PREVIEW: Pats Wrap Three in Three Weekend Against Brandon
The Regina Pats (30-6-6-1) play their third game in as many days on Sunday against the Brandon Wheat Kings (23-17-4-1). Puck drop is at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The Pats were in Swift Current on Saturday night and picked up a 6-5 victory over the Broncos. The Wheat Kings were home to Medicine Hat and won 5-2. Today is the fourth of eight meetings between the two clubs. The Pats are 2-0-0-1 in the season series so far. The game can be heard on 620 CKRM with Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey beginning at 3:35 p.m.
| Regular Season Comparison | Regina | Brandon | |
| Record | 30-6-6-1 | 23-17-4-1 | |
| Goals For/Against | 233/140 (+93) | 168/157 (+11) | |
| Powerplay | 32.0% (56/175) | 22.4% (46/205) | |
| Penalty Kill | 80.6% (174/216) | 79.3% (176/222) | |
| Team Save Percentage | 0.896 | 0.905 | |
| Leading Scorer | Sam Steel (34-48-82) | Reid Duke (26-24-60) | |
| Leading Scorer (Defence) | Connor Hobbs (20-32-52) | Kale Clague (4-21-25) | |
| Scoring by Period (1st-2nd-3rd-OT) | 75-67-86-4 | 44-41-53-3 |
Lead Up: Pats Win 30th Game Saturday in Swift Current
The Regina Pats overcame a one goal third period deficit to beat the Broncos in Swift Current on Saturday night. The Pats led 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3 in the contest but Swift Current scored twice in the second half of the second and led 5-4 going to the third. In the final frame, Dawson Leedahl scored on the powerplay to tie it and Connor Hobbs got the eventual game winner with 4:30 left to play. Jordan Hollett made 23 saves in his return from injury and improved to 8-0-1-0 on the season. The Pats were led offensively by Adam Brooks who had three assists. Regina went three for four on the powerplay in the win and outshot the Broncos 35-28.
Head to Head
The Pats are 2-0-0-1 against Brandon this season. The two wins coming at the Brandt Centre and the shootout loss in Brandon. The Pats have scored 13 goals to the Wheat Kings eight in the first three matchups. The Pats have outshot Brandon 111-90 in the three games, the powerplay has gone five for 18 and the penalty kill 18 for 20. Sam Steel leads the Pats with two goals and six assists for eight points in the three meetings. Adam Brooks is next with three goals and three assists. Tyler Coulter leads the Wheat Kings with three goals and an assist against Regina. Ty Lewis has three goals for Brandon as well. The Pats enter Sunday in first place in the Eastern Conference with 67 points. The Wheat Kings are holding down the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 51 points. Both teams have won seven of their last 10 games.
Powerplay Red Hot
The Pats powerplay is number one in the WHL entering Sunday. The club has scored 56 times on 176 opportunities for a 32 per cent success rate through 43 games. In the last 13 games, the Pats powerplay has been kept off the board just twice, going 19 for 49 (38.7%). Adam Brooks leads the team with 25 points on the powerplays (3G, 22A). Sam Steel is a close second with 24 points (9G, 15A). Steel and Filip Ahl lead the team with nine goals on the powerplay while Nick Henry has eight, Dawson Leedahl seven and Connor Hobbs and Jake Leschyshyn have five. The Pats have already matched their powerplay goal totals from all of last season. In 2015/16 the team had 56 in 72 games, this year 56 in 43 games.
Upcoming Schedule
Pats @ Calgary – Friday January 27, 8 p.m. – Scotiabank Saddledone (CKRM)
Pats @ Red Deer – Saturday January 28, 8 p.m. – Enmax Centrium (CKRM)
Pats @ Saskatoon – Monday January 30, 11:30 a.m. – Sasktel Centre (CKRM)
