3-1 Tigers Victory in game 4!
Game1:4-0
Game2:3-1
Game3:5-2
Game4: 3-1
I don't think even the most optimistic of fans would have expected the Tigers to sweep the blades in 4 straight games for the second consecutive year.
The Tigers elevated their game like they always do in the playoffs and Saskatoon had all kinds of trouble. Perhaps their grueling schedule to end the season played a part of it. I look forward to seeing this on sportsnet!
I didn't see Elgin Pearce on the ice during the third period, but he was out shaking hands afterwards.
I thought everyone played well. The Elgin Pearce, Trevor Cox, Miles Koules stepped up getting some big goals early in the series. I thought Derek Ryckman looked like a new defenceman winning all the small battles in his own end. Dylan Bredo was also a calming influence back their. Can't forget Cam Lanigan who shut the door and didn't give up many rebounds from the onslaught of perimeter shots that came his way.
I think the biggest things the Tigers did in this series was fight for every inch of ice, everyone was committing taking a hit to make a play, and they were able to get the puck out of their zone on the first try almost every time.
Late Edit: The Atmosphere in the Arena was pretty electric. When the Tigers killed off a 5-3 the Fans gave out a standing ovation. Everytime Josh Nicholls touched the puck their was a chorus of boo's. Jake Doty was riling up the blades bench during warmups and the blades put out one of their third line grinders Collin Valincourt on the top line for the first shift of the game. Doty and Valincourt would engage each other in a fight with Doty setting the tone with a nice win.
Their were a few times where the blades had some pressure in the Tigers end at the end of a long shift and the Go Tigers Go chant started up. That type of situation wehre your legs stop moving the crowd helps put energy back into the legs of the players. The Arena was the loudest its been for the past couple years, but I know it can get much louder.....I look forward to another frenzied Arena for Games 3 and 4 against their next opponent, likely the Oil Kings.
The Tigers will get a chance to scout the Oil Kings Friday Night. Elgin Pearce mentioned on Twitter that he will be fine as he missed some of the third period.
Next Up: It is likely the Tigers will likely face the Edmonton Oil Kings in Round 2. They have a 3-1 series lead over the Kootenay Ice. Edmonton Has a stifling defense who's penalty kill was off the charts for most of the season.
Thursday Morning Reading Material
Tigers Sweep Blades: So Long Saskatoon (Medicine Hat News)
Tigers Sweep Blades: Baseball Swings aren't Suspensions Worthy? (Yahoo Sports)
Blades Swept for Third Straight Year (Saskatoon Phoenix)
40 comments:
Holy crap, I've never been happier to be dead wrong with a prediction. Tigers played their hearts out in all areas of the rink and deserved the fruits of their efforts. There wasn't one guy that didn't contribute in some kind of way. Lanigan and Rykman were both great showng the leadership they were brought in for. Get some rest boys, the next dog is going to have some bite.
Wow, I just can not believe it was a sweep. After the first game I just thought, great, we did not get swept. But for us to sweep Saskatoon, wow wow wow. Shows that there is good character and good leadership in the room! Congrats boys! Get a good rest, you deserve it! Lets take this same game to Edmonton cuz who knows! I think Edmonton will be taking you a bit more seriously then they would have previously!!!!
Jayden Hart should Fire His Agent. The Tigers outlasted PA in this years playoffs, and are poised to make a big run next season should all the players return.
I love that Hart moved to PA thinking they were the better team. But his selfishness paid off for us, McVeigh and Hodder are awesome! Glad Hart gets to follow the Tigers from home! You need a tight group in the dressing room and that is what we have! Was nice to see the coaches so excited after the game last night! They are usually pretty straight faced!!! Good job tigers!
When are we going to hear that Lanigan has been signed to a pro contract?!?! There are so many teams needing good goaltending, this guy is no risk to sign! And boy, when the cards are down, this kid can play! The last 4 games were better then any games I saw Bunz play!! Had Lanigan gone to a team without a star goalie and got to be a starter earlier, he would already be signed. Glad the tigers were able to provide him with this opportunity. He is the real deal between the pipes and a stand up guy off the ice. Good luck Lanigan, I hope good things come to you in the future!
It appears that Elgin Pearce was the victum of a cheap shot from Walker behind the net and away from the play. Did any one see it...?? looks like 4 officials choose to ignor it and that is not good for clean players to get treated that way and nothing is done. Walker is not a leader and his career is over. Saskatoon does not dessrve to be in the Memorial Cup and teams with a good clean game like Med Hat should not have to loose good players to that kind of crap going on out there. This should be reviewed for suspension purposes.Including a few other questionable incidents in the series.
Is Pearce hurt? Will he be out? I thought the Blades were thugs. They can not play good hockey and so they played dirty. That will not help them at the Memorial Cup. I was unimpressed by the Blades, they have no class. Karma, along with the Tigers, is what led to their demise!
Any word on Pearce?
Pearce took a hard hit from Nichollas looked to be a little high as the shoulder made Pearces head bounce off the glass, you could tell instantly Pearce was hurt and it was just behind the blue line in front of the Blades net. Walker did nothing and is a fantastic leader someone who knows nothing about the team shouldnt make idiotic comments based on 2 games
Well done Tigers, way to come together as a team at just the right time. Everyone giving their all a close team situation something the Blades know nothing about.
Interesting point is how the Prince albert Raiders started to fall apart after the Logan McVeigh Zach Hodder trade and the Tigers started to improve.Selfish Hart got an early summer.
Why does the media focus on how BAD the Saskatoon blades played rather than just how GOOD our Medicine Hat Tigers played? give our Tigers some credit.
Pearce said after the game that he was fine and should be ready for round 2
If Walker is such a fantastic leader, why was there clearly no leadership? A sweep and you are defending his leadership? He was invisible on the ice!!! A leader steps up and stands out - Bredo, Valk, Leier - Walker who??
I agree, Hart may have been poison in the dressing room. He has talent but seems things are not going well for him. Attitude? Not sure, don't know him but hope he is able to figure it out over the summer. I am guessing he is sad he quit on the Tigers!
Walker is a looser who will not go far. And is far from a "leader". No character or heart in him - that was evident on the ice. Judging him in the playoffs should make him shine - but he was dull! I would not want a player who could not get it going for the most important games. 52 days off for him!!!!
It makes me mad that the focus is on how bad Saskatoon was too and not how good we were. However, sometimes it is a good thing to not be so noticed. Quietly sneak in and shock everyone. Lets hope Edmonton just thinks we are the same old team and Saskatoon handed us wins. Would be nice to knock Saskatoon off balance!
Agree, Walker is a nothing. I would not take him onto the Tiger roster. Our 4th line showed more heart and drive then that guy did. Leaders lead from the front, they don't blend in with the rest of the team.
It appears I may have blamed the wrong player for hitting Pearce. Too bad about these kinds of things in a game like that where its basically over and shit goes on that the officials need to come down on hard. But Saskatoon are the chosen ones and the media darlings that are hosts of the memorial cup.k
Nichols was a rat during the series and played like a bum. Was the same in minor hockey when he bailed out on the BWC.
Was nice to see all the Twitter support for the Tigers from alum - Trevor Linden, Etem, Bunz, Hrudey, King etc. Shows this organisation has been class acts for years!
Wow, was looking at stats of players we traded. Riley Sheen was -36 this season, making his 40 points almost inconsequential. He clearly can play in one end of the ice ok but is non-existant in the D-zone. Good grief, glad we traded for Dotes!
Bahahaha, Walker a fantastic leader?!?! Are we talking about the same one on the Mem Cup host Blades that went out in 4 to the Tigers?? There were NO leaders on that team!! Leaders make a difference, would not have made a difference if Walker was playing or not - NOT a leader!
Saying Walker isnt a leader because his team lost is beyond stupid, the problem the Blades have is they have a lot of idiots on their team (Siemens, Sutter, Thrower, Ferland, Valcourt) that took dumb penalties over and over again and the Tigers took full advantage look at game 3 just when the Blades looked like they were going to get momentum they take a dumb penalty and they get scored on. Realistically they got out coached their coach made no real changes from Game 1 forward and it killed them. Sure Walker didnt put up point but when the Tigers beat the Rebels 2 years ago and Bredo shadowed and shut down Hopkins no one was blaming Hopkins for not getting a single point it was there entire team that didnt play well.......i swear some tigers fans have never played hockey, one player will not cost you a series and if they did its usually the goalie letting in very soft goals
How can Walker be a leader if he did not lead in the 4 most important games of the year so far?? Leaders are not non-factors in games, he was a non factor for 4! And 4 of the most important! Don't blames the other players for being idiots on the team, we are talking about Walker and Walker alone. Regardless of what the other players did he could have played to stand out, to lead and he did not.
2 years ago RNH was a threat everytime he was on the ice. You noticed him. He was trying everything to contribute. RNH was 10 000 times the leader Walker could even hope to be!
No one ever said that Walker "cost the series" - only you have Anon 10:19. Everyone has just said that he did not show one ounce of leadership. So keep on topic, it was said he was an amazing leader and everyone has argued that all evidence is to the contrary in the most important 4 games of the year so far and if you can not lead at times like that then you are probably not a leader.
I have played, willing to bet more then you and higher level then you, so take a seat! You do not have a leg to stand on with this! You say Walker is a leader but there is no evidence to support this - at all. Not on a team level but as an individual. If he had 0 points but was grinding it out, trying to make plays, get his team going, then he would be a leader - he did none of that!
Being a leader has nothing to do with points or goals. So there is where you are mistaken. Nug-Hop was a leader because he was buzzing on the ice, trying hard, setting up plays, being a pest on the ice and sparking his team - what a leader does. Walker did not do anything which would give anyone any reason to defend that he is still a good leader.
Bredo is a HUGE leader for us and rarely shows up on the score sheet. But to anyone watching a game his poke checks, hits, blocks, clears, passes etc is what makes him a true leader. Basically being an impact player, not necessarily a scorer. Walker did not show any impact to the game - leaders do.
All I care about is that the Tigers have a dressing room full of a lot of good strong leaders. And that helps you win games!
Go Tigers go!
Bredo should of been captain in my opinion
in the end its a team game , not just the leaders. Walker didn't loose them the series, and in the end our top 5 helped win with the rest of the team, our young guys played great,( and haven't read one comment about the so-called young D playing great,Lewington on Ferland the whole series how did Ferland do!! Becker, Jensen and Hodder all stepped up ) just Bredo and Ryckman who did play great too, it's a team and the team did great, and the secondary scoring was crucial
Linden Vey is tied for the AHL Scoring lead with 62 points in 67 games.
http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_scorers
Cam Lanigan20 - 7th Rnd '13
Derek Ryckman20 - 5th Rnd '14
Elgin Pearce20 - 5th Rnd '13
Erik Benoit19 - 4th Rnd '13
Collin Valcourt19 -5th Rnd '13,1st Rnd '15
Michael Ferland20 - 1st Rnd '13
Shayne Gwinner 19- 5th Rnd '14
Nathan Burns19 - Travis McEvoy18 3rd Rnd '13, 1st Rnd '14
Adam Kambeitz20 - Christian Stockl 3rd Rnd '14
Shane McColgan19,Jessey Astles19 - Ryan Olsen18 2nd Rnd '12,5th Rnd '12
Brenden Walker20 2nd Rnd '13 - 2nd Rnd '12, 2nd Rnd '13 3rd Rnd '14
Interesting what Saskatoon gave up in trades compared to what the Tigers received in trades.
Based on lineups from game 4 the Tigers will have minimum of 4 new faces come next year. Saskatoon a minimum of 14 new faces. Was it worth it Mr Molleken
All those trades gave them 4 more wins that the previous season.
The Blades have no first, 3rd, 5th round picks this draft and no 1st, 5th and 7th picks in 2014.
I count 5 players to trade as overager bait. 4 of those are capable of being 20s in this league.
They could potentially replace almost all their picks with the exception of 1 of 2 first round picks they gave away.
I don't know what their current crop of prospects look like. At absolute minimum it will take them at least 3 seasons to become competitive again.
Depending on what they recover from picks it could take them as long as 5-7 years before they dress a team capable of contending again, unless their scouts pull off a couple back to back miracle years.
dendel2002...
The Tigers will lose minimum 5 players next season. We have 5 19 year olds which we can only keep 3 and we will lose current 20's. So minimum 5 new players next year.
I calculated we will replace 2 forwards, 2 defence and a goalie. Is that correct?
78 points Out of Pearce so far the steal of the year for a 5th rounder . those guys in sask did not show up lucky for the hat they got more from him than the whole shit load sask picked and paid big for.
Anxious for this next series to start! I am hoping they can play the same way they did against Sask as I think that will make for an interesting series!! After the last four games, the Tigers could really be in this series!
1 More Sleep! Ty Stanton, and Blake Penner are probably ready to go if needed.
Go tigers go!!!! Keep up with winning ways in Edmonton!
IMO the Tigers already won their championship. Anything they do from here on out is bonus money!
Lots of people are still predicting the Tigers to loose in 4 or 5 games. I don't expect the Tigers to win but I think they should be able to make it close and win a couple games
Hockey gods are shinning on the Tigers....Broissoit and Cheek sign NHL contracts just before series starts...They will come out flat in the first 2 games. Contract letdown for sure. The preassure goes on OilKing shoulders after the Tigers take a split in Edmonton. Tigers come into series with a poopload of confidense and Oilkings with some inflated egos.
Key to this series is staying out of the box and scoring on thier pp chances. Edm is a big physical team like Saskatoon, they will take some physical penalties Tigers need to score and take the physical play away from Edmonton. I just hope the officials have some brass nards and call all penalties. No free piggyback rides from Hunter and they call all the stickwork on Lowe. Tigers going to give up alot of shots but they will rarely come from key scoring areas. Tigers block out and force Edmonton to take shots from the outside. Clouston lets opposition free wheel around the outside on the cycle. Tigers do an awesome job of clogging up shooting lanes.
Tiger pp works on getting the puck moving at the points and Oilkings chasing the puck. McVeigh parked around the net and Hunter around faceoff dots. Goals will come via the high slot created by Valk or Leier.
We just need to win four out of seven.
I think taking the crowd out of the game in Edmonton is a key. Getting one road win would do wonders for building confidence. As bad as Sasktoon was is how good Edmonton is, and this round is not going to be an easy task. Play 60 mins and see what happens.
Keep it simple, keep it clean and keep putting pucks on net. That is what they did against Sask and that plan should win us a few....... could win us 4 if we play 60min of our game!
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