Raiders Strike Early to Down Pats

Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats (17-17-3-3) met up with the Prince Albert Raiders (23-12-3-1) for the second time this week.  The Pats surrendered four goals in the first ten minutes of the game, falling 7-3 to Prince Albert.

Scoring Summary

First Period
Prince Albert – Jordan Tkatch (10) from Kelly – 1:40
Regina – Jared McAmmond (1) from Richards and Schioler – 2:49
Prince Albert – Reid Gardiner (22) from Lees and Yorke – 4:34
Prince Albert – Matteo Gennaro (11) from Gardiner – 8:01
Prince Albert – Sean Montgomery (10) from Tkatch and Kelly – 9:41

Second Period
Prince Albert – Jesse Lees (14) from Riddle and Gennaro – 8:53
Prince Albert – Cal Babych (5) from Gennaro and Olynek – 11:49
Regina – Austin Wagner (15) from Brooks – 13:37 (SH)

Third Period
Regina – Sam Steel (13) from Zablocki and Hobbs – 0:59 (PP)
Prince Albert – Reid Gardiner (23) – Unassisted – 17:28

Shots on Goal
Regina – 7-10-10-(27)   Prince Albert – 16-7-8-(34)

Powerplay
Regina – 1/3   Prince Albert – 0/5

Game Story
Sunday’s game didn’t start well for the Pats who found themselves down 1-0 less than two minutes into the first period.  With Jordan Hollett out of his net to play the puck, Parker Kelly stole for the Raiders and put it out from to Jordan Tkatch who opened the scoring.  Just one minute later, Jared McAmmond kept on a two-on-one, firing a wicked wrist shot past Rylan Parenteau for his first of the season.  The Pats nearly took a 2-1 lead with Sam Steel hanging out on the back door, but the skittering puck hopped over his stick.  This is when the Raiders took over.  Reid Gardiner, Matteo Gennaro and Sean Montgomery all cashed in for Prince Albert before the midway point of the period.  The Raiders’ third goal triggered a goaltending swap for the Pats as Tyler Brown took over for Hollett.  The tough start left the Pats down 4-1 after one period.

Despite multiple scoring opportunities early in the second, the Pats couldn’t cut into the Prince Albert advantage.  The Raiders added to their lead when Jesse Lees broke into the zone and scorched a shot by Brown to make it 5-1 at the 8:53 mark.  Three minutes later, Gennaro fired a shot off Brown’s mask, the rebound came to Cal Babych who knocked in the bouncing puck for a 6-1 advantage.  The Pats netminder was clearly uncomfortable after the goal and left to the Pats dressing room with Jordan Hollett returning to the game.  The Blue and White finally stopped the run when Austin Wagner skated onto a stretch pass and quickly snapped the puck by Parenteau for a shorthanded marker with 6:23 left in the second.  That goal left the score at 6-2 Prince Albert after forty minutes.

The Pats looked to get a comeback rolling in the third period and cut the lead to three one minute into the frame.  Lane Zablocki’s dump-in took a strange hop on Parenteau who lost the puck in his skates.  Sam Steel raced to the crease and poked the puck to the back of the net for a powerplay goal.  To make up for the gaff, Parenteau came up with three great stops to keep the Pats from getting within two.  The hosts thought they had a fourth goal when Adam Brooks came out of the corner and threw a backhand at the net.  Parenteau made the save, but the puck popped in the air to the open side.  Brooks sped over and batted the puck out of the air into the net.  It was initially ruled a good goal by the referee, but was rescinded on video review.  Reid Gardiner tacked on one more for the Raiders late in the period to close out the 7-3 Prince Albert victory.

What’s Next?
The Pats have nearly a week off game action and open a six game road swing in Cranbrook on Friday against the Kootenay Ice.  Listen to all the upcoming road games with Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey on 620 CKRM starting 25 minutes before puck drop or watch the webcast online with WHL Live.