Tigers clinch Central Division
One year ago the Medicine Hat Tigers were fighting for their playoff lives. Now, with three games left in the regular season, they’ve clinched their first Central Division title since 2007.
For Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston, this pair of facts are closely related. In fact, he believes one wouldn’t have been possible without the other.
“To be 100 per cent honest, I think if not for the struggles with all the injuries and narrowly missing the playoffs for the first time in a whole bunch of years, I don’t think this year turns out the same way,” said Clouston of last season, which ended in a devastating Game 73 tiebreaker loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. “I think those challenges, if you can stay together as a group, definitely make the group tighter and definitely make the team stronger.”
James Hamblin scored twice and Michael Bullion locked up his third shutout in 11 games with a 28-save performance to lock up a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings Saturday night at Rogers Place, while the Calgary Hitmen kept their own playoff hopes alive in a 52 win over the Hurricanes — snuffing out Lethbridge’s bid for the Central crown.
The win puts the Tabbies one point shy of triple-digit territory with a 49-18-1-0 record — that’s a 34-point improvement from last year with three games in hand.
Considering it snapped a 13-year playoff streak, veteran Tigers forward Steven Owre admits the team certainly felt the sting of last season, and took it home with them over the summer months. When they returned, the vast majority had tacked on a considerable amount of muscle while working through the off-season to hone their skills — knowing full well one puck battle could have been the difference between going home and playing a 74th game.
“There was a lot of disappointment with not making the playoffs last year, especially with the streak we had before that. There was a bit of a vengeance to come back this season and really play our game,” said Owre. “We gained a lot of experience over that last year and everyone’s a year older. I think that helps out a bunch.”
Clouston added the cold reality of last season undoubtedly left his players instilled with a desire to leave nothing else to chance. On top of the experience, the frustration and the drive to reach new heights, Clouston says the Tigers have forged their path to success this season by collectively placing any individual accolades aside and focusing solely on creating a championship-calibre team.
“There are other teams that have higher-profile players, there are other teams that more NHL draft picks, more signed players. But I think the one thing about this team is we have, for the most part, learned how to play as a team. To play as a five-man unit, to do it consistently shift-after-shift, period-after-period, game-aftergame, that takes mental toughness. It takes a lot of focus. It takes a major commitment,” he said. “If you let your foot off the gas for more than a few minutes on any night, anybody can beat you. I think it’s that tenaciousness, that consistency that the group has shown as a whole.”
Defenceman David Quenneville agrees the transition has been nothing short of spectacular, and he says the players owe a debt of gratitude to Clouston and their coaching staff for developing a system worth buying into completely.
“From Day 1 we believed. We followed Clouston and he’s done a terrific job with us, and Joe (Frazer) and coach (Bobby) Fox. They’ve all done such a great job,” said Quenneville. “We set our goals, we’ve worked and we’ve developed and we’ve learned from our mistakes all year. So it’s extremely exciting to hit one of those goals and see it all paying off.”
The Tigers last held claim to the Central Division banner in 2007, a year that culminated in Medicine Hat’s fifth WHL championship, and Clouston says there are a few details that the two teams share, particularly depth.
“I think in order to have success at this level you’ve got to have depth and we’ve got that this year,” he said. “Both teams had some very talented players, guys who can really make things tough on teams offensives. Both teams were able to play with a lot of pace to the game, a lot of tempo.”
The Tigers will look to crack the 100-point barrier Tuesday night when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels to the Canalta Centre at 7 p.m.