Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Tigers Defeat Blades 4-3

Scratches: Scott Allan, Hunter Shinkaruk, Spenser Jensen, Alex Mowbray

First Period
Blades come out pretty aggressive. Right from the Get-go they are working harder, and winning a good portion of one on one battles.

Tigers Cole Sanford stopped on a short-handed breakaway.

The Tigers get on board first with a miscue from the Blades Goaltender Alex Moodie. Miles Koules stripped Moodie of the puck behind the net and fed Blake Penner out front. The puck bounced in off Penner's Skate and after a review deemed a good goal. 1-0 Tigers

After that it was all Blades.

Their first goal saw them use really quick transition to catch a couple forwards and Dman napping creating a 2 on 1. Nikita Scherbak put on a nice move on Daniel Wapple cutting across the crease 1-1 TIE

3 Minutes later Scherbak would pot his second goal on a miscue from Wapple. Wapple went behind the net to play the puck but left thinking the Tigers Dman was going to get it.....It left Nathan Burns scooping the puck from behind the net, passing the puck out front, and missing its intended target, but found Scherbak streaking in and he rifled it over the blocker side shoulder of wapple. 2-1 Blades

A minute and a half later Steven Owre's  errant pass up the middle to a defenceman in the offensive zone was scooped up by Nick Zajac. On a 2 on 2 Zajac went deep into the Tigers end behind the net and passed it to Ryan Coghlan. Gavin Broadhead missed a wide open pokechek allowing Coghlan some time to step into the high slot and snap a shot off the post and in . 3-1 Blades

Blades outworked the Tigers and won a lot of 1 on 1 battles. Tigers don't seem like mentally they are in this game. Blades outshot the Tigers 10-8

2nd Period
Tigers start off the period with a powerplay. It doesn't take long before Tommy Vannelli fires a one-timer on net. Curtis Valk managed to get his stick on a bouncing puck and putting it past Moodie. 3-2 Blades

The Tigers keep coming and strike a minute later. Tyler Lewington put a seeing eye shot through traffic past Alex Moodie 3-3 TIE

Fight
Blake Penner Vs Nick Zajac
Penner took exception to a borderline hit he received in front of the blades bench. Couldn't see anything as the fight was directly in front of the Blades bench and the players were blocking the way.

 Halfway through the second after some good pressure Tyler Lewington fired a hard slapshot on net. The puck gets deflected a couple times with Steven Owre getting the last deflection in.
4-3 Tigers

Tigers outshoot the Blades 21-6 in the Period. A Total 180 from the first period as they stepped on the gas and have the blades on the ropes.

3rd Period
Tigers started the period right where they left off with a bundle of early chances, but they couldn't bury anything.

Blake Penner left the game with an injury. He tried to scoot in between the boards up the rush trying to avoid an oncoming hit. The blades Defencman suprised him closing the gap really quickly and it looked like his skate caught an edge and temporarily stuck in the ice causing him to fall awkwardly like his leg bent backward along the boards. I didn't see him back on the ice after that.
Fight
Miles Koules vs Clayton Kirichenko
Not sure how this started but it was behind the play. It was pretty much a wrestling/grappling match as they fell to the ice. Draw  This was both players first whl fight...

The Tigers are getting a lot of fairly good chances. A lot of plays where they are getting partial wood on some good chances. Daniel Wapple stopped a couple key blades chances near the end of the period.

It kinda felt like their was a big 3 point circle around the blades goal and whenever the Tigers entered this zone, pucks started wobbling, passes were not on the mark, and they were holding their sticks too tight.

The Tigers had a TON of scoring chances but they weren't quite complete fully in control chances. They came out flat in the first period, but did ebough damage in the second period to come out with the win!

Next Up: Friday @ the Arena against Tri-City

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tigers Defeat PA 3-1

Shinkaruk out with his "hip" injury.
Spenser Jensen and Ty Stanton out with the flu

1st Period
Tigers got out to a pretty good start. The Raiders took a couple penalties and it gave the Tigers a 53 second 5 on 3.

On the power-play Curtis Valk fed Tommy Vannelli at the far side. Vanelli fed Doty a pass in the slot and it caught the goalie going the other way. Not sure If Doty got a stick on it, but the puck bounced off his skate and trickled into the net. 1-0 Tigers

Tigers outshot PA 15-5 in the period. The Tigers only really got caught in their end once. The Tigers coaches must have gotten on the Tigers for protecting their goalie, because any Raider that comes near Langhamer is getting roughed up quickly. Could have easily been a 3-0 game at this point.
-----

2nd Period
The Raiders came out with a big push. They had a few chances and were in the Tigers zone quite a bit during the first few minutes. It was a long blueline shot that caught Langhamer napping. 1-1 TIE

Late in the period the Tigers started pressing. Tyler Lewington was fed a cross ice pass and took a big slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle. He managed to get a lot of air on the shot quite quickly and it took the goalie by suprise flying over his blocker.  2-1 Tigers

Tigers outshot the Raiders 23-7. Tigers had a some good chances and threw a lot of longer shots on net

3rd Period
The Raiders thought they scored after a rebound popped up above Langhamer. A Raiders player knocked it into the net with a high-stick. Ref Immediately waved the play off.

Fight
Tyler Lewington vs Chance Braid

Chance Braid laid a high hit from behind on Chad Labelle. Lewington took exception to this and challenged Braid.  Braid landed a big punch surprising Lewington and knocked him off his balance. Just as he regained his balance the refs stepped in. TKO for Braid.

Empty Netter. The Tigers had a 3 on 1 with an empty net, but an errant pass ended that chance. Instead the Raiders got some more time in the Tigers end. CUrtis Valk flicked a puck down the ice as he got hit and scored. 3-1 Tigers.

PA outshot the Tigers 12-11 in the period.

Tigers outshot PA 49-22 overall.

 Cole Cheveldave stopped a lot of high quality chances and kept the raiders in this game. I thought the Tigers had a lot of passes in the feet, and just ahead or behind them. They threw a lot of shots on the net from everywhere, and whiffed on 4-5 prime chances that could have been easy goals. Overall they played pretty hard, and stepped up their game after the Raiders tied it on an errant shot from the blueline.

Next Up: Rematch with Saskatoon Wednesday Night. Then back here against Tri-City Friday.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Tigers Defeat Blades 6-4

A Few Observations

Leadership seems to be coming from the Coaches. A perfectly placed Timeout after two quick Blades goals got the Tigers out of their funk and they recovered from a 3-1 deficit.

I thought Chad Butcher had a helluva game, and I like the Improvement that Matt Staples is showing. Scott Allan was dressed for his second game but didn't see very much ice-time.....Spenser Jensen was scratched.

It was good to see Curtis Valk Scoring.  I feel like he is not playing up to standards compared to last season. He doesn't have that oomf in his game......and a guy like him should be leading the charge every night. Even though he has 17 points in 13 games I feel he is capable of more.

Kyle Becker
Back into the lineup after missing quite a few games with an injury. I feel like he was missed back there. He can slow the game down, and knows how to get shots on net on the powerplay.

Hunter Shinkaruk
Was scratched for his "Lower body" day to day injury...


Overall I liked that they got back on track with a win.

Up Next
In Prince Albert Tuesday, and a rematch with Saskatoon on Wednesday.



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Tigers Make CHL Top Ten

http://www.chl.ca/article/chl-announces-bmo-chl-top-10-rankings_150483

1
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (10-0-1-0)
1
4
2
London Knights (7-1-1-0)
2
5
3
Spokane Chiefs (8-2-0-0)
3
3
4
Kingston Frontenacs (7-1-0-1)
4
5
5
Medicine Hat Tigers (7-1-1-0)
-
1
6
Seattle Thunderbirds (8-2-0-0)
-
1
7
Charlottetown Islanders (8-2-0-1)
5
4
8
Guelph Storm (6-3-0-0)
8
5
9
Kelowna Rockets (5-1-0-2)
6
2
10
Rimouski Oceanic (7-3-0-1)
9
4
Honourable Mention:
Victoriaville Tigres (8-3-1-0)
-
0
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (6-1-0-1)
-
0
Prince Albert Raiders (7-4-1-0)
7

These ranking really mean nothing, but it is nice to see the Tigers back in the top ten. In years past I have noticed that the Tigers have often taken a loss directly after cracking the top ten list. They are on a 2 game road trip out east facing Regina on Friday, and Brandon on Saturday.

Regina has not lost and are 4-1 since acquiring former Tiger Boston Leier. Regina also picked up an overage goaltender from Prince George in Mac Engel during the overager waiver draft.

Under 16's
4 Tiger prospects made the Western Canada Under-16 Hockey Challenge in Calgary, Alberta October 31- November 3.

BC
Caleb Fantillo

Alberta
Austin Mcgrath - Goaltender
David Quenneville - Defenseman
Mason Shaw - Forward



Saturday, October 12, 2013

Tigers Shut Out Ice 3-0

Strong Work Ethic
I thought the Tigers brought a pretty strong work ethic tonight.  Even though there were periods of time where Kootenay was able to get some consistent Ice-Time in the Tigers zone, they kept Kootenay to the outside and never gave them many prime chances.


Defense
I thought the Tigers did an excellent job at covering the open areas of the ice as well as block/deflect a lot of shots.  Sam Reinhart a player projected to go very high in next years NHL draft looked like he wanted nothing to do with playing in this game and the Tigers kept him off the scoresheet for the first time this season.

Marek Langhamer 
He wasn't tested a whole lot, but he did Shutout the Ice on 5 of their power-plays. He was very solid in net.

Cox, Sanford, McVeigh
So far in the early season they have been the Tigers most dangerous line. All 3 players have improved a ton over last season.

Doty Labelle Broadhead
I can just imagine the coaches on the other teams going....SHIT this is their 4th line?


Leier in Regina
Leier has 6 goals in 4 games for Regina, not including a shootout winner. In 4 games he has 2 game winning goals, and 7 points.The pats are 4-1 since acquiring him.

Tigers couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. It's hard to see them not make the CHL top ten list next week. Let's hope that they don't get too overconfident,  keep bringing a tenacious work ethic, and keep improving!


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Tigers Defeat Moose Jaw 4-1

The victory moves the Tigers into a conference best 6-1-1-0 good for 13 points and an .812 win percentage.

Moose Jaw was without former Tigers Zach Hodder in their lineup. The night prior Moose Jaw Traded for another overage Defenseman from Seattle in Jesse Forsberg and it looks like Hodder is the odd man out in Moose Jaw. I wonder If Regina or Kootenay will pick him up. Both teams are minus an overager's as well as Prince George. I believe The Deadline is October 15th this year.

Tommy Vannelli
The Tigers were powered up early by a pair of goals from Tommy Vannelli. Vanelli joined the rush on a 3 on 1 situation and put a cross ice feed from Curtis Valk into the back of the net. Vannelli's second goal he had some help from a Moose Jaw deflection as his wrist shot turned into a knuckle puck where Moose Jaw Tender Justin Paulic couldn't track it down.  Vannelli has 7 points in 6 games so far for the Tigers.

Rookie Scott Allan was dressed for his first regular season game.

Daniel Wapple
Goalie Daniel Wapple played really well in net. Moose Jaw didn't have a whole lot of chances but they did manage some good ones and Wapple showed his old team what they were missing...... Wapple has exceeded  expectations so far.  I didn't expect him to challenge for the #1 job but early in the season he has been outplaying Langhamer.

Cole Sanford 
Sanford found the back of the net again and scored on a pretty unique play. He was fed a puck on an odd man rush, but the pass was behind him. He made a neat simple play to scoop the puck up to his forehand and roofed a shot over the goalies shoulder.

Hunter Shinkaruk
Despite getting ample playing time on the penalty kill shinkaruk wasn't able to get a short-handed geno last season. He scored a shorthanded goal tonight criss-crossing with Curtis Valk and put a shot on net that Paulic whiffed on.

Tyler Lewington
Dropped his mitts again. He took on 19 yr old Jack Rodewald. Rodewald got a quick punch in off the start, but if it wasn't for the loss of balance Rodewald would have been in trouble. Lewington tagged him with a good uppercut and got him off his balance.

I think its awesome that the Tigers have started out the season so well. But I also think they have potential to play much better.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Seattle Defeats Tigers 5-4 OT

Tigers don't play Seattle that often, but they seemed like they had a heated rivalry, as there were 4 fights in the game.

Tigers Played Seattle's Game
I thought Jake Doty said it best on the radio that the Tigers played Seattle's Game instead of sticking to their own game-plan.  I thought the Tigers looked like a team that played intimidated and forgot to use their speed. You could tell in the first 5 minutes that something was off because even though they came out pretty well, players were randomly fumbling the puck in open ice.

I heard some people talking that they liked the game and the Tigers played well, but imo they lost sight of their game plan and didn't really play up to their strengths. They had their moments, and the physical stuff kept it exciting, but it's a game they could have played much better.

I thought the Tigers stopped skating sometimes and because of that planted themselves right in the tracks of Seattle's bigger players.

Shinkaruk's Return
Shinkaruk scored a couple goals in his first game back and already I could see he learned a lot in some of the little things he did on the ice compared to last season.


Retaliation
I didn't like how Tyler Lewington took a retaliatory slashing penalty after getting hit hard and chasing a guy up the ice.......you could tell he was still pissed though because after his penalty he took on the biggest player on the ice 6'6 216 lb Jared Hauf and knocked him out.

I didn't like how Shinkaurk retaliated and ended up with a double minor when the Tigers originally were getting a powerplay.

With a small speedy team the opposition is always going to focus on physical play to slow you down....the only thing you can do is to retaliate on the powerplay, and every game you have to be faster, finish your checks and keep your feet moving.

Fights
Jacob Doty Vs Mitch Elliot  (Doty landed some real good solid shots. Elliot got in some small rabbit punches, I'd give the fight to Doty for the landed Haymakers)

Gavin Broadhead Vs Connor Honey  (Decision Honey, nothing major landed but threw way more punches and had Broadhead hunched over)

Tyler Lewington Vs Jared Hauf  (Lewington with the Knockout)

Dylan Bredo Vs Seth Swenson (Hug fest. Bredo with a few headlock punches, but it was a draw)

Next Up
The Tigers will face a similar test when Calgary Visits on Tuesday. Hopefully the Tigers learned a few things from this and can improve as Calgary is just as big as Seattle is.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Tigers Trade Leier To Regina

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-trade-boston-leier-to-regina

http://www.reginapats.com/article/pats-trade-for-over-age-forward

The Tigers will receive a 2nd round pick in 2016.
--------------------------------

Well I was a bit shocked when I heard the news, but after I saw the 2nd round pick coming back it settled my nerves.....but leaves me wondering what  Regina is doing. The deadline is 8 days away, and they may not make the playoffs this year. Spending a 2nd on a one year overager doesn't make good long term sense unless they plan to achieve a first round potential  Home-Ice playoff type of season.

I am ecstatic that the Tigers could get a 2nd round pick, and IMO the Leier/Doty debate was pretty close. So if the Tigers could get a 2nd round pick it makes a lot of sense. The Tigers essentially had 7 players who could play in the top 6 in Shinkaruk, Valk, Cox, Koules, McVeigh, Sanford, Leier. With trading Leier it solves that.

I wish the best of Luck to Leier in Regina he will instantly make that team a lot better.

Regina's GM on the Trade
http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/hockey/pats-hockey/Regina+Pats+land+their+Boston+Leier/8990683/story.html


MH News Article
http://medicinehatnews.com/sports/local-sports/2013/10/leier-winds-up-as-the-odd-man-out-2/

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Tigers Defeat Moose Jaw 4-2

Just a really quick summary

Cole Sanford continued his goal scoring streak. He had a highlight reel goal undressing a couple Moose Jaw defenseman and stuffing the puck past an outstretched Justin Paulic. Sanford has scored in every game so far this season.

The first period was back and forth and pretty even. The second period was a bit up and down. In the third period it was all Tigers.

Jacob Doty was inserted into the lineup and Boston Leier was scratched. Doty saw mostly 4th line type of minutes paired with Chad Labelle and Gavin Broadhead.

It was the youngsters who powered the Tigers to the Victory as the Penner, Owre, Butcher line were a force and scored 2 of the games. One of them handing a beauty of a chance to Kyle Becker who buried it.

Tommy Vannelli got his first goal as a Tigers stuffing the puck five-hole on a bit of a bad angle on the powerplay. He had hit the post earlier in the game.

Gavin Broadhead fought Josh Uhrich, but it wasn't much of a fight as I don't think anything really landed.