The Medicine Hat Tigers pulled away with a dominant third period, erupting for four unanswered goals to defeat the visiting Red Deer Rebels 8-4 on Friday night at Co-op Place. The Rebels battled hard and stayed competitive through the first two periods, even briefly closing the gap to a single goal early in the final frame. However, Medicine Hat’s offense proved too much, capitalizing on their momentum to secure the victory and extend their winning streak. Red Deer now sits in eighth position in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings, holding a slim one-point edge over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Rebels will look to bounce back when they welcome the Prince Albert Raiders to town on Saturday night.
Markus Ruck scored his 19th goal of the season to make it a 1-0 game at 5:48 of the third period. The assist on the goal went to Midway, Utah native Schaffer Gordon-Carroll.–Markus Ruck was the lone sniper to beat the goalie in the opening frame. Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll threaded a slick feed from behind the net, and Ruck wasted no time—one-timing it top shelf from close range, bar down. That’s his 19th of the year, giving the Tigers the early lead at 5:48
Shots on goal in the first period were 12-10 for the Tigers
Irvine, California native Noah Davidson makes it a 2-0 game for the Tigers at 6:07 of the second period with the assist on the goal going to former Calgary Canuck Carter Cunningham.–Fresh off being honored as the Labels Player of the Month right before puck drop on Friday, Noah Davidson kept the hot streak rolling with his 27th goal of the season, pushing the Tigers ahead by two. Carter Cunningham spotted Davidson blazing down the wing and fired a perfect cross-ice feed that hit him right in stride. With a step on the Rebels’ defender, Davidson made no mistake on the breakaway, burying it at 6:07 to make it 2-0.
Kohen Lodge gets the Rebels on the board at 6:40 of the second period. The assist on the goal went to Matej Mikes.–The Rebels answered right back to cut into the lead—Aleksey Chichkin ripped a shot toward the net, and Kohen Lodge got a perfect tip on it, redirecting the puck past Carter Casey to put Red Deer on the scoreboard.
Boston College commit Noah Davidson gets his second goal of the night and 28th of the season to make it a 3-1 game for the Tigers at 12:30 of the second period. The helpers on the goal went to Kade Stengrim and Carter Cunningham.–Noah Davidson restored the two goal lead he created earlier with his second of the night and 28th of the season. Davidson jumped on a loose puck from a Kade Stengrim rebound and whipped around quickly to fire a wrist shot and make it 3-1 Tigers.
Poul Andersen got the Rebels back within one at 13:10 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Beckett Hamilton and Cole Temple.–Poul Andersen pulled the Rebels close again, finishing a stretch pass from Beckett Hamilton to make it 3-2.
Andrew Basha makes it a 4-2 game for the Tigers at 17:11 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Liam and Markus Ruck.–The Tigers were able to tally one more goal before the end of their busy second period as Andrew Basha connected with the Ruck brothers for his 14th of the season. Basha leaned into a rocket of a wrist shot from the high slot to put the Tigers up by two once again at 17:11.
Shots on goal in the second period were 20-8 for the Tigers
Jiri Kamas got the Rebels on the board just 17 seconds into the third period. The assists on the goal went to Cole Temple and Poul Andersen–The Rebels came roaring out of the gates in the third period— just 17 seconds in, Jiri Kamas blasted a shot from the point right off the draw, and it somehow snuck through to beat Carter Casey for his first goal in a Red Deer uniform.
Veeti Vaisanen gets his 5th goal of the season to make it a 5-3 game for the Tigers at 1:35 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Andrew Basha.
Former Spokane Chief Cam Parr made it a 6-3 game for the Tigers at 2:37 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Kadon McCann and Ethan Neutens.
Montreal Canadiens 2025 third rounder Bryce Pickford made it a 7-3 game for the Tigers at 5:08 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Jonas Woo and Andrew Basha.
Brainerd, Minnesota native Kade Stengrim makes it an 8-3 game for the Tigers at 16:51 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo.
Kalder Varga got one for the Rebels to cut the game down to 8-4 at 18:24 of the third period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Beckett Hamilton and Cole Temple.–Late game effort saw the Rebels powerplay click as Kalder Varga deflected Beckett Hamilton’s shot from the point, closing out the scoring 8-4.
Shots on goal in the third period were 10 each. The Tigers outshot the Rebels 42-28 in the game.
University of Minnesota commit Carter Casey stopped 24 of the 28 shots that he faced for the win for the Tigers. For the Rebels Peyton Shore stopped 29 of the 36 shots that he faced, until being replaced early in the third period by Matthew Kondro. Kondro went in and made 5 stops on the 6 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Noah Davidson 2) Andrew Basha 3) Kade Stengrim
Attendance in Medicine Hat was 4123
Rebels next game is Saturday March 7th in Red Deer against the Prince Albert Raiders
