PREVIEW: Pats Hit Road to Take on Raiders
Regina, Sask. — The Regina Pats (1-0-1) continue their 2021-22 pre-season schedule on Friday night when they take on the Prince Albert Raiders (0-0) at the Art Hauser Centre at 7 p.m.
Tonight’s matchup will be the first of a home-and-home series, with the Pats hosting the Raiders on Saturday night at the Brandt Centre at 7:00 p.m.
The Pats took home three of a possible four points last weekend, following a pair of one-goal contests with the Winnipeg ICE. One week ago, Regina opened the pre-season with a 5-4 victory. The following night saw another back-and-forth affair that needed overtime, with Winnipeg taking the extra point by way of a 6-5 shootout win.
The Pats trio of Connor Bedard, Cole Dubinsky and Zack Stringer provided all the offence last Saturday, combining for 10 points, including scoring two shorthanded goals. They currently sit 1-2-3 in WHL pre-season scoring with six points for Dubinsky, five for Stringer and four for Bedard thus far. Stringer is currently away at Minnesota Wild rookie camp, along with forwards Logan Nijhoff (Anaheim Ducks) and Drew Englot (Edmonton Oilers), plus defenceman Stanislav Svozil (Columbus Blue Jackets). Defenceman Ryker Evans, a second-round pick of the Seattle Kraken, is on his way to his first NHL camp shortly.
Matthew Kieper and Spencer Welke have split the net in each of the two games for the Pats so far this pre-season. Kieper has stopped 40 of 43 shots faced (.930 SV%) and picked up the win last Friday, while Welke has stopped 38 of 44 (.864 SV%).
Prince Albert has yet to play a pre-season game. They finished their 2020-21 campaign in fourth place in the Hub Centre East Division, one point ahead of the Pats with an 9-11-3 record. Last year’s leading scorer Ozzy Wiesblatt is in San Jose with the Sharks, taking part in their development camp and upcoming 2021 Rookie Faceoff. The 2020 first-round pick had 28 points in the bubble season. He is one of six Raiders at NHL camps, the others being captain Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens), forward Reece Vitelli (Arizona Coyotes), defencemen Nolan Allan (Chicago Blackhawks) and Landon Kosior (Los Angeles Kings), and goaltender Carter Serhyenko (Calgary Flames). Allan signed his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks yesterday.
2020-21 HEAD TO HEAD:
| Date | Score | Record | Goalie |
| March 12 | 6-3 L | 0-1-0 | Ross 11/16 |
| March 25 | 5-3 W | 1-1-0 | Kieper 26/29 |
| April 13 | 4-2 L | 1-2-0 | Kieper 37/41 |
| April 18 | 4-3 W | 2-2-0 | Kieper 28/31 |
The Pats are 13-10-0 against Prince Albert the last five years.
PATS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
- Friday, September 17 at Prince Albert – 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, September 18 vs. Prince Albert – 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, September 24 at Moose Jaw – 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, September 25 vs. Moose Jaw – 7:00 p.m.
Pats single game tickets are now on sale! You can also purchase pre-season tickets for home games at the Brandt Centre on Sept. 18 and 25. For all your ticketing needs, click here.
