Monday, March 23, 2015— THE MEDICINE HAT NEWS
A9 SPORTS Sean Rooney, editor ■
sports@medicinehatnews.com ■ 403.528.5688 A group photo of past and present Medicine Hat Tigers is taken admist the fog at the end of a farewell ceremony at The Arena. Tigers set stage for farewell with 6-2 win
RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Tigers paved the way to a jubilant celebration with a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades to kick off Saturday’s farewell to The Arena. Sixty-six Tigers alumni were in attendance, from Keith Silvernagle, who potted the first ever Tigers goal at The Arena, to Brennan Bosch, who lifted the Tabbies to a WHL championship with a Game 7 double-overtime goal in 2007. “It was a real special night. It
was great to see so many of the alumni,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston. “There’s a lot of tradi- tion here and there’s a tradition of this being a great place to play and it’s because of the fans. It’s because of the building and the fans.”
The Tigers made sure to give the old barn a spectacular regular season sendoff, shelling Blades netminder Brock Hamm for six goals, and racking up 86 penalty minutes due to three separate line brawls. Alex Mowbray, Ty Stanton and
Zach Fischer all lit the lamp in the first to put Medicine Hat up 3-0 while allowing only four shots in the frame. Fischer, who potted his fourth of the season Saturday, said it was “an absolutely awe- some feeling” to get in on the scoring on such a special night. “They don’t come easy for me,
I’ve only got four this year and it’s a great feeling when they come,” he said. “Especially tonight with the big night, last regular season game at home.” Trevor Cox continued the scor-
ing trend, finishing off a tic-tac- toe play from Cole Sanford and Steven Owre. Four minutes later Owre joined the parade, and Tyler Lewington finished off a cross-ice feed from Chad Butcher to put
the Tigers up 6-0 through 40 and bring the fans to their feet. “Obviously we wanted to get one last win here and obviously it was nice to score six goals and kind of end the season on a three- game winning streak,” said Sanford. “We’re feeling good about ourselves and we’re excited for playoffs.” Things started to get chippy in
the third period, and Lewington received a game misconduct, a 10 minute misconduct and two fighting majors in an altercation with Kolton Dixon, then Amil Krupic in response to a play that saw Dryden Hunt go down with a shoulder injury. “Lewy’s a warrior. We’ve had a number of them over the years and he battles hard,” said Clouston, adding he hopes it does not result in suspension. “I don’t think anything further will hap- pen there and hopefully it’s just over and done and we can move on.” Blades captain Brett Stovin got
Saskatoon on the board in his final WHL game, and Ryan Graham added another, but it wasn’t enough to stop the party at The Arena. Marek Langhamer and Nick Schneider shared the duties in goal, with Langhamer stopping all 10 shots through the first 40, and Schneider picking up eight saves on 10 shots in the third. After the buzzer sounded, all
66 Tigers alumni took to the ice in celebration of The Arena’s 45 years. Other Tigers alumni recorded video messages that were played to the crowd before a highlight reel of the franchise’s greatest moments. “It was a really special night and all the guys were pretty excit- ed to be a part of it,” said Sanford. “Some of the videos there that they showed, it brings you chills. Seeing those playoff runs just makes you want it that much
NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT
The Medicine Hat Tigers cel- ebrate a sec- ond period goal during the final regu- lar season game to be played at The Arena. Medicine Hat won the game 6-2.
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NEWS PHOTO SEAN ROONEY
more. Hopefully we can do some- thing special this year.” For the Tigers’ lone Medicine
Hat native, Blake Penner, it was a special opportunity to share the ice with his father, former Tiger Craig Penner. “I’ve never really been on this
rink with dad there, and it was nice to see him as a part of the alumni,” said Penner. “Growing up, having season tickets I got to catch a little bit of that history, it gets your mind going on what more was there before us players right now were around. There’s a ton of history in this building, and it’s always neat to be a part of that.”
The Tigers will face off against
the Red Deer Rebels in the open- ing round of the post-season, fol- lowing Calgary’s Central Division clinching victory over the Kootenay Ice Sunday. Medicine Hat will open the
playoffs on home ice, with Game 1 Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Game 2 Sunday at 6 p.m. Games 3 and 4 will be held in
Red Deer on April 1 and 2, respec- tively.
Kwahommies win provincial gold
RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: MHNMcCracken
plete.
The Cinderella story is com- The 10th seeded Hat High
Kwahommies clinched 4A provincial gold with a 59-48 victory over the top-ranked Spruce Grove Panthers in Saturday’s championship game. “It’s just a remarkable story about a team coming together and winning it,” said Kwahommies head coach Jeff Harrold. “It’s a dream come true. It is absolutely unbeliev- able, like, unbelievable ... There’s never been a 10th seed to win. That’s a history mark- er.”
While the Kwahommies
were ruled the underdog all the way through their provin- cial campaign, Harrold says just watching them evolve on the court as players was enough to make him believe in their chances to go all the way. “I had faith. I started to see their belief in themselves and slowly we started to build con-
#MHArena memories
■ @TrevorCox36: Special night as we play our last ever regular season game in The Arena! This ones for all the @tigershockey alumni!
■ @bob_ridley: A lot of my favourite memo- ries of the #MHArena involve the rowdies that used to sit in Sec. 2 and be relentless to the visitors and refs.
■ @H_S_9 (Hunter Shinkaruk): Tough day for all @tigershockey alum. Last regular season game in the #MHarena .. Couldn't have asked for a better home rink in junior
■ @Whamilton36 (Wacey Hamilton): Sad that tonights the last game ever in the #MHArena. That barn is home to some of my greatest memories! Send it off in style @tigershockey
■ @tommerr21 (Jeremy Thomson): My last #whl game at the #mharena playing for the Warriors and roughing it up with Rocky
■ @rhg3rd (Bob Graham): #MHArena Being from MH, taping an interview in the Arena with @BobRidley_CHAT when I played for
@MJWARRIORS was awesome...
■ @beesbourassa: Fav memory as a young kid: going 2the Arena early & seeing all the coloured seats of diff sizes "Smartie Box"...& Shrine Circus #MHarena
■ @tplante8: #MHArena One of my favorite moments was taking home a Chris Osgood goalie stick after he busted it in practice and threw it over the boards.
■ @PhilipSmithson: My first time watching a live honest-to-goodness hockey game was at the #MHArena in the late 70s! Loved the @tigershockey since!
■ @Danihockey94: @tigershockey #mharena I grew up watching the tigers in this arena! Season ticket holder 21years! this is a sad day loved the arena
■ @DonaldDazzels: #MHArena Great Memories! Chants Warm Up The Bus, Sweeeeep, @DuceJim announcing, Beach Balls and The Wave. @tigershockey @MedicineHatNews
Rattlers close out nationals on a high
RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat College
Rattlers left the floor at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball championships with their heads held high, clinching a 71-64 vic- tory over the Champlain Saint- Lambert Cavaliers to finish sev- enth in the nation. “I think it was a sense of
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Hat High Kwahommies varsity girls’ basketball team clinched 4A provincial gold with a 59-48 victory over Spruce Grove, Saturday in Edmonton.
fidence game after game,” said Harrold “Every game I felt that we learned something and we kept on getting better, and our confidence kept on building and building. Because I saw that in them, I believed. I believed that we could do this.” Jenna Spruyt and Jordyn
Kearly led the way for the Kwahommies with 16 points
and seven rebounds apiece, while Isabel Rattai added another 16 points, three steals and two rebounds. Hat High plagued by the
injury bug early in the season, with players being held off the floor for reasons ranging from concussion or ankle injuries to sickness.
See GOLD, Page A10
achievement, a sense of accomplishment,” said Rattlers assistant coach Patrick Sharp. “You never want to go there and lose all three games, and con- sidering we’ve never been there before, just the experi- ence of seeing the level of teams at this tournament and being able to realize more than anything else that we can com- pete at this level, that was huge for the guys.” The Rattlers jumped to a 38-31 lead at the half, and managed to stave off a Cavaliers push that saw the game close to within a point, 63-62, before closing out the victory in the final moments. Rattlers guard Michael Farion had a game-high 19 points with eight rebounds, while Pietro de Andrade put up 17 points and added nine rebounds, and Guilherme Carabagiale Fuck had
a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. “After the first couple of
games, guys were frustrated, guys were down and I don’t think they really realized the level they were at,” said Sharp. “I think as they soaked in the experience and everything, certainly getting that win against Champlain to finish off our season on a high note, I think they’ve all come home and realized that, hey, we really did do something special.” Sharp added the
Rattlers should feel proud of their achieve- ments in their first-ever showing at nationals, and the ground they gained this season bodes
well for the future of basket- ball at Medicine Hat College. “I am incredibly proud of each
and every one of these guys, plus all the coaches and the peoples that supported us throughout this whole process,” said Sharp. “It’s been a crazy journey and I think it’s a great starting point for this program to keep getting bet- ter in the future.” The Humber College Hawks took gold at the tournament with a 68-62 victory over the Victoria Island University Mariners, while the Lethbridge Kodiaks took bronze with a 106-92 win over the host Mohawk Mountaineers.
Medicine Hat News, Medicine Hat, Alberta, CA March 23, 2015, Page 9
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124 NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Zach Fischer gives a throwback Tom Lysiak jersey to Lysiak's wife, Melinda Lysiak (right), and daughter, Jessica Lysiak Braun, after his No. 9 was officially retired in a ceremony prior to Saturday's WHL game against the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Canalta Centre.
Lifting up a local legend
Tigers retire Tom Lysiak’s jersey number, raise banner in his memory above the Canalta Centre’s ice
RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com Twitter:MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Tigers took a giant
step toward building a history inside the walls of the Canalta Centre Saturday night with the retirement of franchise legend Tom Lysiak’s jersey No. 9. Lysiak’s mother, sister, wife and
daughter were on hand to watch his banner rise to the rafter before the Tigers squared off with the Brandon Wheat Kings. While Lysiak passed away last May following a long battle with leukemia, his daughter Jessica Lysiak Braun says the family was thrilled to finally see his name eternally lifted above the Tigers ice. “This was something I would have
dreamed to have happened when he was alive, just so he could see it. But I’m just so thrilled it worked out and my mom could fly in too,” she said. “We’re just so in awe of all he got to accomplish.” While Jessica admits the Lysiak
GOOD MORNING
to the readers of the Medicine Hat News, including our valued subscriber GORDON BRIOSI
household didn’t focus on hockey after Tom retired from the sport, a chance occurrence brought them both back to the game while eventually expanding their family to include San Jose Sharks defenceman Justin Braun. “Weirdly enough, when dad retired
“This was something I would have dreamed to have happened when he was alive, just so he
could see it.” – Jessica Lysiak,
we never talked about hockey again. Then I got set up on a blind date with an NHLer and my dad was like ‘Nope, you’re not allowed to date him already,’” she said. “But they hit it off so he started getting into hockey again, he got invited to go back to the Blackhawks for Tom Lysiak night and stuff like that and we kind of all got back into it.” Tom was a force to be
daughter of Tom Lysiak
reckoned with on the ice, both as a Tiger and in his 13-season NHL
career. He led the Tigers to their first WHL championship after winning his second straight scoring title — the only player in team history to do so. Over 195 regular season games, Tom piled up a staggering 118 goals and 209 assists for 327 total points. Away from the game, Jessica says
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NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Tom Lysiak’s sister Janice Storowatsky, mother Anne Lysiak Gaetz, wife Melinda Lysiak and daughter Jessica Lysiak Braun watch as his banner is lifted to the rafters prior to Medicine Hat’s game against the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Tigers went on to win the game, 4-0.
her father was a true character, always out to put a smile on someone’s face. “My dad was the complete jokester.
Inappropriate at all times, socially unacceptable. He would show up to the nicest parties with his box of wine and start with a joke that no one should ever probably hear. But he’s just the warmest, loveliest human being,” she said. Tigers head coach and general man-
ager Shaun Clouston added he believes the night truly created a lasting con- nection between the team and the Canalta Centre after spending the first 45 years of the franchise’s history at The Arena. “I think to have Tom Lysiak’s num-
ber and picture up in the rafters to go along with Lanny (McDonald’s), the Canalta is our new home but this makes it a much more special place,”
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said Clouston. Forward Zach Fischer — the last
Tiger who will ever wear No. 9 — capped off the ceremony by pulling off a throwback Tom Lysiak jersey and giv- ing it to the Lysiak family. Fischer will now sport No. 39 on his jersey. “I was speechless to be honest. It
was kind of emotional from my part too. Being the last Tiger to ever wear that number and hand it off to that family is really special,” said Fischer. “I’m blessed to wear that number, I’m honoured. It was a great experience for me and one I’ll always remember.” The evening featured archived video
of Tom’s time with the Tigers and Chicago Blackhawks, both on the ice and in interviews with Tom, his team- mates and his coaches. The video board also featured a throwback score- clock for the game.
41236230•FEB.‘17
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