Tigers close out grueling stretch with loss to Broncos

The Medicine Hat Tigers held their own against the Canadian Hockey League’s No. 2 Swift Current Broncos on Saturday at the Credit Union i-plex, but they couldn’t solve Logan Flodell.

The 20-year-old Broncos netminder turned aside all 38 shots he faced while his team’s top line continued to wreak havoc on the WHL in a 4-0 victory.

Swift’s line of Glenn Gawdin, Aleksi Heponiemi and Tyler Steenbergen has been near unstoppable through the first month of the season, and Saturday was no exception. The trio combined for a staggering 92 points in just 12 games entering their first matchup against the Tigers this year, then they added seven more at Medicine Hat’s expense.

While the Tigers outchanced Swift Current through the opening frame, Gawdin stole away the early momentum with a shorthanded breakaway goal. Broncos blueliner Artyom Minulun followed it up with his third of the year four minutes later, from Gawdin and Steenbergen, then Heponiemi tacked on to leave the Tigers in a three-goal hole through 20 minutes.

Swift Current shifted the pressure in the second, but Tigers goaltender Jordan Hollett settled into the crease and managed to hold the Broncos off the board until the final minute of the frame — when Gawdin struck again for his second goal and fourth point of the night.

The Tigers poured 14 more shots on Flodell in the third but were unable to break through. While Hollett took the loss — dropping the Medicine Hat to 8-6-0-0 on the season — he closed out the night with a scoreless third for a total of 33 saves. Swift Current climbed to 10-2-1-0 with the victory.

The setback caps off Medicine Hat’s grueling stretch of six games in nine days — a 3-30-0 run that concluded with a pair of losses against two of the CHL’s top five squads in Swift Current and the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The Tigers will have five days off before welcoming the Saskatoon Blades (5-7-1-0) to the Canalta Centre on Friday at 7:30 p.m.