PREVIEW: Pats Kick Off Three Game Road Trip in Calgary
The Regina Pats (31-6-6-1) kick off a three game road trip on Friday against the Calgary Hitmen (17-21-6-2). Puck drop is at 8 p.m. Regina time at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Pats were last in action on Sunday at home to the Brandon Wheat Kings and won 5-2. The Hitmen were last at it on Sunday as well and lost in overtime to the Prince Albert Raiders. Tonight is the second of four meetings between the Pats and Hitmen. The Pats won the opening game of the season series on January 6, 6-2. The game can be heard on 620 CKRM with Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey beginning at 7:35 p.m.
| Regular Season Comparison | Regina | Calgary | |
| Record | 31-6-6-1 | 17-21-6-2 | |
| Goals For/Against | 238/142 (+96) | 129/182 (-53) | |
| Powerplay | 32.8% (58/177) | 16.9% (32/189) | |
| Penalty Kill | 80.9% (178/220) | 76.6% (154/201) | |
| Team Save Percentage | 0.897 | 0.873 | |
| Leading Scorer | Sam Steel (34-49-83) | Matteo Gennaro (29-24-53) | |
| Leading Scorer (Defence) | Connor Hobbs (20-33-53) | Bean/Zipp (19 points) | |
| Scoring by Period (1st-2nd-3rd-OT) | 75-71-87-4 | 33-43-46-5 |
Lead Up: Pats Solid Sunday Against Brandon
The Regina Pats skated past the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-2 at the Brandt Centre on Sunday. Brandon led 1-0 after one but the Pats exploded for 21 shots and four goals in the second to take the lead for good. Dawson Leedahl scored twice in the contest and Nick Henry chipped in with two assists. Max Paddock stopped 29 of 31 shots and improved to 4-1-0-0 in his WHL career. The Pats outshot Brandon 47-31 in the victory, the powerplay was two for two and the penalty kill went four for four.
Head to Head
The Pats won the first meeting of the season with the Hitmen on January 6, 6-2. Sam Steel scored his first career hattrick and had an assist in the victory. Nick Henry and Connor Hobbs each had three points for the Pats while Tyler Brown stopped 25 of 27 shots. The Hitmen got goals from Matteo Gennaro and Jordy Stallard in the loss while Cody Porter and Kyle Dumba combined to make 29 saves. The Pats powerplay was one for three in the contest while the penalty kill went one for one. The Pats enter Friday with a 14-3-2-1 road record while Calgary is 10-9-2-1 at home.
Brooks Climbing Franchise Lists
Pats captain Adam Brooks jumped into the top 20 in franchise scoring on the weekend. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has put up 285 points in 289 career games with the Pats organization. Those 285 points are 19th all-time, two points back of Garry Peters who is in 18th. Dale Derkatch is the franchise’s leading scorer with 491. Brooks, a product of Winnipeg, is alone in 11th in team history with 184 assists, one back of Josh Holden for 10th and 16 assists away from seventh (Brian Varga). His 289 games played is fourth all-time. Frank Kovacs is the franchise leader with 352. Should Brooks play the remaining 28 games of this season, he would jump into third with 317.
Streaks
Six Regina Pats are riding point streaks of five games or more entering Friday night. Adam Brooks, Dawson Leedahl and Nick Henry all have six game streaks going. Brooks with three goals and 10 assists in that stretch. Leedahl has goals in six straight (8G) to go along with three assists. Henry has one goal and eight assists. Sam Steel has three goals and 10 assists in his five game streak. Connor Hobbs has scored four goals and added five assists in five games while Filip Ahl has scored three times and has two helpers in a five game point streak.
Upcoming Schedule
Pats @ Red Deer – Saturday January 28, 8 p.m. – Enmax Centrium (CKRM)
Pats @ Saskatoon – Monday January 30, 11:30 a.m. – Sasktel Centre (CKRM)
Pats Vs Moose Jaw – Wednesday February 1, 7 p.m. – Brandt Centre (CKRM)
