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A week ago it was the @thewhl playoffs. Now I am selling these on the street. Tough one. pic.twitter.com/wVGUe5smQ3
— Steve Hamilton (@hamilton_steve) April 9, 2015
———The Medicine Hat Tigers aren’t much for bragging, but what they have accomplished of late is worth examining.
At the turn of the century, the Tigers were — let’s be honest — a mess.
In four straight seasons (1993-97), the Tigers won 29, 33, 38 and 30 games, enough to get them into the
playoffs each season. But in those playoffs, they went 2-15 and were first-round losers each time.But that was nothing compared to what awaited them.
You may recall that the Tigers missed the playoffs in each of the next five seasons (1997-2002), winning 16, 15, 21, 24 and 30 regular-season games.
Obviously, though, management used that time to settle on a plan, put it into action, and see it through. The right people were hired and put into place and allowed to do whatever it is that they do best.
The results have been terrific.
The Tigers are in the playoffs now for a 13th straight season. In those 13 springs, they have left in the first round on only one occasion — in 2008, after going 43-22-7, they were bounced in five games by the Kootenay Ice. That was hardly an upset, though, as the Central Division featured four teams with more than 90 regular-season points. The Calgary Hitmen finished first, with 47 victories and 99 points, followed by the Lethbridge Hurricane (45 and 96), Medicine Hat (43 and 93) and Kootenay (42 and 92).
Six times in those 13 seasons, the Tigers have gone out in the second round. They have lost the Eastern Conference final on three occasions. Twice, in 2004 and 2007, the Tigers won the WHL championship.
On Friday, they will be at home as they open a second-round series with the Hitmen.
Since shaking off the black cloud, the Tigers have come to be known as a team that plays the game the right way. They love to deploy a fleet of small, skilled forwards who love nothing more than to forecheck an opponent into submission. They employ defencemen with size who can move the puck. And for three seasons now their last line of defence has been Czech goaltender Marek Langhamer. If the CHL doesn’t come to its senses and drop the embargo, Langhamer is destined to be the answer to a trivia question — who was the last European goaltender to play in the WHL?
Still, no matter what happens over the rest of these WHL playoffs, it is obvious that Medicine Hat, which will vacate the Arena and move into the new Regional Event Centre in time for next season, has become one of the WHL’s model franchises.
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It isn’t as easy as one might think to get at least into the second round of the WHL playoffs with any kind of regularity. With the Medicine Hat Tigers in the playoffs for a 13th straight season and into the second round for a seventh straight spring, here’s a look at the 22 teams and their active streaks (consecutive seasons in playoffs, followed by consecutive seasons into at least the second round):
Brandon, 2 and 2.
Calgary, 4 and 1.
Edmonton, 5 and 0.
Everett, 12 and 1.
Kamloops, 0 and 0.
Kelowna, 8 and 3.
Kootenay, 17 and 0.
Lethbridge, 0 and 0.
Medicine Hat, 13 and 7.
Moose Jaw, 0 and 0.
Portland, 6 and 6.
Prince Albert, 0 and 0.
Prince George, 1 and 0.
Red Deer, 1 and 0.
Regina, 2 and 1.
Saskatoon, 0 and 0.
Seattle, 3 and 0.
Spokane, 9 and 0.
Swift Current, 3 and 0.
Tri-City, 12 and 0.
Vancouver, 0 and 0.
Victoria, 6 and 2.
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F Liam Stewart of the Spokane Chiefs has a shoulder injury so won’t play for Great Britain in the IIHF Division I Group B World champoinship in Eindhoven, Netherlands. That tournament runs from April 13-19. . . . Great Britain has added F Craig Peacock of the Belfast Giants to fill the spot meant for Stewart, 20. “Liam is so disappointed not to be coming but he has picked up a shoulder injury,” Pete Russell, Great Britain’s head coach, is quoted as saying at icehockeyuk.co.uk. “He has just had a really intense playoff series, including (Tuesday) night’s game which went to triple overtime, and his injury means he will not be able to travel. It is a shame for the lad but I am sure his time will come again in the future.”
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Three players from the Kootenay Ice were reassigned by NHL teams on Tuesday, two days after the team’s season ended. . . . F Sam Reinhart is off to the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo
Sabres. Reinhart, the second overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, opened the season by playing nine games with Buffalo. He went on to help Canada win the 2015 World Junior Championship. In 47 regular-season games with the Ice, he had 65 points, including 19 goals. . . . F Tim Bozon was sent by the Montreal Canadiens to their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Bozon, who has used up his junior eligibility, was a third-round pick by the Canadiens in the 2012 NHL draft and he has signed with Montreal. This season, Bozon had 63 points, including 35 goals, in 57 regular-season games. . . . D Rinat Valiev will join the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Valiet, who turns 20 on May 11, was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. He had 46 points, nine of them goals, in 52 regular-season games with the Ice this season. He also played for Russia at the 2015 World Junior Championship. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau of the Ice, who was fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 2014 draft, is joining the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He has yet to sign with the Blues. This season he had 81 points, 34 of them goals, in 70 games this season.——
A CHL team filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. Yes, it was the team for which the highly touted Connor
McDavid plays.“The Erie Otters filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, a move owner Sherry Bassin insisted would not affect the Ontario Hockey League team's immediate future,” wrote Stephen Whyno of The Canadian Press. “Bassin said Erie Hockey Club Limited filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a way to prevent Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz's Ontario Major Junior Hockey Corporation from holding its own private sale of the Otters and their assets. Bassin still plans to sell the team and pay off creditors, including Katz, but said filing was necessary to protect the organization.”
Whyno’s story is right here.
The Otters open a second-round series tonight against the London Knights. That series features McDavid against the Knights’ Max Domi. Should be a good one.———
D Kyle Burroughs of the Medicine Hat Tigers has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Burroughs, 19, was a seventh-round pick by the Islanders in the NHL’s 2013 draft. The Tigers acquired him from the Regina Pats in January. He finished the regular-season with 39 points, including seven goals, in 66 games. . . .
F Brandon Baddock of the Edmonton Oil Kings has signed an ATO with the Albany Devils, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Baddock, who turned 20 on March 29, had 40 points, 19 of them goals, in 71 games with the Oil Kings this season. He was a sixth-round pick by the Devils in the 2014 NHL draft, but has yet to sign with them. . . .
The AJHL’s Canmore Eagles have hired Barry Sawchuk as their head scout. Andrew Milne, the Eagle’s general manager, made the announcement earlier this week. Sawchuk, who spent the past two seasons has the head scout for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats, takes over from Jason Rycroft. Rycroft has been named the Eagles’ executive assistant responsible for player development. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels are poised to announce the signing of F Austin Pratt, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard) tweeted Wednesday that Pratt “will be here Friday from Minnesota to sign with the club.” . . . The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Pratt is from Lakeville, Minn. The Rebels drafted him after he played for the bantam Tier 1 at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. This season, he put up 52 points, including 20 goals, in 55 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s U-16 midget team.
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@sunayas Kevin Constantine's full-page diving rant: $0
— Scott Sepich (@SSepich) April 8, 2015
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In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny, in his 100th WHL regular-season appearance, stopped 32 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Papirny has six career shutouts, five of them this season. . . . F Rihards Bukarts’ 26th goal, at 15:58 of the second period, stood up as the winner. Bukarts scored twice. . . . D Eric Roy, F John Quenneville and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley’s point streak now is at 17 games. He has 36 points, including 24 assists, during that stretch. . . . D Ivan Provorov returned to Brandon’s lineup after a six-game injury-related absence. He scored his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . The game marked the last time, barring a playoff meeting, that the three Quenneville brothers will play in the same WHL game. John, 18, and Peter, 20, who had one assist, play for the Wheaties; David, 16, is a defenceman with the Tigers. . . . G Logan Thompson returned from a case of pink eye to back up Papirny. G Alex Moodie remains out with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings (45-10-6), who won the season series 4-0-0, have won two in a row. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Cameron Hebig and F Brett Stovin each scored twice as the Blades dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 6-2. . . . Hebig, who also had an assist, has 16 goals; Stovin has 27. . . . Blades F Nick Zajac had two assists. . . . The Blades led 2-0 at 7:11 of the first period and were ahead 3-1 and 6-1 at the intermissions. . . . F Colby Cave got his 29th goal for the Broncos, while F Jake DeBrusk had two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 46 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-3. . . . The Blades (18-39-4) snapped a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). . . . The Broncos (30-26-5) had won their previous three games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Edmonton, D Haydn Fleury broke a 1-1 tie at 6:41 of the third period as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 2-1. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 20th goal at 9:09 of the second period, on a PP. . . . Red Deer F Adam Musil tied it with his 12th goal, at 5:19 of the third, on a PP. Fleury drew the primary assist. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 40 shots, 19 more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels remain without F Conner Bleackley, their captain. Brent Sutter, the Rebels' GM and head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate that Bleackley may be out up to three more weeks. . . . Red Deer (31-20-9) had lost its previous two games. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 27-28-6. . . . 
In Portland, D Jake Bean scored at 1:36 of OT as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . Bean’s sixth goal won it after the Winterhawks had a chance to win it on a late PP. . . . (There was post-game chatter that Calgary F Elliott Peterson may have re-directed Bean’s point shot). . . . The Hitmen trailed 2-0 at 15:51 of the first period and 4-1 early in the second. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen scored his 18th goal at 15:08 of the second and D Ben Thomas got his sixth at 17:53. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen forced OT with his 19th goal, shorthanded, at 12:17 of the third period. . . . F Chase Lang had two assists for Calgary, including the only one on the winner. . . . Helgesen also had an assist, as did Virtanen. . . . F Adam Tambellini scored his 42nd goal for Calgary. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists. He now is tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead, with 46. He also has at least a goal in 10 straight games, one shy of the Portland franchise record. The WHL record (18) was set by F Cliff Ronning of the New Westminster Bruins in 1984-85. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm and F Nic Petan each had two assists, while F Chase De Leo got his 30th goal. . . . The game featured two goaltenders who were traded for each other in January — Evan Johnson was making just his second appearance for Portland; Brendan Burke made his 11th appearance with Calgary. . . . On this night, Burke left in the second period after giving up four goals on 22 shots. Mack Shields came on to stop all 22 shots he faced. . . . Johnson stopped 33 shots. . . . Portland was 2-for-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary (38-18-5) is 4-0-0 on an 11-game road swing. The Hitmen have won six in a row and 15 of 16. . . . Portland (36-20-5) is 5-0-2 in its last seven. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . F Austin Carroll, with his 35th, and F Greg Chase, with No. 18, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . D Madison Bowey got the Rockets on the board with his 15th at 5:57 of the second and F Chase Braid tied it with his 11th, via the PP, at 15:07. . . . F Leon Draisaitl gave Kelowna its first lead, with his 12th, at 13:22 of the third. . . . Rockets F Tyson Baillie iced it with his 35th goal, shorthanded, at 15:57. . . . F Cole Linaker had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-7. . . . F Rourke Chartier, who is tied for the WHL’s goal-scoring lead, was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . Kelowna (47-10-4) had split two games in Victoria last weekend. . . . The Royals are 33-24-4. . . . 
In Spokane, F Calder Brooks scored twice and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Nikita Scherbak gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:55 of the second period. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Brooks tied it with 17.6 seconds left in the period and then gave the Chiefs the lead at 7:09 of the third, on a PP. He’s got 18 goals. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka iced it with his 32nd, an empty-netter, at 19:58. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 23 shots, seven fewer than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . The Chiefs (28-27-4) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Silvertips slipped to 37-18-7.
In Prince Albert, D Sawyer Lange had a goal and three assists as the Raiders bounced the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The game was the first for the Raiders under head coach Marc Habscheid, whose signing was announced earlier in the day. . . . Lange has 16 points, three of them goals, in 17 games. He also has 100 regular-season points in 216 games. . . . F Craig Leverton added a goal, his ninth, and two assists for the Raiders, who scored the game's last four goals. . . . D Thomas Andrlik broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game at 15:36 of the second period. . . . Saskatoon F Alex Forsberg scored his eighth goal. . . . Blades G Alex Moodie kicked out 43 shots. . . . 
In Everett, G Austin Lotz stopped 21 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lotz has one shutout this season and seven in his career. . . . The Silvertips (10-1-3) have won four in a row. . . . Everett scored once in each period, with F Ivan Nikolishin getting the winner, his fifth goal of the season, at 15:11 of the first. . . . D Cole MacDonald had a goal, his fifth, and an assist, while Kevin Davis, his defence partner, had two assists. . . . Davis has 12 points, including 10 assists, in 14 games. Last season, in 65 games, he had a goal and eight assists. . . . The Silvertips, the WHL's least-penalized team, didn't take any penalties in this one, the first time that has happened in franchise history. . . . At the same time, Everett has at least one PP goal in 13 straight games. . . . Edmonton F Mads Eller was back in the lineup after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . . D Mirco Mueller, who spent the past two seasons with Everett, played his 10th NHL game with the San Jose Sharks last night, meaning the first year of his three-year contract kicks in. Mueller, 19, was the 18th overall selection in the NHL's 2013 draft. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., G Cody Porter stopped 38 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Porter, a 17-year-old from North Vancouver, earned his first victory and first shutout in his fourth appearance. . . . F Alex Baer scored the game's lone goal, his sixth, on a PP at 12:46 of the third period. . . . It was the Giants' first road victory of the season. It came in their seventh game away from home. . . . Thunderbirds D Evan Wardley returned to the lineup, having served a seven-game WHL suspension. . . . Before the game, the Thunderbirds released G Logan Flodell, 17, from their roster. Flodell, who made one appearance with Seattle, is expected to join the SJHL's Nipawin Hawks. Flodell, from Regina, was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . That leaves the Thunderbirds with Taran Kozan, 20, and Danny Mumaugh, 18, as their goaltenders. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner scored at 2:58 of OT to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . It was Portland's first home victory in eight tries this season. . . . F Ethan Price scored his first goal at 11:35 of the third period to give the Winterhawks a 2-1 lead. . . . Kelowna D Devante Stephens got his first goal at 12:59 to pull the Rockets even. . . . F Rourke Chartier scored his 12th goal for Kelowna in the first period. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had opened the scoring at 5:35 with his 10th goal, and his third shorthanded score of the season. . . . Portland G Michael Bullion stopped 31 shots in his first WHL start. . . . The Rockets, the CHL's top-ranked team, now are 13-1-1. . . . In searching for offence, the Winterhawks split up what had been their big line of Bjorkstrand with Nic Petan and Chase De Leo. . . . The Winter hawks (6-10-2) lost D Blake Heinrich to a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on Kelowna F Tyson Baillie at 19:14 of the second period. . . . The Rockets had won 5-0 in Portland on Thursday night. . . . The Winterhawks are at home to the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight. The Oil Kings, the defending Memorial Cup champions, beat the Winterhawks in seven games in last season's WHL championship series. . . . That was the third straight WHL final to feature these two teams. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, D Spenser Jensen drew two assists to help the Warriors snap a five-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Kolten Olynek, with his second goal of the season, opened the scoring shorthanded at 4:07 of the first. . . . F Jack Rodewald, with his eighth, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at 14:38 of the second. He also had an assist. . . . Calgary F Radel Fazleev, with his fifth, got the Hitmen to within one at 17:10 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 20 shots, eight fewer than Mack Shields of Calgary. . . . The Hitmen have lost four in a row. . . . Moose Jaw was playing its sixth game in nine nights. . . .
In Regina, the Pats got shootout goals from F Morgan Klimchuk and F Connor Gay to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . Klimchuk, with his fourth goal of the season, opened the scoring at 15:33 of the first period. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave, with his fourth, via the PP, pulled the Broncos even at 6:49 of the second. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 43 shots through OT. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made 29 saves. . . . The Pats were without F Dryden Hunt, who drew a 'tba' suspension for a high hit on Saskatoon Blades D Adam Henry on Friday night. . . . 
In Prince George, the Cougars scored three first-period goals and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . They'll play again this afternoon in Prince George. . . . Cougars D Mark McNulty broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal of the season at 17:49 of the first period. . . . McNulty also had an assist. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 23 shots. . . . D Ryan Rehill scored for Kamloops at 15:16 of the first. . . . Prior to the game, the Cougars named D Sam Ruopp as the 22nd captain in franchise history. . . .The Blazers were without F Cole Ully (flu), their leading scorer, for a second straight game. . . .
In Victoria, F Axel Blomqvist scored twice to help the Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Blomqvist, who has seven goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:05 of the second period and made it 3-2 on the PP at 2:52 of the third. . . . The Americans have lost four in a row. . . . The teams meet in Victoria again this afternoon. When that game ends, the Americans already will have played 11 of their scheduled 36 road games. . . . Tri-City is without F Justin Gutierrez, who is out with an undisclosed injury. He didn't make the trip to Victoria. 
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