PREVIEW: Pats Visit Wheat Kings to Start 100th Anniversary Season
The Regina Pats (0-0-0-0) kick off their 100th Anniversary Season on Friday night in Brandon against the Wheat Kings (0-0-0-0). Puck drop is at 6:30 p.m. Regina time at the Westman Communications Group Place. The Pats completed the pre-season with a 3-2-0-1 record, winning their last contest on Saturday in Prince Albert, 5-1. The Wheat Kings meanwhile went 3-1-0-0 in the pre-season and are coming off two wins over Moose Jaw last weekend. Regina and Brandon both won once in their two pre-season meetings in 2017. Tonight’s game can be heard starting at 6:05 with Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey on 620 CKRM.
| Pre-Season Comparison | Regina | Brandon | |
| Record | 3-2-0-1 | 3-1-0-0 | |
| Goals For/Against | 18/16 (+2) | 10/8 (+2) | |
| Powerplay | 22.6% (7/31) | 33.3% (4/9) | |
| Penalty Kill | 84.0% (21/25) | 66.7% (10/15) | |
| Team Save Percentage | 0.917 | 0.938 | |
| Leading Scorer | Jeff de Wit (7-2-9) | Russell/Gutenberg/Jensen (3 pts) | |
| Leading Scorer (Defence) | Egor Zamula (1-4-5) | Kade Jensen (1-2-3) | |
| Scoring by Period (1st-2nd-3rd-OT) | 6-7-5-0 | 5-2-2-1 |
The Lead Up: Pats finish pre-season with victory in Prince Albert
The Regina Pats finished off the pre-season with a 5-1 win over the Raiders in Prince Albert on Saturday night. Regina scored twice in the first, twice in the second and once in the third in the victory. The Pats got goals from Logan Nijhoff, Duncan Pierce, Liam Schioler, Rayman Bassi and Tristen Robins while Max Paddock and Jacob Wassermann combined to make 18 saves. Regina outshot the Raiders 26-19, the powerplay was oh for two and the penalty kill two for two. Regina completed their six game pre-season schedule at 3-2-0-1 including a 1-1-0-0 record head to head with the Wheat Kings.
NHL Camps
Three members of the Pats remain with their NHL clubs as the WHL kicks off this weekend. Captain Sam Steel is with the Anaheim Ducks as is teammate Josh Mahura. Mahura has appeared in one pre-season game for the Ducks, against San Jose, playing over 20 minutes and recording a shot on goal. Steel meanwhile played on Wednesday night against the Arizona Coyotes and has one shot on goal in just over 13 minutes of ice time. Centre Jake Leschyshyn remains with the Vegas Golden Knights this weekend. The second round NHL Draft pick has been skating with the NHL club but has not appeared in any pre-season contests.
de Wit Looks to Build on Strong Pre-season
Pats forward Jeff de Wit is coming off an outstanding pre-season in 2017. The Red Deer, Alberta product scored seven times in four games to go along with two assists for nine total points. That was tied for fifth among all WHL scorers, three points back of the leader, Nolan Yaremko of the Tri-City Americans. de Wit managed four goals on the powerplay (second most), and two game winners (tied for first), for Regina. The 19-year-old has 52 career regular season WHL points, 19 of them goals, split between Regina and Red Deer.
Upcoming Schedule
Pats Vs Brandon – Saturday September 23, 7 p.m. – Brandt Centre (CKRM)
Pats Vs Swift Current – Wednesday September 27, 7 p.m. – Brandt Centre (CKRM)
Pats @ Moose Jaw – Friday September 29, 7 p.m. – Mosaic Place (CKRM)
