The Pats beat Lethbridge 5 – 4 on Garrett Festerling’s shootout winner in front of 3,990 fans at Brandt Centre in Regina.

The ‘Canes jumped out to an early lead 1:16 into the game when Kris Hogg scored his sixteenth goal of the season.

The Pats appeared sluggish to start the game until Denis Tolpeko tied the score at the 3:35 mark going wide and out waited Lethbridge netminder Justin Leclerc for a highlight-reel goal.

 

Colton Yellow Horn put the Hurricanes back up by a goal notching a power-play marker just over ten minutes into the period.

In the second period the Pats broke out with two power-play goals in just over two minutes.  Petr Kalus deflected a Craig Schira point-shot to tie the score at the 9:20 mark.  Moments after Denis Tolpeko hit the cross-bar he wired a pass to Kyle Ross, who buried his fifteenth of the season to put the Pats ahead by a goal heading into the final period.

Matt Robinson converted on another power-play opportunity banging home a goal 5:29 into the third period to give the home-side a two-goal advantage, however the Hurricanes wouldn’t go away.

 

Lethbridge pulled within one with 8:07 remaining when Roman Wick beat a sprawling Linden Rowat.

Mitch Fadden beat Rowat glove-side from the slot to even the score with 2:45 remaining.

A major plot in Saturday’s contest was the number of penalties assessed by referee Cory McLean.  McLean handed out ten penalties to the Hurricanes and fourteen to the Pats.  Lethbridge was 2/12 on the power-play, while the Pats converted on 3/8 man advantage opportunities.

 

Pats forward Brett Leffler was assessed a five-minute fighting major and a game misconduct with fourty-six seconds remaining in the third period.  Leffler’s penalty put the Pats in a hole in overtime, however strong penalty-killing by the Pats enabled them to hold the ‘Canes of the score-sheet and forced the shootout session.  Colton Yellow Horn was the lone Hurricane to beat Rowat in the shootout, while Kalus and Festerling were able to convert on their opportunity.

Linden Rowat made twenty saves in the victory, while Justin Leclerc made twenty-three saves in defeat.