Medicine Hat Tigers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Medicine Hat Tigers
City	Medicine Hat, Alberta
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Central
Founded	1970
Home arena	Co-op Place
Colours	Orange and Black
General manager	Willie Desjardins
Head coach	Willie Desjardins
Championships	Ed Chynoweth Cup 5 (1973, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2007) Memorial Cup 2 (1987, 1988) Conference Championships 2 (2003–04, 2006–07)
Website chl.ca/whl-tigers

Travis Dunstall playing for the Tigers in 2007.

The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team. They play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The Tigers started playing in 1970. They have won the Ed Chynoweth Cup five times. This is the second-highest number of wins in the league. They have also won the Memorial Cup twice. The team has won seven Division titles. Since 2015, the Tigers play at Co-op Place. Before that, they played for 45 seasons at the Medicine Hat Arena.

The History of the Medicine Hat Tigers

How the Tigers Started

The Medicine Hat Tigers joined the Western Canada Hockey League in the 1970–71 season. The team had a tough first year. But they quickly got better. Star players like Tom Lysiak and Lanny McDonald helped them improve. Tom Lysiak was the league's top scorer in 1972 and 1973.

In their second season, the Tigers made the playoffs. By their third season, they reached the championship final. They beat the Saskatoon Blades to win their first title.

Winning Back-to-Back Championships

The Tigers had a very successful time in the late 1980s. In 1986, they won their first regular season title. They then reached the league finals three times in a row. Players like Trevor Linden, Wayne McBean, and Mark Pederson led the team.

The Tigers won two championships in a row in 1987 and 1988. They also won the Memorial Cup in both of those years. Because of their amazing success, these championship teams were added to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

More Recent Success and New Home

The Tigers won two more league titles between 2004 and 2007. In 2004, Medicine Hat had the best record in their conference. They won the final by beating the Everett Silvertips.

In the 2005–06 season, the Tigers won their second regular season title. The next season, they played in the championship series again. They faced the Vancouver Giants. Goaltender Matt Keetley helped the Tigers win the title in a thrilling game seven.

Vancouver was hosting the 2007 Memorial Cup that year. So, both the Tigers and the Giants went to the tournament. The Tigers beat the Giants again in the first round. This sent them straight to the final. The final was another game against the Giants. This time, the Giants won, beating the Tigers 3–1.

In 2015, the team moved to a new arena called Co-op Place. In 2024, Gavin McKenna became a special player for the Tigers. He was the first Tiger since 1986 to win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy. This award goes to the best rookie (new player) in the WHL.

Medicine Hat Tigers Championship History

The Medicine Hat Tigers have won several important championships:

• Memorial Cups: The top championship in Canadian junior hockey.
  • 1987
  • 1988

• President's Cups: The championship trophy for the Western Hockey League.
  • 1972–73
  • 1986–87
  • 1987–88
  • 2003–04
  • 2006–07

• Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies: Awarded to the team with the best regular season record in the WHL.
  • 1985–86
  • 2005–06

WHL Championship Finals

Here are the Tigers' results in the WHL Championship finals:

• 1972–73: Won, 3-0-2 against Saskatoon Blades
• 1985–86: Lost, 1-4 against Kamloops Blazers
• 1986–87: Won, 4-3 against Portland Winter Hawks
• 1987–88: Won, 4-2 against Kamloops Blazers
• 2003–04: Won, 4-0 against Everett Silvertips
• 2006–07: Won, 4-3 against Vancouver Giants

Memorial Cup Finals

Here are the Tigers' results in the Memorial Cup finals:

• 1987: Won, 6–2 against Oshawa Generals
• 1988: Won, 7–6 against Windsor Spitfires
• 2007: Lost, 1–3 against Vancouver Giants

Medicine Hat Tigers Players Who Played in the NHL

Many players from the Medicine Hat Tigers have gone on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Here are some of them:

Medicine Hat Tigers Team Records

Here are some of the best records for the Medicine Hat Tigers in a single season:

Here are some of the best individual player records for a single season:

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in Alberta