PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Pats Host Blades in Elimination Game, Down 3-2 in Series
Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats play for their playoff lives tonight, as they host the Saskatoon Blades in game six at 7:00 p.m. inside the Brandt Centre, currently trailing the best-of-seven series 3-2.
A win tonight would force a series-deciding game seven back in Saskatoon on Monday. The Pats once had a 2-0 series lead, but the Blades have won the last three games, two of which have come in overtime.
Last night, the Blades defeated the Pats 4-2 in game five, grabbing the first home win in this series. It was also the first time the Pats had trailed for an extended period of time in a game this series, as the Blades led 2-1 after one and 3-1 after two. Regina made it a 3-2 game in the third period thank’s to Connor Bedard’s second of the night, but the turning point was shortly after where Braxton Whitehead hit the post and Sam Ormeba missed a wide open net, proving that hockey is a game of inches.
Egor Sidorov had himself a night, scoring twice, giving him five goals over his last three games after being held off the scoresheet over games one and two. Conner Roulette scored his first of the series and Vaughn Watterodt tallied his second of the series and his sixth point this post-season. Ethan Chadwick got the win, allowing two goals on 22 shots. Meanwhile, Pats goaltender Drew Sim made 29 saves in the loss. Both clubs ended the night 1-2 on their power play.
Connor Bedard continues to light of the post-season, recording 10 goals and 15 points in five contests, scoring half of Regina’s goals this post-season. Stanislav Svozil and Alexander Suzdalev each tallied two assists last night, giving them both nine points in the series.
Aidan De La Gorgendiere was held pointless in games one and two and has now tallied seven assists over the last three games in this series, putting him tied for first in Blades points with Egor Sidorov who has scored in three straight games coming into game six.
HOW THE TEAMS MATCHUP
|
Saskatoon |
Regina |
|
| Team Record | 48-15-4-1 — 101 points | 34-30-3-1 — 72 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd East | 4th East |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Eastern | 6th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 5th | 11th |
| Past 10 Games | 8-2-0-0 | 3-6-1-0 |
| Streak | 2-0-0-0 | 0-2-0-0 |
| Last Game | 6-3 W @ Moose Jaw (Mar 25 2023) Final | 5-3 L vs Prince Albert (Mar 25 2023) Final |
| Home Record | 25-6-3-0 | 18-15-0-1 |
| Away Record | 23-9-1-1 | 16-15-3-0 |
| GF | 257 | 262 |
| GA | 171 | 277 |
| PP (Overall) | (73/265) 27.5% | (65/243) 26.7% |
| PP (Home) | (40/138) 29.0% | (31/117) 26.5% |
| PP (Away) | (33/127) 26.0% | (34/126) 27.0% |
| PK (Overall) | (43/245) 82.4% | (65/283) 77.0% |
| PK (Home) | (22/124) 82.3% | (24/124) 80.6% |
| PK (Away) | (21/121) 82.6% | (41/159) 74.2% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (8/19) 42.1% | (4/18) 22.2% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (4/18) 77.8% | (8/19) 57.9% |
| Leading Rookie | Keller (13-17-30) | Suzdalev (38-48-86) |
| Most PIM | Lies – 82 | Vaughan – 78 |
| Team PIM/GM | 10.4/Game | 12.5/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Wong (27-59-86) | Bedard (71-72-143) |
| Sidorov (40-36-76) | Suzdalev (38-48-86) | |
| Lisowsky (38-33-71) | Howe (36-49-85) | |
| De La Gorgendiere (12-53-65) | Svozil (11-67-78) | |
| Roulette (24-39-63) | Valis (20-28-48) | |
| Last 5 Games | 6-3 W @ Moose Jaw (Mar 25 2023) Final | 5-3 L vs Prince Albert (Mar 25 2023) Final |
| 3-2 W vs Regina (Mar 24 2023) Final | 3-2 L @ Saskatoon (Mar 24 2023) Final | |
| 4-2 L vs Regina (Mar 19 2023) Final | 4-2 W @ Saskatoon (Mar 19 2023) Final | |
| 3-2 W vs Brandon (Mar 18 2023) Final | 7-3 W @ Moose Jaw (Mar 18 2023) Final | |
| 3-2 W @ Swift Current (Mar 15 2023) Final | 9-5 L vs Moose Jaw (Mar 17 2023) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 29-3-3-0 | 20-6-2-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 36-1-2-1 | 26-2-2-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 13-5-1-1 | 8-3-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 9-1-1-0 | 4-7-0-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-7-0-0 | 6-21-1-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 3-13-1-0 | 4-21-1-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 31-9-2-0 | 12-9-0-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 14-5-1-1 | 20-21-3-0 |
| 1-Goal Games | 14-1-4-1 | 12-6-3-1 |
| 2-Goal Games | 9-9-0-0 | 4-4-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 12-3-0-0 | 10-8-0-0 |
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
- Radio: 620ckrm.com
- Stream: WHL Live
- TV: AccessNowSports
REGULAR SEASON HEAD-TO-HEAD (2-4-0)
The Pats and Blades have played each other 34 times in playoff games, with Regina going 17-16-1 all-time (coming into this series). The Pats have won three of their six all-time series, while losing both round-robin games in 1986.
| Date | Road | Home | Time | Result |
| November 13th | Regina | Saskatoon | 4:00 p.m. CST | L, 5-2 |
| December 17th | Saskatoon | Regina | 7:00 p.m. CST | L, 6-1 |
| January 13th | Saskatoon | Regina | 7:00 p.m. CST | W, 7-4 |
| March 5th | Saskatoon | Regina | 4:00 p.m. CST | L, 5-2 |
| March 19th | Regina | Saskatoon | 4:00 p.m. CDT | W, 4-2 |
| March 24th | Regina | Saskatoon | 7:00 p.m. MDT | L, 3-2 |
It was the Saskatoon Blades ousting the Regina Pats 4-2 in the season series, outscoring the Pats 23-18 through six contests. On the flip side, the Pats went 2-2 in the second-half of the season against the Blades, while outscoring them 15-14 over their last four contests against Saskatoon.
REGULAR SEASON HEAD-TO-HEAD – INDIVIDUAL STATS
Saskatoon Blades
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Regina Pats
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HEADLINES
- Connor Bedard swept the WHL awards on Monday, being named the league’s Player of the Week after eight points (5G-3A) in two playoff games. He was also named the March Player of the Month, scoring 32 points (19G-13A) over his 13 regular season and playoff appearances.
BY THE NUMBERS
143: Points (71G-72A) in 57 games for captain Connor Bedard led the WHL…since having his 35-game point-streak end on Feb. 3, he recorded 53 points (27G-26A) over his last 20 games, with points in 17 of those…this post-season, he’s gathered 15 points (10G-5A) in five games.
71: Goals in the 2022-23 season for Bedard led the WHL, while his 72 assists were tied for first…he also led the way in shots on goal (360), points per-game (2.51), goals per-game (1.24), and finished tied for first in game-winning-goals with 11.
86: Points this season (38G-48A) in 66 games this season for winger Alexander Suzdalev led all first year WHL players…he also led all rookies in goals (38), assists (48), points (86), power play goals (17), and power play assists (19), and tied for first in points per-game (1.30)…he’s also recorded six points (1G-5A) in three playoff games.
41: Number of points (6G-35A) in Stanislav Svozil’s final 28 games of the season (since coming back from the World Juniors on Jan. 13)…he finished first in power play assists (36), second in assists (67), second in points per-game (1.39), and third in points (78) in just 56 games.
85: Points this season (36G-49A) for second year forward Tanner Howe was tied for 13th in the WHL…the Prince Albert, Sask. product ended the regular season on a six game point-streak (4G-4A-8PTS) with goals in three straight contests.
COMING UP
| Game | Date | Away | Home | Time |
| 7* | Monday, April 10 | Regina | Saskatoon | 7 p.m. MT |
*If Necessary
