Pats rally late to beat Blades
On a night when Gordie Howe was in Saskatoon to be honoured by his legendary hockey peers, the Blades were in Regina, hoping to do #9 proud and win one for Gordie.
“Gordie, man he is the perfect example of Saskatchewan hockey,” said Assistant Coach Dean Brockman. “Hard-working, smart, physical. That’s what we need to do to win – play meat and potatoes type hockey.”
Midway through the first, it would be the Captain doing the damage for the Blades – with the boys in blue on a 5-3 power play, Brett Stovin would score his 9th goal in his last 9 games, and the Blades would grab a 1-0 lead.
The lead would hold until there were only two minutes left in the first. Taylor Cooper would take a feed from behind the net and pick the top corner over the shoulder of Nik Amundrud, tying it up. The first would end with the score knotted at 1-1.
Regina would be firing on all cylinders in the second – midway through the frame the shots would favour the Pats, 30-15. Nik Amunrud, however, would ensure the score remained deadlocked, making several sprawling saves.
With two minutes left in the second, Cameron Hebig would once again put the Blades in the lead, tipping one past Daniel Wapple, and giving the Blades a 2-1 lead heading into the final intermission.
Two minutes into the third, the Pats would once again tie it up, and it would be on one the Blades would want back – despite a Blades powerplay, Patrick D’Amico would score shorthanded to even the score.
“We can’t let that happen,” said Brett Stovin. “A shorthanded goal is a killer. We need to be better than that.”
Minutes later, the Pats would grab the lead. Colby Williams would slip one past Amundrud, and Regina would lead 3-2. They would keep it coming – two minutes after that, Rykr Cole would bury one, and the Pats would double the lead, jumping in front 4-2. They would add a late one, ultimately winning by three.
“Obviously it wasn’t a good third,” said Head Coach Bob Woods after the game. “We fell asleep there. We need to play a full 60 minute game and we didn’t, and it cost us big time.”
“We need to learn from this, and shake it off,” added Stovin. “We play again tomorrow night in Swift, and we need to be better, play a full game.”
