Add

Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Regina Pats hosted Moose Jaw on Saturday looking to make it 5 consecutive victories over the Warriors to start the season.  The Pats were coming off a 7-6 overtime loss the night before at the hands of the Prince Albert Raiders who came back from down 4 in the third to win.  Connor Gay had 2 goals and an assist in the loss, Boston Leier scored twice while Dryden Hunt added a goal and a helper.  The Warriors lost on Friday as well as the Brandon Wheat Kings went into Mosaic Place and won 8-4.  The Warriors had a couple of new faces in their lineup since the last time the two clubs met.  Erik Benoit was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds while former Vancouver Giant Scott Cooke joined the club.  The Pats were without leading scorer Morgan Klimchuk for a second straight night with a lower body injury.  The Pats came in 3rd in the East division and 7th in the Eastern Conference while the Warriors were 6th in the division and 11th in the conference.  Nick Schneider got his first home start in the Pats goal and 2nd start of the season.  The Pats scratches on Saturday were Adam Brooks, Morgan Klimchuk, Chase Harrison and Brady Reagan. 

In the first period the Warriors got off to a good start scoring on their first shot on goal.  Bryson Gore beat Nick Schneider with a slap shot from the point at 2:51.  Jayden Halbgewachs and Torrin White the assists and it was 1-0 Moose Jaw.  The Pats would respond at the 5:53 mark as Dryden Hunt banged home his 6th of the year from Boston Leier and Kyle Burroughs and it was 1-1.  The Warriors would get the games first powerplay but the Pats would kill it off.  The Blue and White got a powerplay of their own but it lasted just 8 seconds before they were called for an infraction.  The period would end tied at 1's with the Pats leading shots on goal 10-5. 

In the second frame the Pats took their first lead 17 seconds in as Braden Christoffer scored on a drive to the net for his 3rd from Boston Leier and Kyle Burroughs and it was 2-1.  Then on the powerplay the Pats made it 3-1 as Dyson Stevenson put home his 15th on a beautiful passing play with Geordie Maguire and Boston Leier.  The Pats would get their 3rd goal of the period at the 15:51 as Boston Leier put home his team leading 18th and fourth point of the night to make it 4-1.  Braden Christoffer and Kyle Burroughs the assists.  The Pats went 1 for 2 on the powerplay in the period while killing all 3 Warrior man advantages.  The Pats outshot the Warriors 12-5 in the frame and led overall 22-10. 

In the third the Pats made it 5-1 at the 10:40 mark as Braden Christoffer got his second of the night and 4th of the season from Chandler Stephenson and Connor Gay.  Then on the powerplay at 13:45 the Pats made it 6-1 as Boston Leier scored his second of the game and team leading 19th from Chandler Stephenson and Braden Christoffer.  That's how the game would end.  It was a feisty third period with some fights and the frustration for the Warriors showed.  Dyson Stevenson ended the night with 2 fights.  The Pats outshot the Warriors 13-4 in the third and 35-14 overall.  Nick Schneider made 13 saves for his first WHL win. 

Boston Leier put up a career high 5 points and is now the Pats leading scorer with 31 points on the season.  He ended the weekend with 4 goals and 3 assists.  Braden Christoffer had a career night of his own with 2 goals and 2 assists. 

Chandler Stephenson was named the games third star with 2 assists in the game.  The second star to Braden Christoffer for his 4 point night and the first star to Boston Leier for his aforementioned success. 

The Pats return to action on Wednesday in Brandon against the Wheat Kings at 7 o'clock on 620 CKRM. 

Head-to-HeadThe Regina Pats (14-12-1-0) go head to head with their arch-rivals the Moose Jaw Warriors (8-17-3-2) tonight in their fifth meeting of the season.  The Blue and White have dominated the season series so far, winning all four previous meetings.  Boston Leier leads the Pats with seven points (4G, 3A) against Moose Jaw this season while Colton McCarthy has two goals in four games for the Warriors.  Coming into tonight’s contest, the Pats have lost two straight after last night’s OT loss to Prince Albert.  The Warriors have also dropped two in a row and are 2-7-1-0 in their last ten.  This evening’s game can be heard on 620 CKRM starting at 6:35 p.m.

Lead Up: Pats Drop Lead in 7-6 OT Loss to Prince AlbertThe Pats got goals from Boston Leier (2), Connor Gay (2), Dyson Stevenson and Dryden Hunt to lead 6-2 in the third period.  The Raiders wouldn’t go quietly into the night as they scored four times in the final period to tie the game with their fifth and sixth goals coming fifteen seconds apart.  With a powerplay in overtime, Prince Albert would end it on Leon Draisaitl’s second of the night to win 7-6 in a stunning comeback. 

‘Stache it Up Movember Wrap-UpMovember comes to a close for the Regina Pats and it’s a celebration of all things moustache to raise awareness for Men’s Health.  Immortalize your Mo with a picture at the RNC Imaging Photo Booth, say good-bye to your Mo with a shave from Modern Men (with donation) and if you didn’t/couldn’t grow a Mo don’t worry!  Snag a Sports ‘Stache on your way into the Brandt Centre courtesy Abadoo Marketing.  The Canadian Cancer Society will also be on hand to “pass the bucket” to raise funds for cancer research. 

Good HuntingDryden Hunt continues to roll through the month of November.  The first year NHL draft eligible forward has seven points (5G, 2A) in his last six games.  With a goal and an assist last night, Hunt matched his career highs in goals, assists and points (5G – 5A – 10PTS) in 62 games in the 2011-12 season. 

Three in Three?  No ProblemChandler Stephenson played his third game in as many nights Friday after playing in the Subway Super Series Wednesday and Thursday.  The Washington Capitals prospect didn’t have any points for Team WHL, but jumped right onto the scoresheet with two assists in the Pats’ loss last night and now sits one point back of Morgan Klimchuk for the Pats’ lead. 

Reaching New HeightsOver-age forwards Dyson Stevenson and Boston Leier are well on track to set new career highs in the goal column in the near future.  Stevenson sits two shy of his twice-reached career high of 16 goals and Leier is just one away from matching his career high, set last season, of 18.  Leier’s previous high came over 72 games while Stevenson’s was posted in 62. 

Who to Watch on Moose JawJosh Uhrich has shown his feisty side in four games against the Pats.  The second year forward has racked up the PIMs against Regina and has found his scoring touch of late with four goals and eight points in his last nine games. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

The Regina Pats returned home for the first time since November 3rd on Friday taking on the Prince Albert Raiders.  The Pats had played 8 straight road games winning 5 of them and came in 7th in the Eastern Conference, 4 points back of the Raiders.  The Pats were without their leading scorer Morgan Klimchuk who sustained an injury in game 6 of the Subway Super Series on Thursday in Lethbridge.  The Raiders came in having beaten the Hurricanes in their last contest 8-2 last Saturday and were 3 and oh against the Pats so far on the year.  Two of those wins coming in Prince Albert and the other in Regina.  Josh Morrissey had been great in those contests tallying 3 goals and 3 assists.  The Pats welcomed some of the Riders on Friday as well as the Grey Cup at the game.  Regina's scratches were Dmitry Sinitsyn, Morgan Klimchuk, Rylee Zimmer and Chase Harrison. 

In the first period the Pats got on the board with a powerplay goal at 2:14 as Connor Gay fired home his 4th from Dryden Hunt and Geordie Maguire and it was 1-0 Pats.  The Raidersa would come back with some chances and a powerplay of their own but Dawson MacAuley stood tall in the Pats goal.  Then on their second powerplay the Pats made it 2-0 as Boston Leier put home his 16th from Dyson Stevenson and Chandler Stephenson at 10:38.  The Pats made it 3-0 at 17:50 as Dryden Hunt put home his 5th from Connor Gay and Griffin Mumby who got his first point of the year.  That was it for Nick McBride in the Raider goal as he was replaced by Cole Cheveldave.  The Pats would make it 4-0 at 18:28 as Boston Leier got his 2nd of the night from Braden Christoffer and Griffin Mumby.  That's how the period would end with the Raiders leading the shots on goal 14-12. 

In the second the Pats made it 5-0 5:18 in as Connor Gay picked up his second of the game and 5th of the year from Braden Christoffer and Chandler Stephenson.  The Raiders would get on the board with a powerplay goal at 5:18.  Josh Morrissey shot high and it bounced off the back glass and off the back of MacAuleys leg and into the goal.  Morrissey credited with his 12th from Sawyer Lange and Dakota Conroy at 7:03 and it was 5-1.  Then at 13:11 the Raiders got it to within 3 as Gage Quinney scored on a great backhand shot top shelf for his 3rd.  Shane Danyluk and Darcy Zaharichuk the assists and it was 5-2.  The Pats would get back to a four goal lead as Dyson Stevenson scored a beautiful goal faking the slap shot, stepping around his man and firing off the post and in for his 14th.  Jesse Zgraggen and Kyle Burroughs the assists at 16:48 and it was 6-2.  That's how the second ended with the Raiders outshooting the Pats 15-7 in the frame and 29-19 overall. 

In the third the Raider started to chip away and got back within 3 at 9:11 as Tim Vanstone got his 2nd from Carson Perreaux and Josh Morrissey and it was 6-3.  Then at 12:02 Prince Albert got within 2 as Dakota Conroy got his 10th from Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey on the powerplay and it was 6-4.  Then at 13:06 the Raiders got their 5th goal of the game from Tim Vanstone as he got his 2nd of the game and 3rd of the year and it was 6-5.  Then 15 seconds later the Raiders tied it at 6 as Leon Draisaitl banged home a rebound for his 12th from Dakota Conroy at 13:21 and we were headed to overtime. 

In OT the Raiders went to the powerplay 30 seconds in and on the man advantage Leon Draisaitl scored his 2nd of the game, 13th of the season from Josh Morrissey at 1:37 and the Raiders win in dramatic fashion 7-6. 

The third star of the game went to the Pats Connor Gay who had 2 goals and an assist.  The second star to the Raiders Tim Vanstone who had 2 goals and the first star to Prince Albert's Leon Draisaitl who had 2 goals and an assist including the OT winner. 

The Pats return to action Saturday night at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7 o'clock at the Brandt Centre. 

TORONTO,
Ont. –  Canada’s National Sledge Team welcomes Korea, Russia and the United
States to Toronto starting Sunday, as four of the top sledge hockey teams in
the world go for gold at the 2013 World Sledge Hockey Challenge, Dec. 1-7 at the
MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence. 

The
tournament is the last major international event before the 2014 Paralympic
Winter Games, which will be held March 7-16 in Sochi, Russia. 

Canada’s
National Sledge Team is looking for its fifth gold medal at the World Sledge
Hockey Challenge, having won in November 2011 in Calgary, Alta.,  April 2011 in
London, Ont.,  2008 in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and 2007 in Kelowna, B.C. Canada
claimed the silver medal at the 2009 tournament in Charlottetown, and last year
in Calgary. 

Canada
opens the 2013 World Sledge Hockey Challenge against Korea at 5 p.m. ET on
Sunday, Dec. 1.  The Canadians also play Russia at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 2
and the United States at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 4 in preliminary round
action.  Semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. ET and 8 p.m.
ET, while the puck drops Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. ET for the bronze medal
game and at 7:30 p.m. ET for the gold medal game. 

The
gold medal game of the 2013 World Sledge Hockey Challenge will be aired on
TSN/RDS, official broadcasters of Hockey Canada.  Please check your local
listings for broadcast times in your area. 

All
preliminary round games, as well as the semifinals and bronze medal game, will
be webcast at www.hockeycanada.ca/wshc. 

Single-game
tickets are available, with admission to the six preliminary round games, both
semifinals and the bronze medal game on sale for just $10, while gold medal
game tickets are only $15 apiece.  Full-tournament ticket packages, including
access to all 10 games, are available for just $35 each.  Prices do not include
applicable fees.  For ticket information, including how to purchase, CLICK
HERE. 

Head-to-Head
The Regina Pats (14-12-0-0) play their fourth game of the season against the
Prince Albert Raiders (15-9-2-0) tonight.  All three previous meetings
between the teams have gone in the favour of Prince Albert which holds a
3-0-0-0 record against Regina this season.  Boston Leier leads the Pats
into tonight’s game with a goal and an assist in three games against the
Raiders in 2013-14.  Josh Morrissey is the top Raider against the Pats
with six points (3G, 3A) in three games this year.  Coming into tonight,
the Blue and White battled to a 5-3-0-0 record over eight straight road
games.  The Raiders displayed their offensive flair in their previous
contest with an 8-2 win over Lethbridge.  This evening’s game can be heard
on 620 CKRM starting at 6:35 p.m. and watched on Access 7 starting at 7:00 p.m.

Lead Up: Pats Finish Road Stretch with 5-1 Loss in
Medicine HatThe Blue and White went into Medicine Hat hoping to
come away with an impressive sixth road win in eight games, but the Tigers had
other ideas and spoiled Boston Leier and Dawson MacAuley’s return to the
Hat.  Geordie Maguire opened the scoring for Regina before the Tigers went
on to score five unanswered the rest of the way.  Trevor Cox had four
points while Cole Sanford tallied two goals in the Tigers’ 5-1 victory. 

Honouring the Champs
The Celebration in Rider Nation comes to the Brandt Centre when members of the
2013 Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders are honoured in a pre-game
ceremony.  The Grey Cup will be in the house and fans will be able to take
pictures with the Cup during the intermissions.  It’s also BMO Ultimate
Fan Night, so put on your best Pats gear for your chance to be named the
Ultimate Fan and be entered to win a trip to the 2014 Mastercard Memorial Cup. 

Home Sweet HomeThe last time the Pats took to the ice in front of
their home fans was November 3rd in a 3-1 win over Moose Jaw. 
On home ice, the Pats hold a 6-3-0-0 record.  Their powerplay sits at
20.4% (10/49) and penalty kill has a 73.2% (30/41) success rate.  The Blue
and White are 13-3-0-0 over their past sixteen games on home ice against the
Raiders. 

Introductions are in OrderDefenceman Jesse Zgraggen was acquired by the Pats
back on November 3rd, but he has yet to play in a home game. 
All eight of his games played with the Pats have come on the road.  In
those games Zgraggen has four points (1G, 3A) and is a +2.  Also in his
first game at the Brandt Centre is back-up goaltender Nick Schneider who made
his WHL debut in a 5-3 loss to the Tri-City Americans during the Pats’ road
stretch. 

Back from the Subway Super Series
Chandler Stephenson and Morgan Klimchuk will be very deserving of a break after
this weekend.  They will have played four straight nights after returning
from the Subway Super Series.  Wednesday night saw Team WHL fall 3-2 to
Team Russia.  Morgan Klimchuk had an assist last night in Team WHL’s 4-2
win over Russia to clinch the Series for the CHL. 

Who to Watch on Prince AlbertForward Mike Winther plays his first game against the
Pats and at the Brandt Centre since his hit on Connor Gay resulting in a
suspension for Winther and Gay missing some games.  Despite limited games
(15) Winther has 13 points (2G, 11A). 

Thursday, November 28, 2013

The Regina Pats took part in the Courage Canada Learn to Skate program at the Brandt Centre on Thursday.  What an incredible thing to witness as the players skated with a number of visually impaired children, some of whom had never been on the ice in their lives.  Here are some photos from the afternoon before practice starting with defenseman Tye Hand. 

Next is a photo with Forward Rylee Zimmer. 

Zimmer had this to say afterwards. " Its great, these kids enjoy it so much, skating around, havign fun, making them smile.  Its life changing just to be able to help them out like this.  I talked to one girl whose name is Amanda and she said she loved it so much.  It just changed their lives and its an honor to be able to do that." 

Rookie goaltender Nick Schneider got in on the fun as well. 

﻿

Forward Adam Brooks. 

Defenseman Dmitry Sinitsyn giving some skating tips. 

Rookie Austin Wagner posing. 

Maximillian Kammerer dropping the puck for a faceoff between one of the kids and defenseman Chase Harrison. 

What an incredible day.  Just seeing the look on those kids faces was priceless.  I feel very proud to be apart of the great Regina Pat organization.  The team is in action tomorrow night at home with a 7 o'clock puck drop against the Prince Albert Raiders at the Brandt Centre. 

Red Deer, AB -- Ivan Nalimov’s string of impressive performances continued as he made 42 saves to backstop Russia to a 3-2 victory over Team WHL in Game 5 of the 2013 SUBWAY Super Serieson Wednesday nightbefore a crowd of 6,057 at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer, AB. 

Nalimov, who kicked aside 91 shots over two Russian wins versus Team OHL, was particularly strong in the third period, making 17 stops, including several solid efforts late in the game with Team WHL pressing.  The 19-year-old netminder was named Player of the Game for Russia, a well-earned honor. 

“(Nalimov) played extremely well for them tonight,” said Team WHL head coach Brent Sutter. “ We had a lot of chances, and he made some big time saves…he’s been very good in every game he’s played in this series, and he won the two games out in the OHL for them too. 

“We had some soft plays around our net that we can’t let happen,” he said. 

Alexei Baskov gave the Russians a 3-2 lead early in the third frame, scoring on a wraparound after being allowed to walk right out from behind the net.  The goal was enough to propel the Russians to the win and give them a 3-2 lead in the six-game series. 

Igor Redenkov and Alexander Barabanov also scored for Russia, while Taylor Leier – with a goal and an assist – and Griffin Reinhart had the markers for Team WHL.  Leier, who plays for the Portland Wintterhawks, was named Player of the Game for Team WHL after having a strong game in a losing cause. 

“I thought I played well at both ends of the ice, and I had my feet moving, so that’s all I can really ask of myself,” said Leier. “ Their goalie really was the reason they won that game tonight…he made some unbelievable saves and came up big when we were pressing. 

Eric Comrie turned aside 22 of 25 shots for Team WHL.  The 18-year-old may have been the victim of a couple tough plays, but Comrie enjoyed a strong outing overall. 

“It’s a tough loss to take, and I felt I should have had all three of those goals,” said the Tri-City Americans’ netminder. 

Comrie came up huge for Team WHL midway through the second period, robbing Ildar Shiksatdarov with a brilliant glove save after the Russian forward made a nice move all alone in front of the WHL goal.  Comrie’s glove also got the better of a breakaway attempt from Baskov late in the second period. 

The WHL struck first, just 45 seconds into the game, with Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings getting the goal.  The New York Islanders prospect pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired home a wrist shot, cleaning up after some nice work by Portland’s Brendan Leipsic. 

Russia evened things up 14:36 into the first period when Igor Redenkov’s knuckling shot from just inside the blue line through a screen fooled Comrie.  It was Redenkov’s second goal and fourth point of the series. 

Alexander Barabanov put the Russians up 2-1 less than three minutes later with his first of the series, jamming in a rebound in a goalmouth scramble. 

Team WHL knotted the game at 2-2 early in the second period with Portland’s Taylor Leier scoring a shorthanded marker.  The 19-year-old from Saskatoon, SK, picked off a cross-ice pass at his own blue line, went in all alone on Nalimov, and made a nice deke to his backhand. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the eleventh edition of the BMO CHL Top 10 Rankings for the 2013-14 regular season.  The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. 

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Patrik Polivka of the Victoria Royals is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending November 24 after posting a 4-0-0-0 record with a shutout victory and a goals-against-average of 0.75 and save percentage of .977. 

Polivka allowed just three goals on 131 shots last week backstopping the Royals to four straight wins helping the club move into a tie for fifth place in the WHL’s Western Conference standings with 35 points.  Polivka earned first star honours in all four games last week beginning Tuesday night with a season-high 42 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers.  On Wednesday night the Royals edged the B.C Division-leading Kelowna Rockets 4-1 with Polivka stopping 26 shots in the victory.  He finished the week with back-to-back wins over the Blazers including a 34-save performance on Friday in the 6-1 victory, then recorded his league-leading fourth shutout of the season on Saturday with 26 saves in the 5-0 home win over the Blazers. 

Polivka, a 19-year-old from Plzen, Czech Republic, is playing in his second WHL season.  He currently holds a 12-8-0-0 record and has the fifth best goals-against-average in the league with a mark of 2.28 and also ranks fifth in the WHL with a .923 save percentage. 

Also considered for the award this week was Philadelphia Flyers prospect Anthony Stolarz of the London Knights who posted a 2-0-0-0 record with a shutout victory for a goals-against-average of 0.50 and save percentage of .985, while Alex Dubeau of the Moncton Wildcats earned a shutout victory in two starts posting a goals-against-average of 1.00 with a save percentage of .968. 

KENNEWICK, WA – Tri-City Americans’ Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has acquired 19-year-old defenseman Jeff Hubic from the Kootenay Ice in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2014 Bantam Draft. 

Hubic, a 6’3 182-pound defenseman from Regina, Saskatchewan, is in the middle of his third full WHL season, all of which spent as a member of the Kootenay Ice.  Originally a 4th Round (79th overall) pick by the Ice in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft, Hubic made his WHL debut on February 5, 2011 against Vancouver, then joined the Ice full-time for the 2011-12 season.  Appearing in 153 career WHL games, Hubic has totaled 2 goals, 14 points and 188 penalty minutes.  Hubic comes to Tri-City with 5 assists, 6 points and a plus-5 rating, all of which either match or exceeded his previous career bests. 

“With the injuries to (Mitch) Topping and (Wil) Tomchuk, and with Michal (Plutnar) and Parker (Wotherspoon) away for tournaments before and after the Winter Break, we needed to address a depth issue on our blueline,” explained Tory. “ Jeff is an experienced defenseman, who will add size to our group.  We look forward to him joining our team this weekend.” 

Tri-City Americans are preparing for a Thanksgiving weekend doubleheader at Toyota Center.  Before hosting the rival Spokane Chiefs on Saturday, November 30, the Americans welcome the Victoria Royals to Kennewick on Friday, November 29.  Both game times are 7:05 p.m. Tickets are on sale now through all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer locations, or online atticketmaster.com.