Tabbies fall in Swift

Jordan Papirny got his revenge on the Medicine Hat Tigers Friday night at the Credit Union iPlex.

The overage goaltender had his Broncos debut spoiled by Medicine Hat on Jan. 13, but bounced back Friday to help take down an ailing Tigers squad, 3-1

“Their goaltender played very well tonight. We definitely had some quality chances,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston. “We hit a crossbar or two in the third period that could have made the game different but we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole.”

Papirny — traded to the Broncos by the Brandon Wheat Kings at the trade deadline — had a 42-save effort. In their previous meeting, the Tigers managed to chase the reigning WHL champion after beating him four times on just nine shots.

“I think he definitely brought his A game. He played well but I don’t think our shooting was quite there,” said Tigers forward Max Gerlach. “I know I had a couple great opportunities I didn’t bury on so I’ve got to be better in that area.”

Aleksi Heponiemi got the ball rolling for Speedy Creek 15 minutes into action, then struck again three minutes later to drop the Tabbies into a two-goal deficit after 20 minutes.

Riley Stotts tacked on to the Bronco lead early in the second period before Mark Rassell finally answered for Medicine Hat with his 27th of the year, but it was all the offence the Tigers would muster on the night.

“I think we got better as the game went on, but I didn’t think our start was quite where we wanted it,” said Clouston. “I’m proud of the fact that we came back and did everything we could, but it’s a bit of a tougher game when you’re chasing and trying to come back, especially when we’re a little bit shorthanded.”

The Tigers were without six regular players Friday, as John Dahlstrom and Jordan Henderson were recently diagnosed with mumps while Zach Fischer and Ryan Chyzowski are awaiting test results, and David Quenneville and Ty Schultz are still sidelined with broken legs. Despite having just one of their regular forward lines intact, they Tabbies still managed to keep the pressure on Swift Current before finally having their fivegame winning streak snapped.

“Everything is a bit scrambley right now with these guys out but it’s not an excuse,” said Gerlach. “We’ve got to make do with what we have and tonight it wasn’t enough.”

Tigers goaltender Michael Bullion was handed the loss despite turning aside 31 Bronco chances, including pulling a pair of pucks off the goal line. The setback puts Bullion at 10-3-0-0 since joining Medicine Hat on Jan. 1, while the Tigers slipped to 41-17-1-0.

“He was solid again,” said Clouston of Bullion. “He made a couple big saves to keep it at three and give us an opportunity to come back in the third. Unfortunately we weren’t able to score any despite having some quality chances.”

The Tigers are back in action Saturday at the Canalta Centre to host the Edmonton Oil Kings.