Forward back after winning bronze at U17
World Challenge
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| Liam Pue (#13) celebrates his OT winner for the Pats. |
It didn’t take Liam Pue long to get used to life back in the
WHL.
On Tuesday, Pue suited up for the Regina Pats after helping
Canada Red win the bronze medal as captain at the U17 World Challenge on
Saturday in Oakville, Ont. Taking on the host Saskatoon Blades before 3,319
spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the 16-year-old star right-winger picked up a
pair of assists and scored the winner with 19.4 seconds remaining in a
three-versus-three overtime period to lift the Pats to a 5-4 victory in the WHL
regular season clash.
In overtime, Pats captain Reese Hamilton fired a pass to
winger Zachary Lansard who jetted down the left wing on a two-on-rush with Pue.
Lansard slipped a pass across the face of the Blades net to Pue, who fired home
the winter into the empty right side of the cage.
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| Liam Pue had one goal and two assists for the Pats on Tuesday. |
“It was a great play by Reese (Hamilton) to get it out to
Lanny (Lansard) and get us on a two-on-one,” said Pue, who was also a plus-two
in the plus-minus department. “Lanny is such a gifted player.
“I knew he was going to make that pass to me, because he
always makes the right play. It was such a good play by him to make that pass
over, and I finished it off. It is one of the best feelings in hockey scoring
the game winner.
“It is so special, and then all your teammates come and
celebrate with you. It is so cool as well.”
Pue finished second in tournament scoring at the U17 World
Challenge recording 10 points off four goals and six assists in five games. In the
bronze medal game, Pue’s Canada Red side downed Canada White, which was captained
by Pats 16-year-old star centre Maddox Schultz, 8-4. Schultz topped the
tournament in scoring with 16 points coming off six goals and 10 assists.
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| Liam Pue captained Canada Red to bronze at the U17 World Challenge. |
While skating for Canada Red, Pue played for Blades head
coach Dan DaSilva, who was serving as the head coach for Team Red. Pue said it
felt different seeing DaSilva on the opposing team’s bench instead of behind
his bench.
“Me and Dan (DaSilva) chatted a little bit before the game
and how we were playing each other,” said Pue. “We thought it was funny.
“It is nice to come back to the group and the guys and get
back to WHL hockey. I think it is so awesome we got this first win.”
DaSilva said it was different seeing Pue on the opposing
team after coaching him at the U17 World Challenge. The Blades bench boss said
it is a tough task having to game plan going against Pue.
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| Hayden Harsanyi celebrates scoring the first of two goal for the Blades. |
“I much prefer to coach with him (Pue) on my side,” said DaSilva.
“It is the sixth game in a row I got to write his name on my card, but today
was the first time in six games I had to put him on the other team.
“He is obviously a really good player, a good talent. Like I
said to him, the best thing about him is he is a good person too. It is not
just what you see on the ice it is what you see off it too.
“He was a great kid to get to work with. Obviously, he was
our captain, and he and I worked closely together and had lots of
conversations. He is just a good human and obviously a special player.”
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| Hunter Laing had three assists for the Blades on Tuesday. |
Overall on Tuesday, the Blades and Pats played what was
arguably one of the most entertaining games of the current WHL campaign.
After the Pats opened the contest getting the first three
shots on goal of the contest, the Blades broke through first on the scoreboard.
Just five seconds into their first power-play chance, Blades captain Brayden
Klimpke wired a point shot to the top right corner of the Regina net to put the
hosts up 1-0 at the 6:31 mark of the opening frame.
Before the first period ended, the Pats answered back going
ahead 2-1. The first Regina tally was a power-play goal from Lansard scoring a
shot from the left boards. The second Pats goal was an even-strength marker
from centre Samuel Karsay popping home a rebound in front of the Blades net
with 29.9 seconds remaining in the stanza.
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| Zachary Lansard had one goal and one assist for the Pats. |
Pue collected his assists on both of those Regina goals. The
Langley, B.C., product was pleased to be able to put up some points on Tuesday
noting his club entered play on Tuesday having collected only one win in seven
road games.
“We haven’t really won too many games on the road this year,”
said Pue. “This game was important for us, especially a divisional game and in
the standings too.
“I was so happy I could come back and contribute like I did.”
The Blades proceeded to roar out of the gate to start the
second period. At the 4:02 mark of the frame, Blades 19-year-old centre Hayden
Harsanyi potted the equalizer from the left side of the Regina net converting a
backdoor feed from 20-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing.
Just 92 seconds after that tally, Blades 19-year-old import rookie
right-winger Yegor Gusev got a hold of a rebound in front of the Regina net and
popped home a score that gave the host side a 3-2 lead.
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| Brayden Klimpke had the Blades first goal on Tuesday. |
With 3:51 remaining in the second, Pats 20-year-old centre
Ellis Mieyette netted a power-play goal on a mid-range seeing-eye shot through
a screen to force a 3-3 tie.
The contest remained tied until there was 6:53 remaining in
the third. At that moment, Schultz fired a shot from the left point through a
screen that deflected off a body and deflected into the Saskatoon net to give
the Pats a 4-3 advantage.
That lead didn’t last long. Shortly after Schultz’s goal,
the Blades found themselves on the power play after Pats left-winger Keets
Fawcett was penalized for delay of game after clearing the puck over the glass
while still in his own zone.
With 4:59 remaining in the third and working on the man
advantage, Harsanyi scored his second of the contest from the left side of the
Regina net converting another backdoor feed from Laing. That helper was Laing’s
third assist of the contest.
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| Samuel Karsay had the Pats second goal on Tuesday. |
That set the stage for a wild three-versus-three overtime
frame where both sides had huge chances to score. The shots on goal for that
frame finished even at 4-4, but the final shot came off Pue’s stick to win the
game for Regina.
“I thought that we obviously had a chance to win for sure,”
said DaSilva. “We had lots of good looks, but I give our guys credit.
“We kept fighting here. We scored a big power-play goal
there late to tie it after they had gone ahead. The resiliency of our group
shows.
“We’re ending up on the wrong side of it too many times
right now. We’re going to have to find a way to dig in and give a bit more to
end up on the right side. It has been a frustrating few weeks, but at the end
of the day, we’re in every single night, every game, every single night and we
just got to continue to push forward.”
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| Yegor Gusev had the Blades third goal on Tuesday. |
Martin Psohlavec turned away 22 shots to take the setback in
net for the Blades (7-5-5). Taylor Tabashniuk stopped 31 shots to pick up the
win in goal for the Pats (9-6-0-1).
With Tuesday’s result in the books, the Blades have now
posted one win, four overtime losses and two regulation losses in their last
seven games. Harsanyi has found it frustrating that the Blades have lost a
number of games recently in overtime.
“I think it is tough,” said Harsanyi. “We’re playing well,
but eventually, you’ve got to find ways to win.
“You have to. You can’t win – I don’t know what it is – like
one win in our last five or six games whether it is overtime or not. I mean
points are nice, but we’ve got to find a way to start winning games.
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| Maddox Schultz had a goal for the Pats on Tuesday. |
“It starts with me as an older guy, as a veteran and I feel
like through the rest of the veteran corps too. We’ve got to start finding ways
to win games.”
The Blades were without star 18-year-old centre Cooper
Williams with an undisclosed ailment and 16-year-old left-winger Kain Martinuik
with a broken finger.
Williams last played in the Blades 5-4 overtime loss to
the Seattle Thunderbirds on October 31.
Martinuik broke his finger playing for Canada White in the
bronze medal game at the U17 World Challenge on Saturday. DaSilva said Martinuik
could miss a few weeks.
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| The Pats celebrate their win on Tuesday. |
The Pats return to action on Friday when they return home to
host the Portland Winterhawks (7 p.m. Brandt Centre).
The Blades get back at it on Saturday when they host the
Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).
Going forward into the rest of the season, Pue said his time
at the U17 World Challenge will help him as he continues his campaign with the
Pats.
“I thought it was such a great experience for Maddox
(Schultz) and I both being able to kind of lead our own teams,” said Pue, who
leads the Pats with 21 points coming off 12 goals and nine assists in 12 games.
“It was a cool experience for us, and I think we’ll remember that forever and
have learned so much from that experience.”
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| Military veterans take part in a Remembrance ceremony. |
EARLY REMEMBRANCE
– The Blades held a mini Remembrance Day service before their game with the
Pats on Tuesday. The encounter between the two sides came one day before
Remembrance Day. Following the game, crews at the SaskTel Centre immediately
started to set up the facility for the Remembrance Day program to be held there
on Wednesday morning.
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