Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? To Medicine Hat, apparently.
Led by their transcendent teenage superstar Gavin McKenna, the Medicine Hat Tiger struck first in their Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Championship series Friday night, defeating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-2.
The win gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the series.
McKenna’s goal extended the 17-year-old superstar’s points streak to 50 games.
50-GAME POINT STREAK FOR GAVIN!
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 26, 2025
The @tigershockey star hits the half-century mark in the opening period of the Eastern Conference Championship Series.
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Medicine Hat hadn’t played in eight days, but didn’t appear too rusty as they jumped out to a 1-0 first period lead on a goal from Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll a little more than two minutes into the game.
Six seconds later, McKenna scored his seventh goal of the playoffs to make it 2-0 Tigers.
McKenna’s 50 straight games with a point ties a CHL record set in 2005-2006 by Alexander Radulov of the Quebec Ramparts.
In 1941, New York Yankee centre fielder Joe DiMaggio got a hit in 56 consecutive games, which is still considered one of the greatest sports achievements. He went on to marry Hollywood movie legend Marilyn Monroe, inspiring Paul Simon’s iconic song lyric “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away” from the soundtrack to the 1967 film The Graduate.
Lethbridge cut the deficit to 2-1 when Logan Wormald scored, but Medicine Hat regained its two-goal lead on a goal from captain Oasiz Wiesblatt before the first intermission.
🎥HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT🎥
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 26, 2025
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.@tigershockey | #WHLPlayoffs | #WHLHoN | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/ib5KxoTLEg
Ryder Ritchie made it 4-1 six minutes into the second and then the Tigers made it 5-1 on a goal from Ethan Neutens.
After Wiesblatt was assessed a double minor for slew footing, Brayden Yager’s power play goal cut the Tiger lead to 5-2, but that was as close as Lethbridge would get.
The third period was scoreless.
Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 36-19.
Jackson Unger, who shut down the Calgary Hitmen so effectively in Game 6 and 7, was replaced in the second period Friday night by Koen Cleaver, who saw his first WHL playoff action.
Game 2 goes Saturday night in Medicine Hat, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.
Tickets are on sale for Game 3 and 4 in Lethbridge Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
