PREVIEW: Pats Battle Hitmen In Crucial “Four Point” Game
Calgary, Alta. – The Regina Pats battle the Calgary Hitmen at 8:00 p.m., Sask. Time inside the Scotiabank Saddledome in what will feature one of the most important games of the season.
HOW TO TUNE-IN
PREVIEW
The Pats enter today’s game with a 18-26-4-2 record and 42 points which is seven points back of the eighth and final playoff spot held by the Calgary Hitmen who are 21-19-6-1 with 49 points this season.
The Pats are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday at Co-Op Place. Corban Almen and Sam Oremba scored for the Pats in the loss while Kelton Pyne made 19 saves. The final shots were 31-24 for the Pats. The Pats finished the game 0-5 on their power play and 5-7 on their penalty kill.
Sam Oremba remains hot for the Pats after picking up his 15th of the season on Tuesday. He now has five goals and one assist over his last six games.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Hitmen are coming off a 8-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday at home, scoring eight or more for the third time this season and for the second time in five games. Carson Wetsch recorded a hat-trick, Ben Kindel had four assists, Oliver Tulk had three assists and Keets Fawcett (1G-2A) also picked up three points. Reese Hamilton tallied two helpers while Tyson Greenway and Ethan Moore rounded out the scoring. Ethan Buenaventura made 26 saves in the win. The final shots were 42-27 for the Hitmen. Calgary was 4-7 on their power play and 4-4 on their penalty kill.
In the 11 games since January 5, the Hitmen are 8-2-1-0, outscoring their opponents 57-to-35.
ROSTER UPDATE
Tye Gibson left last night’s game with an upper-body injury and did not return. The Pats have called up 2007-born defenceman Brayden Smith for tonight’s game in Calgary.
The Regina Pats are currently carrying 15 forwards, nine defencemen and two goalies after acquiring five new players prior to the 2024 WHL Trade Deadline on Jan. 10. Ty Gibson, Corbin Vaughan and Harper Lolacher are out with lower-body injuries, while Brayden Barnett and Tyson Buczkowski are out with upper-body injuries.
MATCH UP
|
Regina |
Calgary |
|
| Team Record | 18-26-4-2 — 42 points | 21-19-6-1 — 49 points |
| Division Ranking | 5th East | 5th Central |
| Conference Ranking | 10th Eastern | 8th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 18th | 13th |
| Past 10 Games | 4-6-0-0 | 7-2-1-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 5-2 L @ Medicine Hat (Feb 6 2024) Final | 8-1 W vs Edmonton (Feb 4 2024) Final |
| Home Record | 14-10-2-1 | 15-6-2-1 |
| Away Record | 4-16-2-1 | 6-13-4-0 |
| GF | 153 | 185 |
| GA | 213 | 168 |
| PP (Overall) | (34/171) 19.9% | (43/185) 23.2% |
| PP (Home) | (18/92) 19.6% | (24/100) 24.0% |
| PP (Away) | (16/79) 20.3% | (19/85) 22.4% |
| PK (Overall) | (50/226) 77.9% | (48/197) 75.6% |
| PK (Home) | (24/120) 80.0% | (24/101) 76.2% |
| PK (Away) | (26/106) 75.5% | (24/96) 75.0% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (3/8) 37.5% | (1/6) 16.7% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (1/6) 83.3% | (3/8) 62.5% |
| Leading Rookie | Temple (4-7-11) | Kindel (10-31-41) |
| Most PIM | Vaughan – 51 | Yakemchuk – 84 |
| Team PIM/GM | 12.1/Game | 13.9/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Howe (23-35-58) | Tulk (26-28-54) |
| Oremba (15-18-33) | Yakemchuk (23-28-51) | |
| Whitehead (11-22-33) | Kindel (10-31-41) | |
| Spencer (17-15-32) | Wetsch (18-20-38) | |
| Gibson (2-25-27) | Fawcett (14-21-35) | |
| Last 5 Games | 5-2 L @ Medicine Hat (Feb 6 2024) Final | 8-1 W vs Edmonton (Feb 4 2024) Final |
| 7-6 W vs Red Deer (Feb 4 2024) Final SO | 6-0 L @ Lethbridge (Feb 3 2024) Final | |
| 3-0 L vs Swift Current (Feb 2 2024) Final | 6-5 W @ Edmonton (Feb 2 2024) Final OT | |
| 9-1 L @ Saskatoon (Jan 31 2024) Final | 4-3 L vs Regina (Jan 28 2024) Final OT | |
| 4-3 W @ Calgary (Jan 28 2024) Final OT | 8-0 W vs Brandon (Jan 26 2024) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 7-3-1-1 | 14-2-1-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 11-2-1-0 | 17-2-2-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 6-5-1-0 | 4-2-2-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 2-1-2-0 | 1-2-1-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 5-18-2-1 | 3-15-3-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 5-23-1-2 | 3-15-3-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 5-6-2-0 | 15-9-5-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 12-20-1-2 | 6-9-1-0 |
| 1 Goal Games | 9-4-4-2 | 8-8-6-1 |
| 2 Goal Games | 6-7-0-0 | 1-4-0-0 |
| 3 Goal Games | 1-5-0-0 | 4-5-0-0 |
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Today marks the third of four meetings between the Pats and Hitmen. Last season, the Pats went 3-1 against the Hitmen (20GF-16GA), going 2-0 at home and 1-1 on the road. In the 2021-22 season, Regina went 2-1-2-1 in six games against Calgary, going 2-0-0-1 at home and 0-1-2-0 on the road. The Pats are 7-5-4 against the Hitmen over their last 16 meetings.
2023-24 HEAD TO HEAD VS. CALGARY
| Date | Away | Home | Time | Result |
| October 11 | Calgary | Regina | 7:00 p.m. CST | W, 5-4 |
| January 28 | Regina | Calgary | 7:00 p.m. MST | OTW, 4-3 |
| February 7 | Regina | Calgary | 7:00 p.m. MST | |
| February 19 | Calgary | Regina | 2:00 p.m. CST |
The Pats are 53-51-2-6-3 vs. the Hitmen, all-time. They are 26-30-0-2-0 at home & 23-31-1-3-0 on the road.
COMING UP
- 7:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb 10 – Edmonton Oil Kings (16-29-2-1) at Regina Pats (18-26-4-2)
- 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Feb 13 – Medicine Hat Tigers (30-16-3-1) at Regina Pats (18-26-4-2)
- 7:00 p.m., Friday, Feb 16 – Swift Current Broncos (25-18-4-2) at Regina Pats (18-26-4-2)
- 7:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb 17 – Regina Pats (18-26-4-2) at Swift Current Broncos (25-18-4-2)
