No matter who you cheer for, the first team that made you a hockey fan will be special. For me, it’s the Medicine Hat Tigers. As soon as my brother and I were old enough to realize what was happening, my father and our uncle would take us to play with them. Unfortunately, even if we could perceive the hockey game, we mostly chose not to and instead ran around the arena, giving the user who had attacked us panic attacks while trying. to watch the game and two children with a lot of power and a short attention span.
The hockey virus never affected my brother, but it did affect me. Over the years, I’ve become more and more involved in the team, rooting for Darren Helm, Kris Russell and Tyler Ennis. Noticing my budding interest, my father and uncle taught me what to look for, who to pay attention to, and many of the ins and outs of the fantastic game of hockey. They were the ones who gave me my first hockey cards, taught me how to pronounce the names of the stars and gave me the opportunity to talk about the game I was beginning to love.
I continued with the Tigers after my college studies in Saskatchewan, making sure to see Emerson Etem, Tyler Bunz, and Hunter Shinkaruk when they arrived in town. But despite the intervals of several hours, I continued to share my reports with my father. When he came to visit, we would go out to plan that when Medicine Hat was also in town so we could watch a match together. Those are some of my fondest memories of that time: spending time with my dad and talking. on hockey.
After graduating, I stayed in Saskatchewan, which made it difficult to attend matches in combination. Before I knew it, it had been nearly a decade since we last saw a combined game in person, let alone the Tigers. So, after watching the Saskatoon Blades, Regina Pats, and Prince Albert Raiders, I knew I had a very important stadium to cross off my list before going much further in my adventure to see all the Western Hockey League (WHL) teams play. at your level. ice rink of the house.
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If this is the first time you’re reading about my trip, welcome! This is the fourth hurdle I’ve made in my efforts to make stops at all 22 WHL locations. Youth hockey was a huge component in becoming the hockey fan I am today, and I was looking to recapture the excitement of entering an arena for the first time. It’s also my way of giving back to the communities I love and their groups through thick and thin. You can see my first 3 preventatives on The Hockey Writers premium substack, but the long-term episodes will be posted here on the main site. Stay tuned because there will be more to come!
But before we get to the game, let’s take a look at how the Tigers finished in Medicine Hat. History of the Tigers
Like many prairie towns, Medicine Hat’s history is deeply intertwined with the game of hockey. Hockey groups date back to 1901, when the first rink was built, and in the 1930s, William Henry Gray established the city’s first Midget hockey program. probably the first to invent the so-called “Tigers”; The first reference I can locate was from a senior team from 1927-28. It is not an original idea; The Hamilton Football Club’s “Tigers” had existed since 1869 and likely cheered on the NHL’s Hamilton Tigers, who joined the league in 1920. In the West, the Calgary Tigers became one of Alberta’s first professional groups in 1921, winning two league titles in 1923. 24 and 1924-25. The Tigers’ nickname worked for them, so why reinvent the wheel?
While all grades of hockey were played in Medicine Hat, the first competitive youth team arrived in the 1940s and was also called the Tigers. William Gray’s seventh son, Richard, began his playing career with the team and then loaned his talents to the Vancouver Canucks of the Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1945-46. The tough defenseman stayed only one season before returning to Alberta and joining the Lethbridge Maple Leafs, who decided to represent Canada at the 1951 World Hockey Championships in London, which they won. After that, Gray returned to Medicine Hat, where he coached the Tigers, who played in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WJCHL).
However, in the mid-1950s, the Tigers disbanded, most likely due to constant league conversion and poor performances (they never finished above fourth place in the WCJHL). The older Tigers remained, now known as the Blades, but they too clashed. A premature end when its stadium burned down in 1969, filling the city’s skyline with smoke.
That left Medicine Hat without a top-tier hockey team at any point for the first time in decades, and that didn’t sit well with Joe Fisher. Fisher, a minor celebrity, became the first local to sign up for an NHL team and get the Stanley Cup call-up in 1942-43 with the Detroit Red Wings. When his playing career ended in 1949, he returned to his hometown and coached the Tigers for one season before being replaced by Richard Gray. Fisher spearheaded the return of a youth team to Medicine Hat, and when the newly formed WHL finally awarded the city an expansion franchise in 1970-71, he, along with fellow owners George Maser and Rod Carry, continued the rich culture. in town and nicknamed the new team the Tigers.
Related: Medicine Hat’s Top Five Tigers to Make It to the NHL
Since joining the WHL in 1970-71, the Medicine Hat Tigers have been one of the most successful teams in the league, winning five league championships and two Memorial Cups. His first came just two seasons into his life thanks to the dynamic duo of Lanny McDonald and Tom Lysiak. Then, in 1987 and 1988, the Tigers won back-to-back Ed Chynoweth Cups and Memorial Cups, becoming only the third team to accomplish the feat in tournament history, thanks to Trevor’s leadership. Linden. In the last 40 years, only two other groups have joined them. Medicine Hat had to wait about 20 years to win its next league championship, winning it in 2003-04 and again in 2006-07, but neither ended with the Memorial Cup. Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers (Photo credit: Brent Just )
It’s been almost 20 years since their last championship and there have been some very difficult seasons, but there is hope on the horizon thanks to phenom Gavin McKenna, who nearly tied Connor Bedard’s 16-year scoring record, as well as Cayden. Lindstrom, Andrew Basha, Tomas Mrsic, Hayden Harsanyi and 16-year-old twins Liam and Markus Ruck. After all, you can never completely count the Tigers out for long. Not even a burning stadium can stop them from leaving their mark on prairie hockey.
After forty-five years in the same building, the Tigers moved into their new logo facility, the Canalta Center, in 2015. Fans, for one, were slow to welcome the new building; Despite an upgrade from 4,000 to 7,100 seats, the new construction was a far cry from the beloved Medicine Hat Arena, dubbed “the loudest barn in ‘Dub. ” It was out of town, had terrible parking, and lacked the old-school charm that made the old arena such a fun hockey experience. Rising operating prices and delayed ticket sales forced the city to seek a new partner for its stadium, and ahead of the 2021-2022 season, the Canalta Center was officially renamed Co-Op Place. Co- Op Place, Medicine Hat, Alberta (Dayton Reimer, 2024)
I was never given the chance to see a game at the Canalta Center, but I did see several games at the old Medicine Hat Arena. Tucked away in the center of town, it was a true relic of the 1970s. The roof was turquoise green and, Inside, the paths to the seats were smooth concrete and claustrophobic. Originally, the seats were colored with a rainbow pattern, earning the stadium the nickname “The Smartie Box”, but during the time it was watching the games, they had been replaced with green plastic. Rows of championship flags hung around the scoreboard at center ice. Despite the tightness, the atmosphere of the game was incredible. There wasn’t a bad seat in the house, and there wasn’t no questions about what build you were in. The warring parties reportedly hated coming to Medicine Hat, as it seemed the enthusiasts were at their wits’ end all night.
The old Arena was a barn, but it was very popular, and the last time I heard about Co-Op Place, it was all negative. So I was caught off guard when my father and uncle, who have been following the team since 1970, praised the place. They still hate that the arena is located five minutes from the city in a retail park and that the parking lot is a confusing maze, yet after 8 seasons, it turns out that even the toughest enthusiasts have softened. his stance.
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Once inside, I understood why. Instead of being driven down narrow aisles and squeezed into your seat, the construction is giant and spacious, offering plenty of room to move around, and the walkway offering a glorious view of the ice. The top tables surrounding the ice cream were one of my favorite new features. I was there about 15 or 20 minutes before the game, chatting with my uncle about the Tigers and the rest of the WHL and giving me a chance to tour the spacious, blank building. Even Saskatoon’s monstrous 15,000-seat Sasktel Center doesn’t seem all that spacious.
My only challenge is that I wish it was more. . . and finally, focused on the Tigres. La arena was designed to be a multi-purpose facility that could serve not only as a new home for the Tigers, but also as a main venue for touring bands and conventions. Still, those decisions took away much of the personality of the old building. Posters honoring the two retired numbers, McDonald and Lysiak, hung quietly near the more sensitive beams on the other side of the arena, above the team’s championship posters, which gave the impression of being hidden. The construction is also often painted red instead of black and orange, making it feel more like a grocery store than an arena. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, it did make me feel nostalgic for that old stage I grew up in. Food and extras
ContentTickets – $Chapeau 23. 40 – $Jersey 34. 95-36. 95 – $Puck 129. 95 – $4. 95
Initially, I thought this adventure would be something small, with my dad and I meeting my uncle to watch a game. But before he knew it, the vacation had become a circle of relatives affair, and the total group was also joined by my mother, my wife, and my aunt. This worked equally well for me since my memories of going to the games were with the entire circle of family. When you live an hour away from the city, you might as well take everyone with you.
Although my uncle provided the tickets, pulling a few strings so that the six of us sat in the same segment, tickets for individual games usually charge $23. 40, which was the cheapest tickets I’ve seen so far in my trip. Just like in the old Arena, there is still no bad seat in the house, even if you are in the upper levels. But our seats were right in the corner of the court, which gave us a fantastic view of all the ice.
There was only one major food stand, the Gas City Grill, which had some pretty typical stadium offerings. My uncle warned us about it, saying it was a bit like dining at a co-op, but he’s a burger fan. However, I like to go for things I don’t normally see on other menus, so I went with the pérogy poutine. At $12 and about the length of a regular poutine, it was a little pricey, but replacing the fries with little perogies was fun and worked well with the gravy, sour cream, and onions. However, the rest of the family circle didn’t laugh as much as I did. My dad opted for the regular poutine, which may have just used a little more sauce, my wife opted for a bagged vintage taco and discovered too late that she used hot sauce instead of salsa, which she didn’t like. and my mom was not satisfied with her hot dog, I learned from my aunt that you have to tell them to burn it, otherwise it tastes undercooked.
There are other dining options, but if you don’t know where you’re going, they’re hard to find. My uncle said there was a pretty fake pizza stand in the basement, but I wasn’t transparent about the orders and thought it would be like that. It will be less difficult to stay with the group. I think I saw the stairs on the way to our seats, but, once again, I didn’t want to get lost before the game started.
As far as snacks go, Gas City Grill is pretty much the only place, but I noticed symptoms of a Swirls ice cream stand, a local ice cream shop in town that offers wonderful, convenient ice cream. Unfortunately, it was also a bit difficult to find. And after wandering back and forth, I finally discovered that I was at the far end of the arena and hiding behind a row of giant snakes. There were so many people and noise in this domain that when they were finally delivered to the front, I tried to place my order as temporarily as possible, allowing me to get anything I didn’t think I had ordered. Well, vanilla ice cream is very good.
The crowded on-ice experience left me a little overwhelmed, so I sat in my seat for the rest of the game, thinking I might temporarily purchase a souvenir from the store at the end. However, until the end of the game, the store was already closed, depriving me of one of my traditions of getting anything from the store.
One thing I’ve tried to do during my adventure is act like a local fan, because cheering on the local team is more fun. You can immerse yourself in the excitement without worrying about whether your team wins or loses. But then I found out that my dad and uncle picked the date the Blades were in town. It was like a throwback to my school days when my father visited me. However, he wasn’t prepared to have to decide where my true loyalties would lie. He knew he deserved to cheer on the home team, but he had already supported the Blades for almost a decade. Could nostalgia trump recent memory? I didn’t know if I wanted to know the answer to that question, but I was going to find out.
The Tigers got off to a good start with a smart, understaffed goal six minutes into the first half through Hunter St. Martin, who followed a power play goal by Shane Smith seven minutes later. Blades forward Brandon Lisowsky added one more. put Saskatoon within one before the end of the era, but it looked like the Tigers had the house edge and were excited. Looking ahead to the second era, I once supported an avid Tigers fan, which gave me time to reflect on how we all got here.
My father and uncle grew up in Medicine Hat and have been watching the Tigers since they arrived, as my grandfather made sure to get season tickets right away. He also prioritized bringing one of his two sons, but paying for his tickets was another story, and my father remembers watching many games from the steel steps next to his father’s seat. In the 1970s you could get away with things like that, but my father also remembers a time when someone tried to keep them out of it. However, to repay my father, my grandfather took him forward and told him, “Don’t look back, keep going. “”I wonder how he would have felt with $25 tickets.
Since those impromptu sieges, my father and uncle have witnessed some of the most important moments in Tiger history. My uncle, who is 12 years older than my father, remembers watching McDonald and Lysiak join forces to create the most productive line in junior. hockey. McDonald has clearly become an NHL Hall of Famer, however, there were few youth stars like Lysiak, who may be one of the most productive Tigers point guards of all time and has temporarily become the favorite of my uncle. He also provided when the Tigers faced the Flin Flon Bombers on October 7, 1972, and saw Boyd Anderson, who targeted McDonald and Lysiak, score the fastest five goals in league history, which took him little more than 3 minutes. The final score: 10 -1 in Medicine Hat. The trio also played a vital role in this season’s opening playoff series against the Calgary Centennials, which was one of the most productive hockey games my uncle can remember.
Oct 7, 1972: @tigershockey F Boyd Anderson scored fastest goals by a player in 3:07 #WHL50 #TBT pic. twitter. com/FQNbiU4pa7
My father’s favorite player came a few seasons later, when Don Murdoch joined the Tigers in 1974-75 and quickly became a star, leading the league with 82 goals as a rookie and then scoring 88 the following season. He’s also watching 16-year-old Trevor Linden lead the Tigers back to the Memorial Cup in 1987, beating the Portland Winterhawks in the final for that spot. My father, who was in school at the time, doesn’t remember a time when there were more people pushed into the old arena. He had to call the fire marshal because the building was dangerously over capacity. But he actually left me intelligent memories.
When my father met my mother and moved to the farm, he didn’t attend as many games, but he still had time to watch his nephew and my uncle’s son, Mike, play for the Tigers. Although he used to ride a pine tree during his two seasons with the team, my dad remembers the days when the Tigers played the Brandon Wheat Kings. Trevor Kidd, one of the most sensible goal prospects, was in the net, but Mike still managed to score a goal against him. Sure, it was after the whistle resulted in a fight, but it still counts.
As for my uncle, he enjoyed watching players with high-level skills. A longtime season ticket holder, he was able to experience firsthand the incredible skating of Jay Bouwmeester, Joffrey Lupul’s ability to score at will, and the unexpected double-jeopardy of David Schlemko, who can skate better than anyone. who else on the team. and he was the Tigers’ selection for penalties, where he rarely failed. The guys who could score easily stood out to my uncle, like Chris St. Jacques, Ken Solheim, Stacy Roest, Kevin Riehl and David Quenneville. Meanwhile, my dad was talking about the tough guys he remembers, like Bob, Brad and Ken Gassoff, the Hanson Brothers edition of the Tigers, and defenseman Dean Chynoweth, a no-nonsense NHL draft pick who suffered a serious eye injury in his rookie season.
Congratulations to Jay Bouwmeester, Craig Berube, Rob DiMaio and @StLouisBlues for the #StanleyCup!! #StanleyCupChampions #TigersAlumni #alwaysatiger pic. twitter. com/lRPhwdqBp1
Listening to my father tell stories about his childhood, I discovered how closely linked the Tigers were to his family. Sure, the hockey was wonderful and certainly made him the hockey fan he is today, but watching games with his older brother or father, or watching his nephew play, added that special bond that you can’t get anywhere else. place. Although my uncle’s stories were more about amazing skills and players, I doubt he would be the same hockey fan he is today if he couldn’t share it with his brother or son. I am now part of any of their journeys, just as they were part of mine.
However, the Blades may not let me experience this wonderful moment. After starting the second era with penalty trouble, Lisowsky scored his moment of the night to tie the game behind in the second era and Alexander Suzdalev scored another to start. the third, giving Saskatoon its first lead. The Tigers’ Tomas Mrsic scored a historic goal from Blades scorer Austin Elliott to tie the game, but neither team could find a chance until late in the game. That sent us into extra time, and it was a close game until the Blades intercepted a bad pass, leading to a two-on-one and Fraser Minten’s winner. You may simply do nothing about it; I jumped and cheered, just like I do at SaskTel Place in Saskatoon, excited that my team won. I joked with my father that I guess my allegiance had changed, which only elicited a slight laugh.
Reflecting on the game and the experience, I think it is not the right thing to say. The Tigers are not just a team that you cheer for. The team is one of the reasons why my father and uncle have stayed together all those years and I have been able to forge such a close bond with either of them. Any hockey team may have accomplished this feat, but it’s not just any team: it’s the Tigers. Realizing that it gave me a little more respect for the team. I cheered them on for the first time, and while a lot has changed since I first ran in the lobby of Medicine Hat Arena, the Tigers are still around, giving my family one more excuse to spend time together. What it is to be a hockey fan, then I don’t know what it is.