Calgary Powerplay Torches Pats

Calgary, Alberta – The Regina Pats (5-5-0-0) made a stop at the Scotiabank Saddledome, to face off with the Calgary Hitmen (6-3-0-1).  The Hitmen took advantage of their powerplay opportunities, scoring five times with the man advantage in a 5-1 Pats loss.

Scoring Summary

First Period
Calgary – Jake Bean (6) from Fazleev and Tr. Sanheim – 19:55 (PP)

Second Period
Regina – Adam Berg (1) from Hobbs and Harrison – 0:31
Calgary – Chase Lang (2) from Karnaukhov and Tr. Sanheim – 15:22 (PP)

Third Period
Calgary – Jake Bean (7) from Fazleev and Tr. Sanheim – 4:50 (PP)
Calgary – Radel Fazleev (5) from Bean and Karnaukhov – 15:31 (PP)
Calgary – Jordy Stallard (2) from Thomas and Ta. Sanheim – 17:38 (PP)

Shots on Goal
Regina – 5-10-5-(20)   Calgary – 14-11-8-(33)

Powerplay
Regina – 0/3   Calgary – 5/7

Game Story
After an initial burst from the Pats, the visitors found themselves on their heels for much of the first period.  The Hitmen put 14 shots on Tyler Brown who turned aside all but one of the attempts.  The Queen City Kids nearly got out of the period with a scoreless tie.  Jake Bean thwarted that with the Hitmen on the powerplay and struck with just five seconds left in the frame.  The Pats’ best scoring chance of the period came off the stick of Austin Wagner who blew through a pair of defenders to get in alone before lifting a shot high over the crossbar.

It took a Pat who calls Calgary home to tie the game.  Just 31 seconds into the period, Adam Berg’s centering pass banked in off a skate in front to get by Lasse Peterson.  Both sides had their chances, but the goalies held the line until the Hitmen regained the lead late in the period.  With just under five minutes left, Travis Sanheim ripped a slap shot at Brown who made the intial save and a second off a Pavel Karnaukhov rebound, but wasn’t able to corral the puck and Chase Lang knocked it to the back of the net.  The Pats had late powerplay time including a five-on-three for twenty seconds, but Peterson backstopped the Hitmen to a 2-1 lead through forty minutes.

The Hitmen powerplay continued to click into the third period.  Bean got his second of the game on nearly the same play as his first, firing around a Karnaukhov screen in front.  Radel Fazleev continued the powerplay attack as he took a pass at the top of the slot and bombed a shot to the back of the net.  The hosts tacked on one more as Ben Thomas found Jordy Stallard on the far side of the crease and Stallard lifted the puck to the back of the net.  When the dust settled, the Hitmen had five powerplay goals and a 5-1 victory over the Pats.

Quick Hits
– Tyler Brown started his third straight game.
– Adam Brooks’ five game point streak came to an end. He totaled 13 points (7G, 6A).
– Game attendance was 6509.

What’s Next?
The Pats travel to British Columbia for a dust up with the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday.  Listen to all Pats road games with Bennett Dunlop Ford Pats Hockey on 620 CKRM starting at 6:35 p.m. with puck drop at 7 p.m.

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.