REGINA — The Regina Pats earned points in each of their games last week.
The Western Hockey League squad enters this week with a 6-4-0-1 record. With 13 points, the Pats sit third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference – just one point back of the Winnipeg Ice (7-1-0-0) and Red Deer Rebels (7-0-0-0), who have 14 points each.
Drew Sim made 22 saves as the Pats shut out the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-0, in front of 2,717 at the Brandt Centre on Oct. 12. Tye Spencer, Tanner Howe, and Easton Armstrong scored for Regina. All of the goals came at even strength. Connor Bedard recorded two assists.
Bedard lit the lamp late in the third period on Oct. 14 to beat the host Swift Current Broncos, 4-3. It was his second of the night. Regina had led 2-1 and 3-2 at the intermissions, but Swift Current’s Matthew Ward scored shorthanded in the third to knot the game at 3-3. That set up Bedard’s game winner in the game’s last eight seconds. Sam Oremba and Armstrong also scored for the Pats. Howe recorded two assists.
On Oct. 16, the Pats fell in a shootout to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-3, in front of 3,211 fans at home. The Hurricanes’ Tyson Zimmer was the lone shooter out of eight – four each – to score in the shootout. The Pats displayed resiliency as they battled back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-0 at the intermissions.
Early in the third period, Cole Dubinsky got the Pats on the board. Defensive defenceman Luke Bateman’s first of the season pulled Regina to within one, 3-2. Howe’s sixth of the season knotted the game at 3-3 with 9:34 gone in the period. Pats goalie Matthew Kieper made 19 saves, while his Hurricanes counterpart, Harrison Meneghin, had 21.
As of Sunday, Bedard led the WHL with 20 points in nine games. Teammate Tanner Howe was fourth with 14 points. Bedard also paced the loop in goals (nine), assists (11), and game-winning goals (four). Sim had five wins, just one behind the league leaders.
Tanner Brown was tied for second in the WHL with five power play assists. Last week the Pats added the 20-year-old defenceman from the Red Deer Rebels. Regina sent a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick the other way.
In a corresponding move, the Pats swapped 19-year-old blue liner Adam McNutt to the Swift Current Broncos for 2023 fifth round draft pick. The team also released 20-year-old goalie Koen MacInnes. Not counting the injured Jakob Brook, a forward, the Blades are at the three 20-year-olds limit with Brown, Bateman and Dubinsky.
This week the Pats are in Moose Jaw on Thursday. They play the Warriors again on Sunday in Regina
