PREVIEW: Pats set for clash with first-place Blades
REGINA – Fresh off a 5-3 win Thursday over the Prince Albert Raiders, the Regina Pats return to action Friday afternoon against the Saskatoon Blades.
The 4 p.m. matinee is the second meeting of the season between Regina and Saskatoon inside the WHL’s East Division Hub at the Brandt Centre, as the Regiment get their second crack at a win over a Blades team that has only suffered a single loss so far this season.
Where to LISTEN/WATCH
- Radio: RM2 feed on 620ckrm.com
- TV: AccessNow TV
- Stream: WHL Live
CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF GAME NOTES
Regina enters the night coming off a much-needed win over the Raiders, thanks in large part to performances from their cast of rookies. Unsurprisingly Connor Bedard delivered again Thursday, registering a pair of assists to run his point total to 12 on the season, while Braxton Whitehead and Layton Feist both scored their first goals in the WHL.
Your game day lineup from @MosaicCompany
G – Spencer Welke makes his #SubwayWHLHub debut
Puck drop 4 p.m. vs. @BladesHockey
#JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/rZ1NmEFe6Y— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 26, 2021
Goaltender Matthew Kieper also had a strong night for the Pats Thursday, stopping 26 of the 29 shots he faced to pick up his second win of the season in as many games. Kieper will give way Friday for Spencer Welke, who will make his first start of the season in goal for the Pats. Welke went 1-0-1 last season in two starts for Regina, stopping 57 of the 63 shots he faced.
Regina will be looking to improve on their first meeting against the Blades, which saw the Regiment yield six goals, including the final three markers back on March 14th.
On the Saskatoon side, the Blades are coming off a 6-5 overtime win over the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday night. Saskatoon was down 5-3 with less than four minutes to play in the third period before scoring a pair of goals, before Tristen Robbins won it just 29 seconds into the extra frame.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: LAST 10 MEETINGS | REG (2-6-2-0) vs. SAS
- Mar. 14, 2021: REG 3 @ SAS 6
- Mar. 7, 2020: REG 4 vs. SAS 5 (OT)
- Mar. 6, 2020: REG 1 @ SAS 2 (OT)
- Feb. 21, 2020: REG 3 vs. SAS 6
- Feb. 5, 2020: REG 3 @ SAS 2 (SO)
- Jan. 26, 2020: REG 4 vs. SAS 3 (OT)
- Mar. 1, 2019: REG 0 @ SAS 4
- Feb. 1, 2019: REG 1 vs. SAS 3
- Jan. 19, 2019: REG 2 vs. SAS 4
- Jan. 18, 2019: REG 2 @ SAS 6
PATS ALL-TIME REG. SEASON RECORD vs. SAS
- 205-204-27-12-6 (W-L-T-OTL-SOL)
.@Payworks By The Numbers
A look at how the offence has been distributed by period this season for the Pats and @BladesHockey #JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/6t9C21HQth
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 26, 2021
SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT
- REGINA:
- PP – 6/32, 18.8% (9th WHL)
- PK – 26/34, 76.5% (14th WHL)
- SASKATOON:
- PP – 3/23, 13% (15th WHL)
- PK – 26/30, 86.7% (9th WHL)
BY THE NUMBERS
- Pats defencemen Ryker Evans picked up three assists in Thursday’s win over Prince Albert. That’s the most in a single game by Evans in his three-year WHL career.
- Carter Massier is showing his offensive upside this season. The third-year Pat has points in five of his seven games this season, but was held off the scoresheet the first time against Saskatoon.
- Carson Denomie is second in WHL goal scoring this season with seven. Only Edmonton’s Dylan Guenther has more at eight.
- Connor Bedard is now a full six points clear of the next closest rookie in WHL scoring this season. Fellow 15-year-old Zachary Benson (WPG) has six points.
- The Blades are the lowest scoring team on the power play inside the Subway Hub, with just three power play goals to their name.
