Tiger Trauma
04-14-2007, 05:31 AM
-Medicine Hat News
Swept away
REGINA — Brennan Bosch has the look of a grizzled playoff veteran, missing tooth and all, and on Friday night the one-time baby face of the Medicine Hat Tigers played the part.
The speedy centre, who is in his 18-year-old season, scored twice, hit a post and set up another goal as his Medicine Hat Tigers completed a four-game sweep of the Regina Pats, winning 6-3 at the Brandt Centre.
The Tigers advance to the conference final for the third time in the last four years. They’ll have home ice advantage over either the Calgary Hitmen or Brandon Wheat Kings, who are still contesting the other Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
“We won it in four and that really helps us moving forward,” said Bosch, who lost a tooth two weeks ago when he was clipped by a stick in Game 6 at Red Deer during the first round.
For Bosch, who’s already made a name for himself with a penchant for scoring big goals, the dental work adds a certain something.
“That’s what I hear from people, but mom doesn’t like it much,” said Bosch, now sits with five goals and 12 points in 11 playoff games centring the duo of talent wingers Tyler Ennis (one goal Friday) and Daine Todd (three assists).
“Our line wanted make sure that we had a good one, we weren’t as good in Game 3 (a 2-1 overtime win),” said Bosch.
“He looks the part every year,” said head coach Willie Desjardins, who got two overtime game winners from Bosch in last year’s second round, one in triple overtime.
“He’s scored lot of goals for us last year, and he plays well in big games.”
In the Regina series, Desjardins felt the Pats were trying to overmatch the trio by pitting them against No. 1 centre Garrett Festerling.
“(In Game 3) we’d try to avoid it, but I told them, ‘I’m not going to avoid it, you guys have to do a job.’
“They were key tonight.”
With the Pats facing elimination after that Tigers win, overager Chris Stevens put them back on the hook early.
Stevens seemingly sucked the electricity out of the building just 37 seconds in when he slid a shot under Pats goaltender Linden Rowat, after Darren Helm dug the puck out of the corner and centred it in front.
Bosch scored on a similar play, and similar shot, at 9:04 of the frame, then on a late-period power play, he fired a high shot at Rowat, leaving a juicy rebound that Ennis tapped in.
In the second, Bosch sent Rowat’s water bottle flying with a high shot and Helm deposited a breakaway through the five-hole as the Tigers built a 5-0 lead after two periods.
The Pats found their spark again in the third as Pats leading scorer Garrett Festerling broke the shutout bid with a top-corner rocket at the 1:19 mark on the power play. Before the frame was five minutes old, Pat Kaspars Sauleitis was alone in front but fired the puck in the belly of a sprawled-out Matt Keetley.
Tigers captain Kris Russell seemingly let off the pressure with a power-play goal, but Pats Brett Leffler and Nick Ross scored down the stretch to make the final count a respectable 6-3.
“It was about pride,” said Regina’s Kyle Ross, who returned to the Pats this season after breaking his back in a car crash prior to the 2005-06 campaign.
“We showed that we didn’t give up.”
Another Regina overager, captain Kyle Deck felt similarly, but added “They got up 3-0 and we couldn’t come back.”
Regina bows out of the post-season after their first second-round appearance in nine years.
“They had a good team that played hard,” added Desjardins. “If they’d won the overtime (in Game 3), they might have come here tonight with a lot more life, and maybe it’d be tied.
“It’s so close, that when you get a break you have to take advantage and I thought we did in this series.”
Swept away
REGINA — Brennan Bosch has the look of a grizzled playoff veteran, missing tooth and all, and on Friday night the one-time baby face of the Medicine Hat Tigers played the part.
The speedy centre, who is in his 18-year-old season, scored twice, hit a post and set up another goal as his Medicine Hat Tigers completed a four-game sweep of the Regina Pats, winning 6-3 at the Brandt Centre.
The Tigers advance to the conference final for the third time in the last four years. They’ll have home ice advantage over either the Calgary Hitmen or Brandon Wheat Kings, who are still contesting the other Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
“We won it in four and that really helps us moving forward,” said Bosch, who lost a tooth two weeks ago when he was clipped by a stick in Game 6 at Red Deer during the first round.
For Bosch, who’s already made a name for himself with a penchant for scoring big goals, the dental work adds a certain something.
“That’s what I hear from people, but mom doesn’t like it much,” said Bosch, now sits with five goals and 12 points in 11 playoff games centring the duo of talent wingers Tyler Ennis (one goal Friday) and Daine Todd (three assists).
“Our line wanted make sure that we had a good one, we weren’t as good in Game 3 (a 2-1 overtime win),” said Bosch.
“He looks the part every year,” said head coach Willie Desjardins, who got two overtime game winners from Bosch in last year’s second round, one in triple overtime.
“He’s scored lot of goals for us last year, and he plays well in big games.”
In the Regina series, Desjardins felt the Pats were trying to overmatch the trio by pitting them against No. 1 centre Garrett Festerling.
“(In Game 3) we’d try to avoid it, but I told them, ‘I’m not going to avoid it, you guys have to do a job.’
“They were key tonight.”
With the Pats facing elimination after that Tigers win, overager Chris Stevens put them back on the hook early.
Stevens seemingly sucked the electricity out of the building just 37 seconds in when he slid a shot under Pats goaltender Linden Rowat, after Darren Helm dug the puck out of the corner and centred it in front.
Bosch scored on a similar play, and similar shot, at 9:04 of the frame, then on a late-period power play, he fired a high shot at Rowat, leaving a juicy rebound that Ennis tapped in.
In the second, Bosch sent Rowat’s water bottle flying with a high shot and Helm deposited a breakaway through the five-hole as the Tigers built a 5-0 lead after two periods.
The Pats found their spark again in the third as Pats leading scorer Garrett Festerling broke the shutout bid with a top-corner rocket at the 1:19 mark on the power play. Before the frame was five minutes old, Pat Kaspars Sauleitis was alone in front but fired the puck in the belly of a sprawled-out Matt Keetley.
Tigers captain Kris Russell seemingly let off the pressure with a power-play goal, but Pats Brett Leffler and Nick Ross scored down the stretch to make the final count a respectable 6-3.
“It was about pride,” said Regina’s Kyle Ross, who returned to the Pats this season after breaking his back in a car crash prior to the 2005-06 campaign.
“We showed that we didn’t give up.”
Another Regina overager, captain Kyle Deck felt similarly, but added “They got up 3-0 and we couldn’t come back.”
Regina bows out of the post-season after their first second-round appearance in nine years.
“They had a good team that played hard,” added Desjardins. “If they’d won the overtime (in Game 3), they might have come here tonight with a lot more life, and maybe it’d be tied.
“It’s so close, that when you get a break you have to take advantage and I thought we did in this series.”