Tigers strike late to defeat Rimouski 5-4 in Memorial Cup opener
The Medicine Hat Tigers struck first at the Memorial Cup, defeating the Rimouski Oceanic 5-4 Friday night.
Hunter St. Martin scored late in the third to provide the margin of victory.
Ryder Ritchie opened the scoring for the Tigers a little more than halfway through the first period.
Alexandre Blais scored late in the first to tie it at a goal apiece.
Midway through the middle frame, Mael St-Denis scored to take a 2-1 lead before Bryce Pickford scored late to tie it up.
Pickford has set a CHL record (modern era) for defencemen, scoring goals in in nine straight games.
Jacob Mathieu tipped in a shot to give Rimouski a 3-2 lead, but Pickford scored again to tie it at three apiece.
Gavin McKenna scored in the third to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead, but Rimouski got a power play goal from Jonathan Fauchon scored to tie it up again.
That set the stage for St. Martin, who tipped home a centering pass from Tanner Molendyk to give Medicine Hat the win – on the 18th anniversary of their last Memorial Cup win.
Harrison Meneghin stopped 20 shots for Medicine Hat to pick up the victory.
Next up for the Tigers is a Monday matchup with QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
40 minutes ago
- National Post
Summer McIntosh's third gold in Singapore moves her closer to Phelps' record
Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh won her third gold of the Singapore world championships on Thursday in the 200-metre butterfly, coming within two tenths of a second of setting a world record in the event. McIntosh completed the race in 2 minutes, 1.99 seconds, just behind the world mark of 2:01.81 set by Liu Zige of China in 2009. Still, the second-fastest time in history was more than enough to beat Regan Smith of America, who placed second at 2:04.99, and Australia's Elizabeth Dekkers, who was third with 2:06.12. It also moved McIntosh a step closer to match Michael Phelps' record. He is the only swimmer in history to win five individual titles at a single world championships. McIntosh has already won the 400-metre freestyle and the 200-metre individual medley in Singapore. Coincidentally, she announced this year that after Singapore she plans to move to Austin, Texas, to train with Bob Bowman, Phelps' former coach. McIntosh also has a cat named Mikey, in honour of Phelps and his record as the world's most decorated Olympian (28 medals, 23 of them gold). 'I was so close, that's what upsets me a little bit,' McIntosh told CBC after Thursday's race. 'It was so close and I know that last 15 metres I took an extra breath and I should've had my head down.' She added: 'This is definitely going to fuel me for next season, so it leaves a little bit more fuel in the tank and really get closer and closer to that record. If there's one world record that I wanted to break since the start of my career it's this one.' The swimmer, who turns 19 in August, has already been having an amazing summer, even before Singapore. In June she broke two world records in three days at the Canadian swimming trials. McIntosh swam the 200-metre individual medley there in 2 minutes and 5.7 seconds, breaking the previous record of 2:06.12 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszu in 2015. And she completed the 400-metre freestyle in 3:54.18, shaving more than a second off the old record of 3:55.38 set by Ariarne Titmus of Australia. 'I've been knocking on the door on this one,' she told the Associated Press, referring to the 200-metre race. 'I've just tried to chip away, chip away at it. To finally do it, it's kind of like, wow, I've finally got that done.' 'I'm really trying to take it one race at a time,' she added. 'Really kind of cruising the heats and then coming to every final super locked in and focused.' Next up for McIntosh is the 800-metre freestyle Saturday, where she will square off against American legend Katie Ledecky, the world record holder. McIntosh early in her career had a swim cap once worn by Ledecky, who has 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold. If McIntosh takes gold there, Sunday's 400-metre individual medley could offer a chance to match Phelps' record of five. McIntosh, the daughter of another Canadian Olympic swimmer, Jill Horstead, was at 14 the youngest member of the Canadian team selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021. The Toronto native took fourth place in the 400-metre freestyle that year. A year later, in her World Aquatics Championships debut in Budapest, McIntosh won the 200-metre butterfly and the 400-metre individual medley, breaking the world junior record in both. She went on to win six medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham just weeks later, and last year she won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics in her three individual events of the 400 and 200 individual medleys and the 200 butterfly. She also won silver in the 400 free.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Injuries stack up for Riders, Emilus questionable
Injuries stack up for Riders, Emilus questionable WATCH: Despite improving to a best-in-the-west 6 and 1 last week there were some additions the Riders injury report. Jacob Carr explains.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Oil Kings name ex-Oilers captain Smith as head coach
Edmonton Oilers' Jason Smith (21) flips the puck to a teammate past Detroit Red Wings' Valtteri Filppula, left, of Finland, during the second period of their NHL hockey game on Friday, Feb. 23, 2007, in Detroit. A former Oilers captain is the new head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The major-junior Western Hockey League club introduced Jason Smith as its latest bench boss on Thursday morning. Smith played 1,008 games over a 15-season National Hockey League career, parts of eight of them with the Edmonton Oilers. 'I am extremely excited to join one of the elite organizations in the CHL (Canadian major-junior umbrella organization),' Smith said in a media release. 'Edmonton has been home to me before as a player, and I can't wait to get back and be a part of the city again.' Smith replaces Luke Pierce, whose contract the Oil Kings declined to renew in April. Jason Smith Jason Smith as head coach of the WHL's Kelowna Rockets in an undated photo. (Canadian Hockey League) The 51-year-old Calgary native, who went by the nickname 'Gator' during his playing career, served as Oilers captain for five years, including the 2005-06 season, when Edmonton advanced through the NHL playoffs to the Stanley Cup final, losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Smith also played for the New Jersey Devils (the team that drafted him in 1992), the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators before retiring in 2009. He's been in the coaching ranks since 2014, when he worked as an assistant with the Senators. Smith has previous WHL head-coaching experience, serving as bench boss of the Kelowna Rockets for a little more than two seasons and as an associate coach for the Prince George Cougars. He most recently worked as an assistant coach for Philadelphia's minor-league affiliate, the American Hockey League's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the last four seasons. 'Jason is a proven leader and will be a great cultural fit for our staff and players,' Kirt Hill, the Oil Kings' general manager and president, said in the release. 'He brings a wealth of knowledge as not only a coach but through his years of playing experience, and we're excited for this next chapter of Oil Kings hockey.' Smith joins an Oil Kings coaching staff that, besides Pierce, is intact from last season, including Kyle Chipchura as an assistant coach and manager of player development, Devan Praught as an assistant coach, Adam Filmon as video coach and manager of hockey operations, and Smith's former Oilers teammate Ladislav Smid as development coach.
