RECAP: Pats come back home and secure 5-2 win over Raiders
PHOTO: Keith Hershmiller Photography
Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats broke a seven game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday at the Brandt Centre.
The Pats were back home for the first time since February 19 (W, 6-0 vs. CGY), and they improved to a perfect 4-0 on specialty jersey games this season, taking down the Prince Albert Raiders on #CHLJerseyContest night, with the Pats wearing fan designed jerseys by Meadow Daschuk. Through tonight’s jersey auction, the Pats raised $13,807.25, with 100% of the net proceeds going to the President’s Choice Children’s Charity to help feed one million kids each year.
Five different Pats players found the back of the net on Friday, while Kelton Pyne put together one of his best starts of the season, making 32 saves for his first victory since January 13. Tanner Howe (1G-1A) and Anthony Wilson (1G-1A) led the way offensively with multi-point efforts. Tye Spencer, Jaxsin Vaughan and Braxton Whitehead rounded out the scoring for the Pats who grabbed their 17th home victory of the season.
The Raiders got goals from Turner McMillen and Justice Christensen as well as two helpers from Ryder Ritchie. Max Hildebrand made his 15th straight start, stopping 14 of 18 shots sent his way.
FULL POST-GAME SHOW INTERVIEW WITH ASST. COACH EVAN MCFEETERS
FINAL SCORE: Pats 5, Raiders 2
Click for the Official WHL Box Score
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0 Pats at 10:13 – Tye Spencer (23), unassisted // The Pats broke in on a 3-on-1 and Spencer kept and fired a shot low to Hildebrand’s blocker hand to give the Pats a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period.
1-1 Raiders at 11:27 – Turner McMillen (9), assisted by Ryder Ritche & Justice Christiansen // The puck bounced off Pyne’s left pad and trickled out to McMillen in the slot and he flipped it over the Pats netminder to tie the game up at 1-1.
Second Period
2-1 Pats at 9:22 – Anthony Wilson (8), assisted by Braxton Whitehead & Tanner Howe // Whitehead spun and passed it to Wilson in the slot who fired the puck past Hildebrand to give the Pats a 2-1 lead.
3-1 Pats at 11:14 – Jaxsin Vaughan (15), assisted by Corban Almen & Cole Temple // Almen grabbed the puck behind the Raiders net and found a streaking Vaughan and he made no mistake to give the Pats a 3-1 lead.
Third Period
4-1 Pats at 10 seconds – Tanner Howe (27), assisted by Anthony Wilson & Keagan Slaney // Wilson got the puck along the right boards and sent a pass to Howe just to the right of the slot and his shot beat Hildebrand to the blocker side to give the Pats a 4-1 lead.
4-2 Raiders at 15:14 – Justice Christiansen (11), assisted by Aidan Oiring & Ryder Ritchie (PP) // Christiansen’s shot from the point deflected off of a body in front of Pyne and past the Pats goaltender to pull the Raiders to within a pair at 4-2.
5-2 Pats at 18:18 – Braxton Whitehead (16), assisted by Zackary Shantz (EN) // Shantz got the puck along the right boards and sent the puck up to Whitehead who won a foot race and added some insurance into the empty cage, making the score 5-2.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 4-9-6–19 | Prince Albert – 14-7-13–34
PP: Regina – 0/2 | Prince Albert – 1/5
Face-offs: Regina – 39 | Prince Albert – 25
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne (32 saves / 34 shots)
Prince Albert: Max Hildebrand (14 saves / 18 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Kelton Pyne – Pats (34 shots, 32 saves)
Second: Tanner Howe – Pats (1G-1A)
Third: Anthony Wilson – Pats (1G-1A)
JUST NOTES
- Jaxsin Vaughan returned from his six-game suspension and notched his 15th goal of the campaign. He has three points (2G-1A) in his last three games.
- Zackary Shantz grabbed an assist and has points in back-to-back games (2G-1A) and 11 points (2G-9A) in his last 13 games.
- Corban Almen picked up an assist and had points in three straight games (1G-2A).
- Cole Temple grabbed an assist and has four points (all assists) in his last five games.
- Braxton Whitehead continues to add to his career season by picking up a goal and an assist. He now has has 22 points (6G-16A) in his last 21 games.
- Tye Spencer ended a three-game pointless and goalless skid with his 23rd goal of the season.
- Tanner Howe also ended a three-game pointless skid with a goal and an assist.
- Anthony Wilson scored for the first time in eight games, picking up his eighth goal of the season. He later added an assist for a two-point game.
- Keagan Slaney picked up his first point in five games with an assist.
- The Pats ended a seven-game losing streak with the win.
- The Pats improved to 7-2 on specialty jersey games since the 2021-22 season.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Pats’ next action at the Brandt Centre is Sunday, March 17th when they take on the Moose Jaw Warriors, puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m, You can score your tickets at reginapats.com.
