The Story Coming In The Medicine Hat Tigers have had a busy week playing three games in the last four days and they will finish it off tonight against the first place Edmonton Oil Kings for their last game before the holiday break. The Tigers started the week off in Saskatchewan taking down the Saskatoon Blades 11-3 Tuesday night before defeating the Prince Albert Raiders 8-4 on Wednesday. Last night the Tabbies travelled to Red Deer and fell 6-4 to the Rebels. The Tigers are 22-9-1-0 and they are led by their Captain James Hamblin with 51 points (18G, 33A).

Tigers vs. Oil Kings For the third time this season, the Tigers will battle the Oil Kings. In both previous games, the home team has come out on top. The Oil Kings won the first meeting 4-2 at Rogers Place in October before the Tigers took the second game 5-1 at the Canalta Centre in November. Captain James Hamblin leads the Tigers in points in the series with four (2G, 2A). Over the past five years, the Tabbies are 14-4-2-0 against the Oil Kings and 8-0-2-0 when playing at home. After tonight, the next meeting between these two clubs will be January 19, 2020, in Edmonton.

View from Edmonton The Edmonton Oil Kings hosted the Swift Current Broncos for a pair of games this week and they won both. Wednesday night they defeated the Broncos 3-1 before beating them 5-1 last night. Veteran forward Riley Sawchuk led the way for the Oil Kings in the two games with 4 points (1G, 3A). Sawchuk also leads the Oil Kings in points with 40 (13G, 27A). The Oil Kings are 21-6-5-2 and are first in the league.

Tigers Talent Dylan Plouffe is a smooth skating veteran defenceman who was acquired by the Tigers December 7, 2019, from the Vancouver Giants along with forward Lukas Svejkovsky. Both players have fit in well with the Tigers culture. Plouffe, the 20-year-old Sherwood Park product, is a hard nosed two-way defenceman that plays a tenacious stay at home game.

Captain’s Corner Captain James Hamblin is leading the league in scoring with 51 points (18G, 33A) and in assists with 33. Since being drafted by the Tigers in the first round of the 2014 Bantam Draft, the 20-year-old Edmonton native has suited up for 293 games, scored 97 goals and produced 146 assists. Hamblin is a fierce forechecker who leads the Tigers by example with his hard work ethic and he is able to make an impact at both ends of the ice every evening.

Quick Hits  Four players have picked up a point or more in the Tigers’ last three consecutive games. Rookie forward Cole Sillinger has 10 points (1G, 9A) while veteran forwards James Hamblin and Brett Kemp have 8 points each. (Hamblin – 1G, 7A, Kemp – 5G, 3A). Rounding it out is veteran forward Elijah Brown with 5 points (1G, 4A).  Veteran forward Ryan Chyzowski leads the league in power play goals with 10 with rookie forward Cole Sillinger leads the league in power play assists with 16.  The Tigers’ Power Play is ranked first in the league with 28.4% effectiveness (38/134).  Goaltender Mads Søgaard and forward Jonathan Brinkman are competing for Denmark at the 2020 U20 World Championship Division 1 Group A tournament. Denmark has one overtime win, one overtime loss and two regular losses in the round robin tournament so far. They play their final game on December 15th, 2019, against Belarus.  Tonight’s game is the Wawanesa Toy Drive in support of the Medicine Hat News Santa Claus Fund.

Game Sponsor Wawanesa Insurance is a Canadian mutual company owned by its policyholders. It is one of the largest property and casualty insurers in Canada. Wawanesa is holding a toy drive for the Medicine Hat News Santa Claus Fund and fans are encouraged to bring a new and unwrapped toy to donate at tonight’s game. Wawanesa Insurance is the official home and auto insurance company of the CHL.

CF Industries Community Corner CF Industries is a global leader in transforming natural gas into nitrogen. The chemical processes used ensures they have the nitrogen they need to support life on earth – from fertilizer that feeds the crops that feed the world to products that remove harmful emissions from industrial activities. Medicine Hat News Santa Claus Fund is a charitable organization serving Southeast Alberta. They support children, families, and individuals in need during the holiday season. The organization was established in 1986 by the Medicine Hat News. They saw a need in our community during the holiday season and they wanted to assist. Now, 33 years later, they can say they’ve helped 10,000’s of families in our community.

Montana’s BBQ & Bar Birthday Party Package The Medicine Hat Tigers along with Montana’s BBQ & Bar are excited to introduce Birthday Party Packages this season. There are three different packages that fans can choose from and all packages include two adult tickets and eight child tickets. To inquire about Montana’s BBQ & Bar Birthday Party Packages please call the Tigers Office at 403.526.2666.

About the Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play out of Medicine Hat, AB and were established in 1970. In 49 seasons of playing major junior hockey, the Tigers have won 2 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies, as well as, 212 playoff games which led to winning 43 playoff series, raising 33 banners, winning five Ed Chynoweth Cups and two Memorial Cups.