Sportsnet CHL Saturday Showcase: Regina at Moose Jaw
Two Saskatchewan rivals go head-to-head in this week’s edition of the Sportsnet CHL Saturday Showcase as the Regina Pats (17-38-1-2) and Moose Jaw Warriors (31-16-6-2) face off at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE.
Entering Friday, the Warriors hold down third place in the Western Hockey League’s East Division and will be looking to return to the win column following Monday’s 4-3 loss to the first-overall Prince Albert Raiders after their comeback bid fell short after initially trailing 4-0. Left wingers Tristin Langan and Brayden Tracey, who tallied twice on the powerplay and added an assist on Langan’s goal, provided the offense for Moose Jaw. A 20-year-old from Swan River, Man., Langan leads the Warriors in scoring with 41 goals and 47 assists for 88 points in 54 games, trailing only Portland Winterhawks forward Joachim Blichfeld (51-51-102) in the race for the Bob Clarke Trophy.
Between the pipes, the Warriors run a tandem with 20-year-old Brodan Salmond, who is in his first year in Moose Jaw after spending three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets, and 2000-born Adam Evanoff, who got the start against the Raiders but was relieved after allowing three goals in the opening frame. Salmond then turned aside 21 shots in his two periods of mop-up duty.
As for the Pats, the rebuilding club will look to push its win streak to two games following Wednesday’s 5-4 shootout victory over the Kootenay ICE in which the team rallied from a 4-0 deficit, including a late short-handed marker by left-wing Logan Nijhoff to send the game to extra time. Two Regina blue-liners finished the night with multi-point efforts, namely Brady Pouteau, with one goal and one assist, and fellow rearguard Liam Schioler, who had a pair of helpers.
The Warriors and Pats have met five times this season, with two contests still on the docket following Saturday’s affair. The most recent meetup, which came last Saturday, saw the Warriors come away with a 6-3 win on home ice, led by Tracey, who picked up one goal and two assists, while Salmond stopped 21 shots for the victory. In 29 appearances this season, the Warriors netminder owns a 16-7-4-1 record alongside a .904 save percentage and 2.84 goals-against average. Meanwhile, Austin Pratt, Regina’s top scorer with 22 goals and 23 assists for 45 points in 58 contests, finished the night with one goal and one assist to go with seven shots on net.
The Warriors lead the season series with a 4-1-0-0 advantage, with the Pats’ lone victory coming in mid-December when the two squads faced off in a weekend home-and-home bout. Catch all the action in the latest tilt Saturday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE when the puck drops at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT.