TALKING POINTS
That was a fun game to watch.
Medicine Hat has a really good team, and the Tigers have played the same style for as long as I can remember. Medicine Hat always has a bunch of small, fast forwards, and they aren’t just fast of foot, they play a fast game as they’re constantly moving the puck. It makes for very entertaining hockey.
Everett actually outshot the Tigers 31-16, and I thought the Tips played pretty well. But this game sure didn’t feel like that shot differential as Medicine Hat had plenty of the puck.
Medicine Hat’s first line and top two defensive pairs are dynamite. The line of Trevor Cox, Cole Sanford and Steve Owre has so much speed and quickness, and it took a while for the Tips to adjust to that. By the time they did, the Tigers had a 3-0 lead.
Everett nearly got itself back into it (see below), and we got an old-school Kevin Constantine moment as he pulled his goaltender with 5:33 remaining. But the Tips couldn’t turn pressure into goals late, and the empty netter made the final margin deceiving.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 3-0, Everett scored power-play goals 1:21 apart late in the second period to get back within one and grab momentum. All the Tips needed to do was get through the rest of the period without giving up a goal. But Everett couldn’t even get through the next shift. The Tips had chances to clear the defensive zone, but didn’t, and the Tigers made them pay as Cox one-timed a shot from the top of the circle into the top corner, immediately bringing Everett’s momentum to a halt.
THREE STARS
First star: Cox. Three goals and one assist, he was impressive.
Second star: Remi Laurencelle, Everett. Two goals (though the second one may end up being changed), showed plenty of hustle.
Third star: Marek Langhamer, Medicine Hat. 29 saves, he wasn’t on my ballot, but if he had been given the No. 1 star I wouldn’t have argued. He was very good.
The Herald’s honorable mention No. 1: Sanford. One goal (and what should be one assist), was Cox’s running partner.
The Herald’s honorable mention No. 2: Nikita Scherbak, Everett. Two assists, two pipes.
BOX SCORE
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