Medication Hat Tigers sit one win away from junior hockey immortality

With three 20-year-old defenseman, Rhett Parsons, Dru Krebs, and Bogdans Hodass, who had aged out, Tigers Head Coach and Basic Supervisor Willie Desjardins knew he wanted to handle his blue line.

In the course of the 2024 WHL prospects draft, Desjardins acquired Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo to bolster the Tigers’ backend.

“Getting Woo and Pickford – that was huge for us,” mentioned Desjardins

“That kind of filled a big void that we needed.”

Desjardins wasn’t performed, including Mathew Ward and Ryder Ritchie up entrance

“Ward was always a thorn in our side, playing him in Swift. He was always a guy that gave us problems.”

“Ritchie was such a good offensive guy. Honestly, I picked him up because he had such a good playoffs last year.”

Coming into the season because the top-ranked team in the CHL, the Tigers had a goal on their again.

They opened the yr robust, with a 4-2 victory to kick off the season in opposition to the Edmonton Oil Kings, however then confronted three video games in a row in opposition to the workforce that knocked them out within the first spherical of the 2024 playoffs, the Red Deer Rebels.

A chance for redemption was on the minds of the Tigers, however as a substitute, it was extra of the identical.

The Tigers misplaced all three video games to the Rebels and adopted it up with a 6-3 defeat to the reigning WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

A 1-0 begin shortly turned to 1-4, and the top-ranked workforce within the CHL coming into the season was nowhere to be discovered on the rankings.

One thing wanted to alter, and it did, quick.

Tigers Head Coach and Basic Supervisor Willie Desjardins started to wheel and deal, bringing in 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin from the division rival Lethbridge Hurricanes, whereas sending long-time Tigers Shane Smith and Brayden Boehm out of the Hat.

“If we’re gonna try to do something, we gotta have goaltending and I’m not quite sure of ours, so I had to make that move,” mentioned the Tigers’ bench boss.

It was the primary of many mid-season trades the Tigers would go on to make.

After the 1-4 begin and acquisition of Harriosn Meneghin, the Tigers would win three straight to get again to .500, however then turned riddled by harm.

“We didn’t start good. We weren’t a team. We were a group of individuals that just thought we were going to win, didn’t think we had to work hard.”

Already with out 19-year-old defenseman Josh Van Mulligen, the Tigers additionally misplaced Ryder Ritchie, Hayden Harsanyi, Mathew Ward, and Niilopekka Muhonen for an prolonged time frame.

Their depth was being examined.

That first check would come within the type of the Prince George Cougars.

The Cougars thumped the Tigers, handing them an 8-1 defeat, their worst of the season.

“Honestly, that was the best thing that ever happened to us.”

“We had to grow, we had to grow as a group,” added Desjardins.

That loss appeared to spark one thing within the workforce, who went on to win 5 of their subsequent six to regular the ship.

Because the calendar flipped to November, the Tigers had been starting to gel and uncover their id of a quick and bodily membership that might rating at will.

The harm state of affairs started to resolve itself, all excpet Hayden Harsanyi had returned from harm by early November, and now the Tigers had entry to their full roster.

Simply as issues started to be trending up, Harrison Meneghin obtained injured in mid-November and wound up being sidelined for almost two months.

That created a possibility for rookie netminder Jordan Switzer to earn his preserve within the WHL.

The rookie and native of Edmonton, AB, definitely did that.

“When you lose Meneghin, you know you’re in trouble.”

Over the 7 weeks that Meneghin was out, the Tigers went 11-5-2 whereas taking part in a few of their greatest hockey of the season.

“Switzer was unbelievable when he came in. He exceeded all expectations. If he doesn’t play great, we’re in big trouble.”

It was no coincidence that this got here with their starter out, and the adversity had introduced the workforce nearer.

The workforce knew they couldn’t proceed to play the way in which they’d been taking part in with Meneghin out, in the event that they nonetheless needed to contend for the division and convention.

With no option to realize it on the time, this was an indication of what was to return after the Christmas break.

Starting the second half of the WHL season nonetheless with out Harrison Meneghin, and absent Gavin McKenna and Veeti Vaisanen, who had been away competing on the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, there was no cause to anticipate a blazing begin to the second half for the Tigers.

However that’s precisely what occurred.

The Tigers opened with a 4-0 shutout victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the primary of Jordan Switzer’s younger WHL profession, however the win got here at a worth.

Within the dying minutes of the sport, star ahead Andrew Basha would limp off the ice with an harm that may seemingly finish his season, a significant blow to a Tiger workforce that had been bitten by the harm bug all season.

“We won lots of games that I didn’t think we’d win. There were situations where I didn’t think we’d be able to find a way, and the guys did. It was incredible.”

Medication Hat would win two of their subsequent 4 earlier than McKenna and Vaisanen returned from Ottawa, however they didn’t return alone.

Lengthy-time Saskatoon Blades Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii had been with them, acquired in a blockbuster deal forward of the WHL Commerce deadline.

The commerce was an indication of perception from Willie Desjardins that this Tiger workforce had what it takes to turn out to be WHL champions.

It’s protected to say he was proper.

Holding a report of 21-15-2-0 previous to the commerce, the Medication Hat Tigers would end the common season a staggering 26-2-1-1, en path to a convention and division title.

Regardless of the gaudy report, their path was not as easy because it appeared, and it was arduous on Desjardins.

“We were 21-15 and I thought we’d be 30-6. That’s a big difference, and I felt totally responsible.”

“I wanted to win for our fans, I wanted to win for our organization and we weren’t winning and I felt it was all my fault that that wasn’t happening,” quipped Desjardins.

Following the Molendyk and Volotovskii acquisitions, the Tigers would run off a season-high 12-straight wins, earlier than it got here to an abrupt halt to conclude their U.S. division highway journey, the place they misplaced 4-3 in a shootout to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Extra importantly, in that sport, they misplaced defenseman Bryce Pickford for seven weeks because of harm.

Two weeks after the Pickford harm, his blue-line accomplice Jonas Woo can be sidelined with the same harm because the Tigers had been out two of their high defenseman heading into the home-stretch of the common season, with the convention and division nonetheless in limbo.

Accustomed to all these setbacks, the Tigers’ depth was unfazed.

Lengthy-time ahead Marcus Pacheco slid again to protection, the place he shined, incomes the nickname ‘Marcus Makar’ contained in the Tiger locker room.

Pacheco picked up a career-high five-game level streak and personified the selflessness that had made this workforce so profitable because the Christmas break.

Regardless of the accidents to Basha, Pickford, and Woo the Tigers continued to search out methods to win.

“They just didn’t lose, they just kept finding ways.”

“Either the powerplay did it for us, or the penalty kill was unbelievable and shut teams down like it was just different groups – our great goaltending or our D (defense),” talked about Desjardins.

With ten video games left within the common season, the Tigers managed their very own future.

In the event that they received out, they’d win the division and convention and declare the highest seed within the Jap Convention coming into the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

“It was just one game at a time. Nobody looked and said we had to win ten. We knew we had to win, we didn’t know how many, but it was like okay, tonight we gotta go out and try to win.”

That, after all, is less complicated mentioned than performed.

Two video games in, the Tigers had dealt with enterprise to date, however would face much more adversity, shedding famous person ahead Gavin McKenna for 3 video games because of suspension.

Regardless of being with out McKenna, the Tigers would win the next three video games by a mixed rating of 12-2, with two of the wins being shutouts.

The ‘Cats would go on to win their next four, setting up a game for the division and conference title in Calgary to conclude the regular season.

“That’s unimaginable, we made that run with that group, as a result of we had huge items out of our lineup.”

The Tigers would go on to deal with enterprise, with a powerful 5-2 win.

The win was highlighted by the stellar play of Harrison Meneghin, who made 35 saves within the assertion win.

Meneghin and the Tigers would rejoice on the ice, however as they stepped down the tunnel, the celebration turned to sorrow.

Put up-game, the Tigers and Meneghin had been knowledgeable of the passing of Harrison’s father.

A devastating blow to Harrison and, in flip, the whole Tiger group.

The circumstance was one thing Desjardins had by no means skilled earlier than in his teaching profession.

“I’ve never handled anything like that.”

“There’s no right way to handle any of that stuff.”

What ought to have been a celebratory bus journey again to Medication Hat was eerily silent, because the Tigers, a self-described household, mourned for one in all their very own.

The tragedy would flip right into a rallying level for the workforce and metropolis, starting the playoffs, with the adage “Do it for Harry” being uttered by all who donned the orange and black.

In a exceptional show of resiliency and braveness, Meneghin made it again to Medication Hat for the opening sport of the playoffs in opposition to the Swift Current Broncos.

“I asked him if he thought he was ready, he said he thought he was ready.”

The almost 5500 in attendance inside Co-op Place for Game 1 had been handled to one of the crucial highly effective moments in Medication Hat Tigers historical past.

Placing apart the pop that got here from the group when Meneghin was launched within the beginning lineup, the outcome was much more highly effective.

Meneghin turned apart all 21 pictures he confronted, recording his first profession playoff win, and shutout simply 5 days faraway from the passing of his father, Derek, a second that tugged on the heartstrings of the whole hockey world.

“For him to come in and get a shutout was pretty amazing and pretty special for our whole group,” mentioned Desjardins.

Regardless of the continued mourning course of, there was nonetheless hockey to be performed, and the Tigers continued to place their greatest foot ahead.

They might endure an early setback, dropping Game 3 of the opening spherical to Swift Present, establishing a pivotal Game 4, with an opportunity to take a 3-1 collection lead again to Medication Hat.

Recreation 4 would head to additional time with the collection hanging within the steadiness.

Hunter St. Martin would silence the Swift Present devoted, rifling residence the additional time winner early into additional time, securing the Tigers a 3-1 stranglehold lead within the collection.

The Tigers would go on to wrap that collection up in 5, earlier than they swept the Prince Albert Raiders within the second spherical, establishing an Jap Convention Finals matchup with their Freeway 3 rival, the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Tigers dominated the opening two video games of the collection, profitable by a mixed rating of 12-4.

Game 3 in Lethbridge can be a lot completely different.

The Tigers discovered themselves trailing 3-0 via a interval, and 4-1 almost midway via the sport.

Regardless of that, the Tigers would rally to drive additional time, the place their captain Oasiz Wiesblatt would win it for the Tigers, securing a 3-0 collection lead.

“We have enough offence that we know if we get a chance, we can score, and we just happened to capitalize.”

The Tigers would grit via Recreation 4, rising with a 5-3 win, securing their spot within the WHL Finals for the primary time since 2007.

Medication Hat would win the opening sport of the finals 4-1, however fell 6-2 in Recreation 2 because the collection shifted again to Spokane.

“People don’t realize after Game 2 we were down. We didn’t have a good Game 2. We thought we were going to have a good Game 2, we didn’t play great, we were kind of second-guessing things a bit.”

However because the Tigers headed out of Co-op Place to Spokane, they had been greeted by hundreds of Medication Hat followers who lined the streets to see the workforce off.

The neighborhood help had an enormous impression on the morale of the workforce.

“All of a sudden, they got all the people to send us off, everyone is so excited. It made us go ‘Hey!’, we owe it to our community to play the best we can.”

In Recreation 3, the Tigers did simply that, shutting out the Chiefs 6-0 to retake the collection lead.

“That was an amazing win.”

“We were missing guys and we were beat up, so for us to come up with a win there, it really set them on their heels.”

Game 4 was a tighter affair however Spokane obtained into penalty bother that allowed an opportunistic Tigers workforce to capitalize.

“They take a major, and we capitalize to go 3/4 on the powerplay and we win that one, then it’s one game left and we gotta win it”

The Tigers would win that final game, securing their first WHL championship since 2007.

Now one win away from claiming a Memorial Cup title for the primary time since 1988, Desjdarinds says that win or lose, he’s happy with what the group has achieved.

“I’m proud of the group because they fight for each other.”

The Tigers have one last sport to combat for each other, and it’s for probably the most prestigious trophy in all of Canadian junior hockey.

Puck drop for the Memorial Cup final is about for five p.m. MST and you may catch the pre-game present, together with my complete chat with Tigers Head Coach and Basic Supervisor Willie Desjardins, starting at 4:45 p.m. on Wild 94.5 FM.