Suiting up
Tigers raise nearly $50,000 for Kidney Foundation with themed jerseys in win over Rebels
Medicine Hat Tigers Gary Haden, Jaeger White and Henry Rybinski head back to the bench following Haden's opening goal in Saturday's Western Hockey League game against the Red Deer Rebels at the Canalta Centre. The Tigers wore themed uniforms for the first time in team history for “WHL’s Suits Up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation.” For more Tigers coverage, see
The Medicine Hat Tigers were dressed for success on Saturday night at the Canalta Centre.
Decked out in dapper orange plaid for the Western Hockey League Suits Up with Don Cherry promotion, Ryan Jevne and Gary Haden each potted a pair to lead the Tabbies to a resounding 6-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels.
“To give someone a second chance in life is awesome and I think that inspired us to really go hard,” said Haden. “It was a really cool atmosphere to be a part of.”
The evening was focused on promoting organ donation and raising money for the local Kidney Foundation. Medicine Hat auctioned off their gameworn jerseys from the evening, with captain Mark Rassell’s going for highest value in the live auction at $4,600. The jersey auctions brought in a total of $49,735 for the Kidney Foundation.
“It was a really fun night. I thought the jerseys and the pre-game kind of set the tone. I think it’s a great cause and the community kind of rallied around it,” said Tigers coach Shaun Clouston. “We were ready to go and played hard all night.”
Haden added some bragging rights came with auction results, especially when considering his jersey went for $2,800 — $900 more than all-time franchise defensive scoring leader David Quenneville’s.
“For sure he’s going to hear about that,” said Haden, adding his grandmother purchased his jersey. “The same grandma that bought 100 tickets for the Calgary game. She’s always been there for me and she’s very supportive.”
The stands were packed to watch the Tigers hit the ice in themed jerseys for the first time in the franchise’s history, and Haden used the energy they brought to the building by pouncing on a rebound just over two minutes into action and beating Riley Lamb for the early lead.
Medicine Hat kept the pedal down and peppered Lamb with 18 shots in the opening period. While they were unable to get another puck past the Rebel netminder in the first, the floodgates opened up in the middle frame.
Hayden Ostir kicked off the secondperiod surge by sneaking a wrist shot through Lamb in Ostir’s second game back after missing 32 contests with a hand injury. While the Tabbies were forced back onto their heels when David Quenneville was nabbed for high sticking midway through the frame, Jevne took it upon himself to triple up on the lead with a shorthanded breakaway goal, then Haden tacked on two minutes later to bring the crowd of 3,920 to their feet and chase Lamb from the crease in favour of Ethan Anders.
“It was awesome. It was a great game and it was for a real good cause. I was just happy to be back for it,” said Ostir. “Coming into this game I just took the same approach to work as hard as I can.”
Red Deer finally mustered a response in the dying minutes of the middle frame when Hunter Donohoe beat Tigers goaltender Michael Bullion from the point, but Medicine Hat’s offence went back to work in the third.
The Rebels attempted to generate some momentum in the final frame, but Bullion kept the lead intact with three stops in the period — including a glove save on a Kristian Reichel breakaway.
James Hamblin and Jevne put the game away by striking for a pair of goals just five seconds apart in the final two minutes of regulation.
Bullion turned aside a total of 17 shots to lock up the win push the Tigers to a 33-24-8-0. Anders made 22 saves in relief of Lamb, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 29 shots. Red Deer fell to 24-29-10-3 with the loss.
The evening also featured the return of Tigers defenceman Linus Nassen, who logged an assist on Ostir’s goal after missing 26 games with a wrist injury.
“It was a really good game to come back to,” said Nassen. “(Trevor) Longo asked me if I could come back Sunday instead of Saturday because the jerseys are so unreal.”