Pats And Hitmen Meet For Fourth and Final Time
The Regina Pats (14-11-2-1) return home after a lengthy absence from the Brandt Centre (7 p.m.) to face the Calgary Hitmen (19-11-1-1). It’s the fourth and final meeting of the season between the clubs. The Pats hold a 1-2-0-0 record after winning the previous matchup, a 4-3 overtime victory in Calgary. Jake Leschyshyn tallied a hat-trick including the overtime winner to lead the Pats with three points (3G) in three games against the Hitmen. Jordan Hollett was in net for the Pats’ victory against Calgary. The Pats return to home ice with points in three straight games. Tonight’s contest can be heard on 620 CKRM beginning at 6:35 p.m.
Defenceman Sergey Zborovskiy is heading home tomorrow as one of ten defencemen invited to Team Russia’s World Junior Selection Camp. Zborovskiy joins fellow WHL’ers Ivan Provorov (BDN) and Radel Fazleev (CGY) on the camp roster. In 27 games this season, the Moscow native has 11 points (4G, 7A). That marks a career high in goals and is on pace to surpass last year’s total of 19 points in 71 games.
“For sure I’m excited to see my family, but my first job is to make the team. Again, as I told you, it will be a hard camp and tough. For sure it’s a big plus to see my family because I haven’t seen in a long time and it will be fun.”
The Pats are happy to be back on home ice after nine straight on the road. The Blue and White went 4-3-1-1 in that time which included wins over the leagues top teams in Calgary, Red Deer and Brandon. The Pats are 6-4-1-0 on home ice this season and enjoying a three game winning streak at the Brandt Centre.
“We’ve really been pushing the boys that it’s time for them to take over the team,” said Assistant Coach Brad Herauf. “It’s time for us to dig our heels in here and start stringing some streaks together.”
The schedule does not get any easier for the Pats heading into the Christmas break. The team plays seven games in the next eleven nights including three in a row this weekend. To top it off, they face some of the top competition the league has to offer in Calgary (19W), Kelowna (22W) and Lethbridge (19W) in their next three games.
Forget making supper before the game, it’s the first Weiner Wednesday of the season. Fans can enjoy 2 for 1 hotdogs up to the end of the first period. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
