Hitmen fall to Pats 5-2 in Game One

 

In the first 40 minutes of Game One on Friday night, the Hitmen held their own against the Regina Pats.

Then Regina showed why they are ranked the best team in the Canadian Hockey League.

Despite their best efforts, Calgary couldn’t contain the high-octane Pats offense and surrendered the first game of the 2017 playoffs with a final score of 5-2.

Jake Kryski opened the scoring and netted two goals in the loss.

Pats Captain Adam Brooks had a four-point night including two goals, while Josh Mahura, Bryan Lockner and Austin Wagner also found the back of the net.

The Hitmen went 1/3 on the man-advantage while holding the top-ranked Pats powerplay to one goal on two chances.

Cody Porter made 27 stops in the loss.

Tyler Brown turned away 20 shots.

The Hitmen held the Pats off the scoresheet in a scoreless first period, despite being outshot 9-2.

A huge penalty-kill against the league’s best powerplay squad gave the Hitmen the confidence they needed heading into the middle frame.

Kryski opened the scoring at 10:50 of the second period on the powerplay, his first WHL career playoff goal, from Jake Bean and Jakob Stukel.

Mahura tied the game, also on the powerplay, from Connor Hobbs and Brooks.

In the third period, the Pats looked like, well, the Pats.

Brooks gave Regina their first lead of the game from Hobbs and Filip Ahl at 4:25 of the final period.

Brooks scored his second of the night two minutes and twenty-two seconds later on a solo rush to make it 3-1.

Kryski answered back with a second marker of his own, from Tyler Mrkonjic and Brady Reagan, batting a rebound past Brown at 9:04.

Lockner took back the two-goal lead from the WHL’s leading point-getter this season, Sam Steel.

On a shorthanded breakaway, Wagner beat Porter to pad their lead 5-2.

Game Two of the first round presented by Pocky goes tomorrow from the Brandt Centre in Regina at 7 p.m. (SPORTSNET960, SHAW Channel 359).