they erased an early 2-1 third period Tiger lead in the process of winning.
In Game 2 on March 21, the Tigers skated away with an impressive 6-2 victory, where they outshot Swift Current 34-24. In that contest, the Tigers sealed the deal in the third period. They entered the frame holding on to a slim 3-2 edge, and they proceeded to pile in three more goals.
“Coming in, we knew it was a real important game,” said Tigers captain Brennan Bosch after Game 2. “It was real exciting to see us come out and take it away in the third.
“We’ve been struggling a lot. I thought that was a real good sign to see us come out and win the third. ”
Tigers 19-year-old rearguard Mark Isherwood tallied three assists in the Game 2 victory. In the second intermission of that contest, Isherwood said his team talked about settling down, relaxing and letting the game come ?to them.
At the 5:27 mark of the third, the Tigers received a key break. Broncos goaltender Travis Yonkman at first covered up a shoot in, but then he tried to make a glove pass.
He gave the puck away to Tigers standout left-winger Tyler Ennis, who buried a goal to put his club up 4-2. The Tigers rolled the rest of the way.
Isherwood felt the key to that play was being settled down.
“We did that, and we got a great break on Ennis’s goal, and then just kind of built off that,” he said. “It was a good game.”
If the Tigers can continue to have good games like that, they might just leave the 2009 post-season with a lot of good memories. |
