The Regina Pats dropped a 6-0 decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers on the road Tuesday night at Co-op Place.
The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board, capitalizing on their first shot of the game as defenceman Jonas Woo snuck a shot through traffic that beat Pats goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk 19 seconds into the opening frame. Medicine Hat struck again shortly after, as brothers Liam and Markus Ruck connected on a give-and-go that saw L. Ruck scored his 40th goal of the season at 2:49. After surrendering two goals early, the Pats trailed by two goals after 20 minutes and were outshot 13-6.
In the second, the momentum remained with the Tigers' as they added two more goals to double their lead. For the second time in the game, the Ruck brothers connected, with Markus feeding Liam in the slot for his second goal of the night to give Medicine Hat a 3-0 lead at 2:00. Then, just over nine minutes later, Noah Davidson curled around the Pats' zone before sneaking a backhand through the arm of Tabashniuk to extend the lead to four at 11:44. Both teams had brief power-play opportunities, but neither capitalized as the Tigers outshot the Pats 18-5 in the frame heading into the final 20 minutes.
The trend of early-period goals continued in the third for Medicine Hat, as Carter Cunningham redirected a Tyson Moss point shot at 2:04 to extend Medicine Hat's lead. Just over three minutes later, Cunningham struck again, cleaning up a rebound in the crease to secure his second of the night at 5:38 to make it 6-0 – ending as the final score at Co-op Place. With the result, the Pats moved to 24-30-7-1 on the season. Pats' Tabashniuk stopped 37 of 43 shots he faced. At the other end, Tigers netminder Carter Casey turned aside all 16 shots he faced. The final shots on goal were 43-16 in favour of Medicine Hat. On special teams, both teams went 0-for-2 on the night.
FINAL: Medicine Hat Tigers 6, Regina Pats 0
THE GOALS
First Period
Tigers 1-0 —#18 Jonas Woo (27), assisted by #12 Liam Ruck & #26 Markus Ruck at 0:19
Receiving the puck at the blue line, Woo drove toward the net, faked, then circled back and wired a shot through traffic that beat Tabashniuk to open the scoring at 0:19.
Tigers 2-0 —#12 Liam Ruck (40), assisted by #26 Markus Ruck at 2:49
L. Ruck carried the puck into the Pats’ zone and dropped it to M. Ruck before finishing the give-and-go to double the lead at 2:49.
Second Period
Tigers 3-0 —#12 Liam Ruck (41), assisted by #26 Markus Ruck, & #2 Tyson Moss at 2:00
Picking up the puck in the neutral zone, M. Ruck carried it into the Pats’ zone before feeding L. Ruck in the slot, who found the back of the net at 2:00.
Tigers 4-0 — #39 Noah Davidson (29), assisted by #26 Markus Ruck at 11:44
Carrying the puck out of the left corner, Davidson looped up to the blue line and around the zone before slipping a backhand past Tabashniuk at 11:44.
Third Period
Tigers 5-0 — #17 Carter Cunningham (8), assisted by #2 Tyson Moss, & #11 Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll at 2:04
Holding the puck at the blue line, Moss sent a shot toward the net that redirected off the skate of Cunningham and into the open cage at 2:04.
Tigers 6-0 — #17 Carter Cunningham (9), assisted by #21 Kade Stengrim, & #11 Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll at 5:38
Carroll, streaking towards the Regina net, snapped a shot on goal that created a rebound. Stengrim slid the puck to Cunningham, who tapped it into the open net at 5:38.
Shots on Goal
- Pats: 6 – 5 – 5 — 16
- Tigers: 13 – 18 – 12 — 43
Power Plays
- Pats: 0/2
- Tigers: 0/2
Goaltending
- Pats: Taylor Tabashniuk — 37 saves on 43 shots
- Tigers: Carter Casey — 16 saves on 16 shots
Three Stars
- First Star: #26 Markus Ruck (4A)
- Second Star: #12 Liam Ruck (2G, 1A)
- Third Star: #30 Carter Casey (16 saves)
COMING UP
The Pats wrap up their three-game Alberta road trip on Wednesday, March 11, when they visit the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 7:00 p.m. matchup. Regina then returns home to face the Prince Albert Raiders at the Brandt Centre on Saturday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m., before finishing the weekend in Moose Jaw on Sunday, March 15 with a 2:00 p.m. puck drop against the Warriors.
