Back and Forth Game Goes to Raiders in OT

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats (10-9-2-0) took the trip up North to face the Prince Albert Raiders (15-5-2-1).  Reid Gardiner scored the overtime winner eleven seconds into the extra frame, downing the Pats 4-3.

Scoring Summary

First Period
Regina – Adam Berg (4) from Hobbs and Wagner – 8:00
Prince Albert – Simon Stransky (9) from Gardiner and Glover – 14:51

Second Period
Regina – Chase Harrison (3) from Wagner and Brooks – 0:39
Regina – Adam Brooks (10) from Hobbs and Steel – 3:22 (PP)
Prince Albert – Jesse Lees (9) from Gardiner and Glover – 15:10 (PP)
Prince Albert – Simon Stransky (10) from Glover and Gardiner – 19:21

Third Period
No Scoring

Overtime
Prince Albert – Reid Gardiner (17) from Glover and Lees – 0:11

Shots on Goal
Regina – 12-8-7-0-(27)   Prince Albert – 19-13-12-1-(45)

Powerplay
Regina – 1/6   Prince Albert – 1/5

Game Story
For the second game in a row, the Pats opened the scoring.  Exactly eight minutes into the contest, Adam Berg tipped a Connor Hobbs point shot past Rylan Parenteau for his fourth of the season.  The lead stood until just shy of the fifteen minute mark of the period when Simon Stransky took advantage of a friendly bounce off a skate to tuck the puck into the Pats goal.  That left the game tied 1-1 after the first.

Just 39 seconds into the frame, the Pats retook the lead when Chase Harrison’s point shot directed into the goal off the stick of a Raiders defender.  The Blue and White added some insurance when Adam Brooks tucked the puck just inside the post on a five-on-three powerplay for a 3-1 advantage.  Jared McAmmond nearly made it a three goal game when he trucked into the slot and fired, but Parenteau snatched the shot with his glove.  The Prince Albert netminder followed that stop with a stunner, robbing Sam Steel on what looked like a sure tap-in goal.  With a full two minute five-on-three powerplay, the Raiders responded to their goaltender’s heroics.  Jesse Lees carried the puck into the slot and snapped his shot through a screen to make it a one goal game.  Jordan Hollett kept the Pats ahead momentarily when he made a fantastic diving save to get through the remaining penalty.  The home-side eventually tied the game in the final minute on a two-on-one rush finished off by Stransky, sending the game to the third tied 3-3.

The first half of the third saw Hollett keep the game tied making eight saves, including an early flurry of chances.  The Pats’ best chance came off a broken play when Aaron Macklin shoveled a backhand toward the net.  The puck was stopped by Parenteau, but bounced to Jake Leschyshyn who directed it toward the goal, but the rolling puck was stopped on the line by the Raiders netminder.  The game would stay tied through sixty minutes, but not much longer than that.  Just eleven seconds into the overtime period, Reid Gardiner unleashed a snap shot that tucked into the net off the far post, sending Prince Albert to the 4-3 win.

Quick Hits
– Adam Brooks and Aaron Macklin both played the 200th games of their WHL careers.
– Austin Wagner has multiple points in four of his last five games.
– Game attendance was 2356.

What’s Next?
The Pats have a couple of days before their next action as they face the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday in Red Deer.  Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey on 620 CKRM gets going at 7:35 p.m. CST with puck drop scheduled for 8:00.

Named for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats are the oldest major junior hockey franchise in the world.  Since their founding in 1917, the Pats have won three Memorial Cup championships and compete in the WHL’s Eastern Division.  To learn more about the Pats, call 306-337-1535 or visit www.reginapats.com.