Pats might stumble at the start of 100th anniversary season

The Pats salute their fans after falling in the WHL finals.

    The Regina Pats had a dream season in 2016-17, but they might not have a dream start in 2017-18.

    Last season, the historic Pats, who are the oldest major junior hockey franchise in the world, hit heights they haven’t seen for a long time. They topped the WHL’s regular season standings for the first time since 1974 posting a 52-12-7-1 record.

    They were rated first in the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings for most of the campaign and topped the final ratings released on March 22.

    They made their first appearance in the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series since 1993 and knocked off the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-2 in a best-of-seven set. The Pats made the WHL Championship series for the first time since 1984, but fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Thunderbirds import centre Alexander True scored the overtime winner in Game 6 of the WHL title series to give his side a 4-3 victory in that contest.

    While the WHL title eluded the Pats, they had a roster that seemed full of super heroes last season, who delivered tonnes of thrills. When the Pats embark on their 100^th anniversary season in 2017-18 which will see them host the 100^th Memorial Cup championship tournament in May of 2018, they might start the campaign minus as many as 11 faces from last year’s powerhouse squad.

    That number doesn’t include backup goalie Jordan Hollett, who was traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers in May.

The Pats lost superstar captain Adam Brooks to graduation.

    The Pats open rookie camp on Monday in Regina with registration for rookie players.

    Superstar captain Adam Brooks, skilled left-winger Dawson Leedahl and sound defensive defenceman Chase Harrison were all lost to graduation due to being overage players last season. It was inevitable they would leave big holes.

    In theory, Filip Ahl and Sergey Zborovskiy could return both taking up spots as an import player and an overage player. Ahl had a standout lone WHL season in 2016-17 collecting 28 goals and 20 assists in 54 regular season games, but he has signed a one-year professional contract Orebro HK in his home country of Sweden, which means he is out of the picture for next season.

    Zborovskiy, who is from Russia, has an NHL entry-level contract inked with the New York Rangers, and he can be assigned to any of the farm clubs the Rangers have in the minor professional ranks due to being a 20-year-old.

    With those developments, the Pats selected two players in the CHL Import Draft at the end of June in Russian defenceman Yegor Zamula, who is entering his 17-year-old season, and Finnish forward Emil Oksanen, who is entering his 19-year-old season. Both have big shoes to fill in trying to replace Ahl and Zborovskiy.

Jake Leschyshyn is still recovering from an ACL tear injury.

    Another questionable returnee is star defenceman Connor Hobbs, who is entering his overage season. Hobbs has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Washington Capitals, and he looks more than ready to play at the next level. If he doesn’t make the Capitals, Hobbs can be assigned to any of Washington’s minor league affiliates.

    The Pats could be without WHL scoring champion Sam Steel, who had 50 goals, 81 assists and a plus-49 rating in the plus-minus department in 66 regular season games last season. The superstar centre has an NHL entry-level contract inked with the Anaheim Ducks, and he appears to be ready to play in the NHL.

    With Steel going into his 19-year-old season, the Ducks have to assign him back to the Pats, if he doesn’t make the NHL squad.

    Offensive defenceman Josh Mahura is in the same boat as Steel. Mahura also has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ducks, but entering his 19-year-old season, the talented rearguard has to be assigned back to the Pats, if he doesn’t make the Ducks NHL roster.

Nick Henry (#21) is recovering from a torn labrum injury.

    Mahura has only played one full campaign since returning from a serious knee injury that sidelined him for 70 regular season games in 2015-16, when he was still with the Red Deer Rebels. The Pats acquired Mahura from the Rebels on WHL trade deadline day back on Jan. 10. Odds are high Mahura will be back with the Pats for another WHL campaign, but he might not be in Regina at the start of the season.

    Centre Jake Leschyshyn, who was selected in the second round and 62^nd overall in June’s NHL Entry Draft by the Las Vegas Golden Knights, is still recovering from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees in a WHL game on Feb. 3. It is touch and go as to whether he will be ready when the Pats open their regular season on Sept. 22 with a match against the Wheat Kings in Brandon.

Austin Wagner (#27) is healing from a torn labrum and dislocate bicep injury.

    Right-winger Nick Henry, who had a spectacular rookie campaign with the Pats, underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in late June. Henry, who was selected in the fourth round and 94^th overall in last June’s NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, could be out four to sixth months, which means a possible return could occur near the end of October or the end of December.

    Speedy left-winger Austin Wagner, who is entering his overage season, underwent major surgery in early June to repair a torn labrum and dislocated bicep tendon. He is expected to take about six months to recover, which means his return might happen in mid to late December.

Sam Steel (#23) might stick with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

    Wagner does have an NHL entry-level contact signed with the Los Angeles Kings, but it is uncertain the Kings will trigger the first year of that deal by bringing him into the professional ranks due to his injury situation. He might be returned to the Pats but would still miss a sizable chunk of the WHL campaign.

    The injuries to Henry and Wagner show what a grind the WHL playoffs can be and how much heart the Pats had to get to the point they were two wins away from winning their first league title since 1980.

    At the moment, the Pats are looking at possibly opening their regular season schedule without any returning players from their top two lines last season and the starting centre from their third line. It should also be noted that teams hosting the Memorial Cup often get players returned to their rosters by NHL clubs who might normally be kept in the professional ranks.

Connor Hobbs might stay in the pros in the Washington Capitals system.

    NHL clubs regularly return players to major junior teams hosting the Memorial Cup championship tournament, because those returnees gain experience playing important post-season games in May. That traditional development might see the Pats get Hobbs, Steel and Mahura back on their roster.

    Regina holds the major junior rights to standout centre Tyson Jost, who will enter his 19-year-old season. Jost played last season with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks men’s team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and he appeared in six NHL regular season games after signing an NHL entry-level contract on March 29 with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored one goal during his six games with the Avalanche.

    Due to signing with the Avalanche, Jost can’t return to the Fighting Hawks next season, but the Avalanche can assign him to an AHL affiliate because he was drafted from the junior A ranks in British Columbia.

Goalie Tyler Brown might have to keep the Pats in games early in 2017-18.

    The Avalanche selected Jost in the first round and 10^th overall in 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and they are expected to give Jost every chance to stay with the big club for the upcoming season.

    The Pats still have two big keys in their favour in the fact John Paddock is still the club’s head coach and general manager and Dave Struch is still an assistant coach and assistant general manager. Paddock has the skill to quickly strengthen the Pats via the trade route.

    In May, he already started doing just that acquiring star centre Matthew Bradley, who is entering his overage season, in a deal with the Medicine Hat Tigers in a deal that saw Hollett move to “the Gas City.” Bradley recorded 34 goals, 43 assists and a plus-23 rating in 70 regular season games with the Tigers last season.

    Struch has built a reputation for being a stellar coach who is strong at building up a player’s confidence.

The Pats want to enjoy more post-season celebrations like this in 2018.

    The Pats will return star netminder Tyler Brown as an overager. The Winnipeg, Man., product will provide the ability to keep the Pats in games during the early going as the rest of the club’s roster takes shape.

    As the 2017-18 season progresses, the Pats might build a roster that is as equally as good as the one from last season and be a contender for a WHL league title and a Memorial Cup title as CHL champions.

    At the moment in the early going, it looks like the rest of the WHL will be looking forward to encounters with a Pats team that will be weaker than the squad that hit the ice last season.

    Fans in Regina will have to be patient at the start of the 2017-18 campaign, if it is bumpy, and they might get a better appreciation for how special 2016-17 was.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

WHL Championship delivered thrills and drama

Title series between Thunderbirds and Pats was a classic

Keegan Kolesar skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    REGINA – Wow!

    That is the only word that was needed to describe this year’s WHL Championship series. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Regina Pats put on a show and both were worthy of battling for the Ed Chynoweth Cup in a best-of-seven set.

    In a conclusion that was a fitting end for an overall thrilling 2017 WHL playoffs, Alexander True followed the rebound of his own shot to pop home the winner at the 12:36 mark of overtime to deliver the Thunderbirds to a 4-3 series winning Game 6 on Sunday at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Seattle claimed its first league title in franchise history with the 4-2 series win. The Thunderbirds date back to 1977, when the club was formed as the Seattle Breakers.

    At the start, the series had to be considered a tossup. The Pats finished first overall in the WHL with a 52-12-7-1 mark and were rated first in final Canadian Hockey League top 10 rankings, which were released on March 22. They were making their first appearance in the league final since 1984.

    The Thunderbirds finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 46-20-4-2 mark despite getting out to a slow start due to players getting back late from professional camps. They lost the best-of-seven league title series last year 4-1 to the Brandon Wheat Kings and returned 14 skaters who were looking to take care of unfinished business.

Alexander True scored the Thunderbirds biggest goal.

    Over the course of six games, the Thunderbirds and Pats showed their resilience. The teams were separated by the slimmest of margins, but in the end, the experience the Thunderbirds had likely helped push them to the title.

    Sunday’s Game 6, which was played before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators, captured the whole series perfectly. It seemed momentum wouldn’t stay with one side.

    After two straight losses, the Pats were looking to get the series back on even terms. Things started well for the hosts as star centre Sam Steel converted a nice feed from defenceman Josh Mahura at the top of the left faceoff circle on the power play to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

    Seattle came with a huge push back and outshot Regina 10-3 in the opening frame. During that stretch of Thunderbirds pressure, it appeared Pats standout netminder Tyler Brown was going to steal the game as he made stop after stop.

    Thunderbirds winger Sami Moilanen found the equalizer on the 20^th shot fired on goal from his side forcing a 1-1 tie at the 8:55 mark of the second.

    The contest proceeded to turn 16 seconds later when Thunderbirds defenceman Turner Ottenbreit received a major penalty for charging on a high hit he threw on Pats speedy winger Austin Wagner. Wagner left for the remainder of the second period and returned for the start of the third.

Austin Wagner led the Pats with 16 goals in the post-season.

    At that point, the Pats showed their “never say die” attitude. They pushed back and built momentum heading into the third period.

    In the third, the Pats hit a point where it appeared Game 7 was going to be a reality. With 8:10 to play in the frame, Mahura fired home a rebound from a shot by winger Jeff de Wit to give the Pats a 2-1 edge.

    From there, Wagner stepped into the forefront. He stole the puck from Thunderbirds defenceman Austin Strand, zipped into the Seattle zone on a breakaway and fired home his 16^th goal of the playoffs to the top left corner of the Thunderbirds net with 6:48 to play. The Brandt Centre was rocking with the Pats now holding a 3-1 lead.

    This became the point the Thunderbirds experience showed through. When everything was rolling for the Pats, they found a moment to gain traction to turn the game around again and provide the final turning point for the series.

Tyler Brown’s rebound on this blocker stop turned out to be costly.

    Just 86 seconds after Wagner’s goal, the Thunderbirds caught a break, when a pass from Seattle defenceman Ethan Bear deflected off Mahura right to Thunderbirds overage winger Ryan Gropp, who was open in the right slot. Gropp cut to the middle and fired home a shot that cut the Pats lead to 3-2 causing a short hush to fall over the Brandt Centre crowd outside of the healthy contingent that was cheering for the Thunderbirds.

    The Thunderbirds proceeded to get on the power play, and winger Keegan Kolesar fired home a beauty feed from Bear in the right slot to force a 3-3 tie with 2:54 to play in the third.

    In overtime, the Pats had a great chance to get the winner, when a shot from standout rookie winger Nick Henry squirted out from the pads of Thunderbirds goaltender Carl Stankowski. Steel tried to tap home the loose puck, but he didn’t get enough force behind the jab allowing Stankowski to make the stop.

Thunderbirds D Ethan Bear (#25) wires a shot on goal from centre ice.

    That set the stage for True to play the role of Seattle hero netting the series winner. When Brown made a blocker stop on True’s first shot, the import from Copenhagen, Denmark, was smart to go hard after his rebound, because he had a lot of empty net to shooting the winning goal into.

    Brown was heroic in the setback making 39 stops. Stankowski turned away 28 shots to become the first goalie in his 16-year-old season to win the WHL title as a starter since Dan Blackburn in 2000 with the Kootenay Ice.

    Three games in the series were decided in overtime, and all three were played in Regina. The Thunderbirds claimed two of those games in extra time to erase the memories of dropping three straight overtimes to open last year’s WHL Championship series with the Wheat Kings.

Thunderbirds C Mathew Barzal cuts to the front of the Pats net.

    The Pats were also without captain Adam Brooks for Games 2 to 5 of the series. Brooks was lost after being on the receiving end of an open ice hit by Ottenbreit in the second period of Game 1.
    Without their captain, the Pats showed their grit winning two out of the four games Brooks missed.

    While Regina fans weren’t happy with Ottenbreit, the Yorkton, Sask., product, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, showed he was a sound and rugged defensive defenceman.
    He recorded seven goals, 25 assists, 92 penalty minutes and a plus-45 rating in the plus-minus department in 71 regular season games.

Sam Steel netted key goals for the Pats.

    If Ottenbreit played for the Pats, he would likely have been a fan favourite in Regina.
    Thunderbirds star centre Mathew Barzal was held pointless in Game 6, but he had his chances. The first round NHL Entry Draft selection of the New York Islanders was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

    Barzal missed Seattle’s first round series sweep of the Tri-City Americans due to illness, but he returned at the start of the second round and recorded seven goals, 18 assists and a plus-eight rating in 16 post-season games.

    With the WHL championship win, the Thunderbirds head to the four team Memorial Cup tournament, which begins Friday in Windsor, Ont., with the host Spitfires hosting the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Saint John Sea Dogs.

    The Thunderbirds open their schedule taking on the Ontario Hockey League champion Erie Otters on Saturday. The Memorial Cup runs through to Sunday, May 28 in Windsor.

The Thunderbirds celebrate their WHL title OT winning goal.

    Seattle will be in tough as a WHL team has only won one of the last eight Memorial Cup tournaments. The Edmonton Oil Kings are the only Memorial Cup winner coming from the WHL during that time span capturing major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 2014.

    No matter what happens in the Memorial Cup, the Thunderbirds and Pats showed in their league title series how impressive a product the WHL can be.

    They gave the circuit another classic championship series.

Ridley nears 3,800 games called

Bob Ridley calls a Medicine Hat Tigers road game in Saskatoon.

    When the next WHL season starts, iconic Medicine Hat Tigers play-by-play voice Bob Ridley will be closing in on calling his 3,800^th game.

    This season, the Tigers advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs, where they lost a heartbreaking seven game series to their Highway 3 rivals the Lethbridge Hurricanes. That contest was marked the 3,783^rd game Ridley called as the voice of the Tigers including games in the regular season, standings tiebreakers, WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Since the Tigers began play in 1970, Ridley has called 3,363 of the 3,364 team’s regular season games, one standings tiebreaking game, all 399 contests the club has played in the WHL playoffs and all 20 contests the team has played in the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Ridley has called Tigers hockey games for 47 seasons, and for the majority of that time, he drove the team’s bus as well. If someone started next season calling an average of 80 games a season for 47 seasons, that person would still come up short of the total games Ridley has called.

    It is safe to say no one ever in the history of the WHL will ever pass Ridley’s total of game called as the play-by-play voice of one team.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Hurricanes hit new heights in Game 3 win over Pats

The Hurricanes mob Jadon Joseph (#23) after he scores.

    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Head coach Brent Kisio pretty much had no complaints about his Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

    Just 16 seconds into Game 3 of their WHL Eastern Conference championship series with the Regina Pats, the Hurricanes beared down on the Regina net on an odd man rush, and Lethbridge defenceman Brennan Menell cut across the face of the Pats net to tuck home his fifth goal of the post-season to give his side a 1-0 lead. Menell’s goal helped bring the 5,178 spectators that squeezed into the Enmax Centre to their feet.

    The raucous crowd backed the Hurricanes all night, who put together a textbook 3-1 playoff victory. The win gives the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final with the Pats. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Enmax Centre.

    “I liked that we stuck with our plan,” said Kisio. “We were getting pucks deep.

    “We were managing a lot better. I thought we played hard. It was real good 60-minute effort, and it was probably one of our better ones of the post-season.

Brennan Menell breaks into the offensive zone.

    “We played all four lines. I thought all our lines were skating well, and that is why we had a good 60 minutes.”

    Besides being able to roll when they had the momentum, the Hurricanes stayed steady when the Pats carried play. While the host side scored early, the Pats pushed back late in the first period gaining momentum from a power-play chance and firing a bunch of stops on Lethbridge netminder Stuart Skinner, who stood tall making 13 saves during the opening 20 minutes.

    Skinner’s sound play was one theme in the contest.

    “He (Skinner) is a good goalie,” said Pats captain Adam Brooks. “He probably one of the best ones for his age in Canada.

    “You have to do a little bit extra to beat him. You’re not going to beat him on straight shots. You have to get rebounds.

    “You have to get effort. The pucks were laying there. We just have to work to get in there.”

    Shortly after the halfway point of the second period, the Pats pulled even at 1-1, when winger Dawson Leedahl tipped home the point shot from defenceman Josh Mahura.

    The visitors had a big chance go ahead a short time after Leedahl netted the equalizer, when Hurricanes rookie centre Jadon Joseph was penalized for slashing.

Tyler Brown makes a stop in close for the Pats.

    Star offensive-defence Connor Hobbs wired a point shot on that man advantage that hit both posts of the Lethbridge goal and stayed out.

    When the penalty expired, Hurricanes defenceman Brady Pouteau was able to get the puck to Joseph as he stepped out of the penalty box. Working with a partial breakaway, Joseph wired a snap shot past Pats netminder Tyler Brown to put the Hurricanes up 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

    Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said Menell’s goal at the start of the first period and Joseph’s tally were key turning points in the contest.

    “We obviously weren’t good enough,” said Paddock. “In saying that, once we tied it up there we had like four or five good chances on that power play.

Egor Babenko cuts into the offensive zone for the Hurricanes.

    “It was like a two-goal swing, when the guy (Joseph) comes out of the box and scores. We should have scored on the power play, and the first goal shouldn’t have happened.”

    At the 4:08 mark of the third period, the Hurricanes closed out the game’s scoring when left-winger Egor Babenko came down the right wing and wired home a set up pass from captain Tyler Wong.

    Inside the final minute of play in the third, Joseph received a big ovation from the Enmax Centre crowd for a fierce forechecking shift in the Regina zone that killed off some key seconds.

    Skinner made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Brown turned away 24 shots to take the loss in goal for the Pats.

    “I thought we played really well,” said Menell. “We came out to a good start, and we finished it.

    “We didn’t have any letdowns. Everyone played hard. Of course Skinner, he was amazing again tonight.”

    NOTE - Pats standout winger Austin Wagner left the contest in the second period and didn’t return. Paddock didn’t have a status update on Wagner after the game.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Heart of the Hurricanes

Lethbridge stuns Pats in Eastern Conference finals opener

Jordy Bellerive, left, celebrates his goal with his Hurricanes teammates.

    REGINA – These Lethbridge Hurricanes will never say die.

    If there is any team out of the four remaining in the WHL playoffs that could fold tent with every excuse in the book, it is the Hurricanes. During the post-season, Lethbridge has been riddled with injuries causing star players like captain Tyler Wong and Giorgio Estephan to log a huge amount of minutes per game. There are times it seems like netminder Stuart Skinner is seeing more rubber than a dead skunk on the Trans-Canada Highway.

    In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Hurricanes won back-to-back seven game series over the Red Deer Rebels and Medicine Hat Tigers respectively overcoming four elimination games. When the Hurricanes hit the ice for Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference championship series on Friday night in Regina, they were playing their 15^th game in 28 days.

Pats W Dawson Leedahl knocks Canes captain Tyler Wong off the puck.

    To make things more challenging, the host Regina Pats finished first overall in the WHL with a 52-12-7-1 record, and they topped the final Canadian Hockey League top ten rankings released back on March 22.

    When the dust settled on Friday, the Hurricanes players left the Brandt Centre ice surface happily saluting their small contingent of fans in the northeast corner of the building that were able to get tickets in the sellout crowd of 6,484. The visitors came away with a 3-1 victory to lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.

    Forget the pre-series barbs that were traded between Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock and Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt. Paddock claimed Wong jumped a foot in the air when he hit people. Anholt countered the Pats players took run at their opponents.

Goalie Stuart Skinner dives to cover a loose puck for the Hurricanes.

    All that talk is traditional playoff smoke, where each side tries to plant a seed in the heads of the officials and media to gain an advantage. When the puck drops, you still have to play the game.

    In Friday’s win, the Hurricanes did use smart tactics to defend against the Pats keeping them to the outside and clogging up lanes through the centre ice zone, but they won mainly because of heart. Anholt loves his teams that have heart, and he has to have that trademark proud grin going, when his club hits the ice.

    Regina’s biggest downfall was the fact they didn’t score a lot more early, when they blasted out of the gates to start the contest. Just 70 seconds in, speedy winger Austin Wagner scored on a breakaway to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    From there, the Pats controlled the first period outshooting the Hurricanes 14-8. However, that is also the problem when you play the Hurricanes. You might have them down, but they will take advantage of the slightest breaks to turn things around.

Hurricanes D Igor Merezhko checks Pats C Wyatt Sloboshan.

    Signs of that started to happen late in the first, when the visitors fired three shots in close during a short time span, but the Pats stayed ahead thanks to netminder Tyler Brown making a stop each time.

    At the start of the second period, the Pats still appeared to have control but things changed at the 13:23 mark of the frame that sent a shock through the 21^st sellout crowd between the regular season and playoffs at the Brandt Centre. A Pats defensive zone turnover resulted in Estephan wiring home a shot from the slot to tie things up at 1-1.

    Early in the third, the Hurricanes gained only their second power-play chance of the contest. During the man advantage, a net scramble ensued in front of the Pats net, and Hurricanes forward Jordy Bellerive knocked home a loose puck to put the visitors up 2-1.

Pats captain Adam Brooks darts up ice on a third period rush.

    Shortly before the midway point of the frame, Wagner appeared to have netted the equalizer for the Pats when he went into the Hurricanes zone battling Hurricanes defenceman Brennan Riddle on a rush. The pair went crashing into the goal along with the puck.
    On replays, Wagner gave Skinner a bump going into the goal before the puck crossed the line, which would negate the tally due to contact with the netminder. The goal was officially waved off due to the net being dislodged before the puck crossed the goal-line.

    Still, the Hurricanes did whatever they needed to do to protect their slim lead. Wong would take a shot deep in the offensive zone and race back to deflect a Pats chance away in the defensive zone.

Hurricanes D Brennan Riddle takes Pats W Nick Henry into the boards.

    Pats captain Adam Brooks played for the first time after missing five games with a knee injury, which included dressing and not playing in the last three contests in that stint. He saw limited ice time through the first two periods. With the Pats down in the third, he saw increased ice time with regular linemates Wagner and Filip Ahl.

    Late in the third, Brooks had a beauty chance to score from in front of the Lethbridge goal, but he was turned away by Skinner.

    Skinner used all of his 6-foot-4 frame to play big in the Hurricanes goal, and he made the acrobatic diving stop when he needed to. In total, he made 36 saves on the night.

    The Hurricanes iced the win with an effort play. With 1:22 to play in the third and Brown pulled for an extra attacker for the Pats, Estephan stole the puck from Pats forward Nick Henry deep in the left corner of the Regina zone and popped in an empty-net goal to round out the 3-1 final.

The Hurricanes celebrate their Game 1 win over the Pats.

    Brown stopped 22-of-24 shots fired his way taking the loss in goal for the Pats.

    The Hurricanes came out with the win on Friday, because they made more effort plays than the Pats did. You keep wondering when the Lethbridge players will run out of gas, but they just don’t. Even with returning forwards Zak Zborosky and Zane Franklin from injury, the Hurricanes still dressed associate players Dylan Cozens and Shawn Harke.

    The line of Wong, Estephan and Egor Babenko still played a lot, but their efforts never diminished as the game went on.

    When the Hurricanes and Pats meet in Game 2 on Saturday in Regina (7 p.m. local time, Brandt Centre), it will be the Hurricanes 16^th game in 29 days.

    Will this be the game they hit the wall, or will they just keep going like the Energizer Bunny?

    The Pats learned one thing on Friday that the slightest little letdown against Lethbridge can be costly.

Regina sports media a good group

    During my travels through various WHL centres, I have often renewed ties with old friends and acquaintances that work for mainstream media outlets, which has been fun.

    At all my stops, everyone has been good. Due to the Pats doing so well this season, I have made a number of trips to Regina, and I am impressed with how well everyone from the Regina sports media scene seems to get along. You could tell there is a good vibe between all the reporters.

    It is also cool to see a large number of them out at Pats games. Due to cuts in mainstream media outlets throughout Canada, you don’t normally see this. Regina is an exception mainly due to the fact the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders call that centre home, but regardless, it is still nice to see larger numbers of media members from mainstream outlets out at Pats games.

    Anyways on trips to Regina, it has been cool to interact with Rob Vanstone and Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post, Bianca Millions from CTV and Arielle Zerr from CJME, who are all the mainstays. I also get to see Rod Pedersen of CKRM and Warren Woods of CJME on a somewhat regular basis too.

    I hope the upbeat vibe that is there can continue well into the future.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Pats paste Broncos in Game 7

Regina gets rolling early and cruises to 5-1 victory

Goalie Tyler Brown and Austin Wagner embrace after the Pats Game 7 win.

    REGINA – The Regina Pats proved to be too much for the Swift Current Broncos to handle, when it became a winner take all situation.

    On Monday night at the Brandt Centre, the Pats hit stride scoring two goals before Game 7 of their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Broncos was even five minutes old.  
    With a raucous sellout crowd of 6,484 fans behind them, the Pats steamrolled to a 5-1 victory.

    The win allowed the Pats, who were playing their first Game 7 at home in 45 years, to erase a 3-1 series deficit to win the set 4-3. Regina also advanced to the Eastern Conference championship series for the first time since 1993.

Sam Steel had two big goal for the Pats in Game 7.

    Finishing first overall in the WHL with a 52-12-7-1 record and being rated first in the final Canadian Hockey League top 10 rankings that came out on March 22, the Pats were big favourites to beat the Broncos.

    Swift Current posted a solid 39-23-4-6 record during the regular season and gave the Pats all they could handle.

    When the dust settled, Pats star centre Sam Steel, who paced his side with a pair of goals, was pumped his club pulled off the comeback in the series.

    “We showed a lot of character,” said Steel, who was a first round NHL Entry Draft selection of the Anaheim Ducks last year. “I am really proud of the guys.

    “I don’t think we have a lot of doubt in there. We’re really happy to come out on the right side of this series. You learn that you are never out of it,”

Import winger Filip Ahl (#61) wins a battle in the corner for the Pats.

    Steel struck for his first of the night popping home a rebound from a shot taken by linemate Nick Henry to give the Pats a 1-0 lead just 2:19 into the game. Pats import winger Filip Ahl followed that up with a breakaway goal at the 4:57 mark of the first period to send the Regina faithful into a frenzy and force the Broncos to call a timeout.

    Swift Current did have an opportunity to get back into the contest closing out the final nine minutes of the opening frame with three power-play chances. Pats netminder Tyler Brown stoned Broncos star winger Tyler Steenbergen on a golden opportunity in close and robbed Broncos import rearguard Artyom Minulin with a huge glove save on a rocket shot through a screen from the point.

Rearguard Connor Hobbs had three assists in the Pats win.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said his side needed to pick up some traction at that juncture of the contest.

    “I thought if we could have capitalized on a couple of power plays that we had in the first period we could have changed things,” said Viveiros. “We simply just didn’t have it tonight for whatever reason.

    “We just didn’t have the game that we normally have throughout this whole series. Against a team like that which is going like that, you have to be at your best. If you are not at your best, you are not going to win.

    “The momentum was just going, and we just couldn’t get out of it. We dug ourselves out of holes throughout these playoffs, but today, we just couldn’t do it.”

    Shortly before the midway point of the second period, Steel bagged his second marker of the contest swatting home a loose puck in the crease of the Swift Current goal during a net scramble to put the hosts up 3-0. Before the second period ended, Pats speedy winger Austin Wagner tipped home a point shot from star offensive defenceman Connor Hobbs to increase Regina’s edge to 4-0.

Jordan Papirny makes one of his 38 saves in goal for the Broncos.

    With 5:27 remaining in the third period, Broncos centre Conner Chaulk scored on the power play to cut Regina’s lead to 4-1. Swift Current pulled star netminder Jordan Papirny for that power play chance to give the visitors six skaters to go against the Pats four skaters.

    Swift Current had another power-play chance with under five minutes to play and again pulled Papirny, but Wagner ended all hopes of a miracle comeback scoring a short-handed marker into an empty net for his second tally of the night.

    Brown made 23 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Papirny turned away 38-of-42 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

Nick Henry picked up an assist for the Pats.

    Hobbs had three assists and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department for the home side.

    Last year, the Pats fell in Game 7 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series 2-1 to the Rebels in Red Deer.

    This year, Brown was proud his team could rally from a 3-1 series deficit and advance to the conference championship series.

    “We knew we weren’t ready to go home yet,” said Brown. “We knew we could do it.

    “We persevered as best we can. It was a real fun series.

    “There was a lot of energy in the building, and that does maybe play a factor in the game. It was real good out there.”

    The Pats will host Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference championships series on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. They will face the winner of Game 7 of the other Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Hurricanes.
    The Tigers and Hurricanes go at it in that Game 7 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat.

    Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said his team will face a tough opponent in the conference final.

The Pats faithful celebrate during the final seconds of a Game 7 win.

    Looking at what his team accomplished, Paddock did admit it was significant for the Pats to finally go back to the conference championship series for the first time in 24 years.

    “I think for the organization it is important to go for it and have a run when you have an opportunity to,” said Paddock. “The organization probably understands you can’t do this every year, but you don’t fall very far.

    “I think a goal would be for it to be a habit within every three or four years, (or) two or three years to advance and have the seats full.”

Brooks the good luck charm

Injured Pats captain Adam Brooks mans the door on his team’s bench.

    Injured captain Adam Brooks proved to be a good-luck charm for the Pats.

    The overage Winnipeg product suffered a knee injury in the Pats win in Game 2 over the Broncos. With Regina trailing Swift Current 3-1 in the best-of-seven set, Brooks dressed for the final three games of the series, but he didn’t see any on ice action.

    With Brooks as a cheerleader and door bench opener, the Pats won three straight with him on the bench. Due to the fact Brooks is in his final season of major junior eligibility, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock felt Brooks deserved to be in uniform, if the Pats were eliminated.

    The gesture was a classy one by Paddock towards one of the team’s heart-and-soul members for the past five seasons. In five complete WHL campaigns, Brooks appeared in 317 regular season games collecting 119 goals, 216 assists and a plus-89 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Brooks has 14 goals, 26 assists and a plus-11 rating in 34 post-season games. The playoff games played total includes the three outing Brooks dressed, but didn’t see the ice.

    With the Pats and Broncos often cutting down to three forward lines during their series, it didn’t hurt to have Brooks just hanging out on the bench with what is basically a spare parts fourth line.

    On the superstition side, the Pats are winning when Brooks is on the bench, so they might as well keep doing it.

    Now that Regina has advanced, it is possible Brooks might return at some point in the Eastern Conference championship series.

Regina should be blue, white and red

It would be cool if Regina was painted more in Pats colours.

    With the Pats creating a lot of excitement with their post-season runs over the last three years, you would think the team’s colours would be all over the place in Regina.

    Outside of a sprinkling of signs, that isn’t the case. Actually, you don’t see a lot of people out and about wearing Pats merchandise like you do the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

    Pretty much the only place you can purchase Pats merchandise or clothing is at the Pats store at the Brandt Centre.
    The team, which has sold out 20 games between the regular season and playoffs, has a lot of good gear at its store.

    Due to business hang ups, I can see the problem with red tape in getting Pats gear out to local stores.
    Still with how popular the Pats are in Saskatchewan’s capital city, it would be nice if the town was painted blue, white and red.

    If you have any comments to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Pats lunch pail effort forces Game 7 with Broncos

Pats winger Dawson Leedahl (#71) muscles his way out of a crowd.

    SWIFT CURRENT – The Regina Pats became the lunch pail crew to stay alive in the post-season.

    Having finished first overall in the WHL regular season 52-12-7-1 mark and being rated first in the final CHL top ten rankings released on March 22, the Pats are commonly pictured as a team that wins on finesse. On Saturday night at the Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current against the host Broncos, the Pats didn’t abandon their skill.

    With that said, their greasy goals of just diving to the net proved to be the difference in a 5-3 victory in Game 6 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Pats, who trailed the best-of-seven set 3-1 at one time, evened the series up at 3-3. A winner take all Game 7 is set for Monday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

Austin Wagner had two goals and an assist for the Pats.

    The Pats hit the scoreboard first at the 7:24 mark of the first period, when standout winger Austin Wagner scored on a shift where his club buzzed around the Broncos net. The Broncos evened things up at 1-1 heading into the first intermission on a goal from Russian defenceman Artyom Minulin.

    The host side proceeded to jump ahead 3-1 with two early goals to open the second period. Just 29 seconds into the frame, winger Arthur Miller knocked home the rebound of a shot from Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin to put Swift Current up 2-1.

    At the 2:27 mark, Gawdin converted a nifty setup pass from winger Tyler Steenbergen to put the Broncos up 3-1 and the sellout crowd of 2,890 almost blew the roof off the team’s home rink.

    For the longest time, it appeared the Broncos were going to advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series for the first time since 2001. They were sent reeling after the Pats scored twice inside of the final 90 seconds of the second to force a 3-3 tie.

Winger Filip Ahl zips into the offensive zone for the Pats.

    With 1:24 to play in the frame, Pats star centre Sam Steel fed a setup pass across the face of the Broncos goal to pinching rearguard Josh Mahura, who popped home the puck to cut the Broncos lead to 3-2. Regina tied the score up at 3-3 with 25 seconds to play in the second, when centre Wyatt Sloboshan tipped home a point shot from Mahura.

    The Pats continued to jump on the Broncos early in the third. Just 75 seconds into the frame, Wagner scored his second goal of the night by just driving hard to the net. At the 5:48 mark, Swedish winger Filip Ahl added a greasy insurance goal to put the Pats up 5-3.

    In between those Regina tallies, the Broncos had a chance to get the momentum back in their favour, but Swift Current centre Kaden Elder ended up ripping a shot off the crossbar of the Pats goal.

Pats centre Wyatt Sloboshan (#13) forechecks Broncos rearguard Max Lajoie.

    After the Pats vaulted ahead by two goals, they proceeded to sit back defensively and were successful in closing out the contest. Netminder Tyler Brown was steady in the Regina net making 34 stops to pick up the win.

    Jordan Papirny turned away 23 shots to take the loss in goal for the Broncos.

    The Pats needed to resort to a more greasy effort as captain Adam Brooks dressed but was limited to cheering on his teammates and opening the door on the bench for a second straight game. Brooks hasn’t seen a shift since being on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit in his team’s victory in Game 2 of their series with the Broncos.

The Pats celebrate Austin Wagner’s goal in the first period.

    Regina’s on ice chemistry seemed to have taken a step up when Ahl returned for their victory in Game 5 after missing three contests to undergo tests for the mumps.

    For the second straight contest, Sloboshan took Brooks’ regular spot centring a line that contains Ahl on left wing and Wagner on right wing. Everyone on that unit was a plus-four in the plus-minus department.

    Sloboshan, who is a former captain of the Saskatoon Blades, has mainly played a defensive forward role with the Pats, but he arguably had his best outing wearing Regina’s colours on Saturday night. Besides collecting a couple of assists to go along with his goal, Sloboshan was tough in the faceoff circle and came in hard on the forecheck.

Glenn Gawdin had a goal and two assists for the Broncos.

    Wagner had an assist to go along with his two goals, while Ahl had a pair of helpers.

    The Broncos, who were 39-23-4-6 in the regular season, were without star winger Lane Pederson, who left the first period of his team’s loss in Game 5 due to injury. His status for Game 7 is likely uncertain.

    Heading into Game 7, the Pats now look poised to make their first appearance in the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series since 1993. In order to succeed in playoffs, teams will have to find gutty ways to win at times, and the Pats have done that for two straight games.

    If the Pats put on a gritty effort for a third straight contest, they will increase their chances of advancing. On the other side, the Broncos aren’t going away, so there are no guarantees on how Game 7 will play out. 

    The drama in how that contest unfolds should be fun to watch.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

WHL playoffs at its best – Pats stay alive in electric affair

Robbie Holmes (#32) shows his excitement after a goal from Connor Hobbs.

    REGINA – If you live in Regina and weren’t at the Brandt Centre on Friday night, you missed out.

    In one of the best playoff major junior playoff battles you might see anywhere, the host Regina Pats outlasted the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 6,484 energetic spectators.     

    The win allowed the Pats to stay alive in the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two clubs cutting the Broncos edge in that department 3-2.

    The Broncos will try to close things out again on Saturday when the series switches back to Swift Current for a 7 p.m. start at the Credit Union i-Plex. The way things played out on Friday in Regina, the Broncos could have been heading home with a series win, if they were able to make just a couple of more plays.

Connor Hobbs controls the puck on the point for the Pats.

    Friday’s battle at the Brandt Centre was a raucous one. While the large majority of the rink were cheering for the host Pats, the Broncos arrived in the Saskatchewan capital with a healthy contingent of supporters that made a lot of noise.

    The action before the Pats 19^th sellout crowd of the 2016-17 campaign on the ice was a seesaw battle that was filled with a number of story lines. The Pats, who were rated first in the final Canadian Hockey League rankings that were released on March 22, stormed out of the gate getting the first eight shots on goal.

    The Broncos didn’t get their first shot on net until the 7:10 mark of the opening frame, when Pats netminder Tyler Brown turned away Broncos winger Lane Pederson from the slot.

Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin scored a power-play goal in the third period.

    Momentum turned in the second half of the opening 20 minutes when the Pats paraded to the penalty box on a trio of minor infractions. On the third of those chances, Broncos defenceman Colby Sissons blasted home a shot from the point to give the visitors a 1-0 edge with 2:44 to play in the first. You could feel a hush fall over the Regina faithful, when that tally went in.

    The hosts came back to life on a power-play opportunity late in the frame, and Pats star centre Sam Steel snipped the equalizer through a screen with 13.5 seconds remaining in the opening 20 minutes.

    Early in the second, the Pats jumped ahead 3-1 scoring a pair of goals 38 seconds apart from each other. First, Pats star defenceman Connor Hobbs scored to give the hosts a 2-1 edge putting a puck home during a net scramble in front of the Swift Current goal.

Tyler Brown makes one of his 30 saves for the Pats.

    After that marker, the Pats went up 3-1 scoring a more finesse goal as Steel found linemate Nick Henry on a backdoor feed on a rush, and Henry made no mistake scoring into an empty cage.

    The Broncos had a big chance to cut the gap at the 8:52 mark of the third, when Pats winger Austin Wagner was given a major penalty for a knee-on-knee hit to Broncos overage centre Ryley Lindgren.     The infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    Pats fans loudly showed their displeasure at the call during the ensuing Broncos power play. A few booed Lindgren, who remained in the game, every time he touched the puck.

    Near the end of that power-play chance, Swift Current pulled to within 3-2, when Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin tipped home a shot from the wall by star winger Tyler Steenbergen.

    In the final 90 seconds, the Broncos pulled netminder Jordan Papirny for the extra attacker, had pressure in the Regina zone, but couldn’t generate a solid scoring chance.

    Brown made 30 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Papirny turned away 33 shots including a third period penalty shot by Pats centre Braydon Buziak to take the loss in the Broncos net.

    The injury front also provided some dramatics also on Friday night. On the Swift Current side, Pederson left the contest in the first period with an injury and did not return.

Pats captain Adam Brooks dressed but didn’t play Friday.

    Pats import winger Filip Ahl returned to the lineup after missing three games undergoing tests for the mumps. 

    Pats captain Adam Brooks dressed for the first time after taking a knee-on-knee hit in his team’s Game 2 win over the Broncos. 

    He was pretty much pinned to the Regina bench and opened the gate occasionally for his teammates.

    Whether Brooks or Pederson plays in Game 6 on Saturday remains to be seen.

    With that said, Game 5 in Regina was a barnburner. Both sides look like they are far from finished in this set.

    Now see what the next chapter will look like in less than 24 hours, because it appears anything can happen.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.