Spokane Marks Final Western Test for Pats
Regina, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats (29-17-4-2) face the Spokane Chiefs (25-22-3-1) for the lone time this season tonight at the Brandt Centre (7 p.m.). Last year’s matchup in Spokane saw the Pats come away with a 3-2 shootout victory. Dyson Stevenson and Dryden Hunt had the Pats goals in regulation while Adam Helewka and Mike Aviani scored for Spokane. The Blue and White are winners of three straight including last night’s 5-2 win over Saskatoon. The Chiefs opened their East Division road swing with a 3-2 win in Moose Jaw. Tune into tonight’s game on 620 CKRM starting at 6:35 p.m.
Lead Up: Big Third Sends Pats to 4-2 Win Versus Blades
The Pats scored four times in the third period, including a shorthanded goal, to win 5-2 over the Blades. Brett Stovin and Cameron Hebig scored for the visitors to have them up 2-1 heading to the third. That was before Colby Williams set up Patrick D’Amico for a shorthanded goal and started off a run for the Blue and White including a Williams marker followed by Rykr Cole and Jake Leschyshyn’s first WHL goal. Daniel Wapple made 31 stops in the victory.
Border Battle
The Chiefs are the Pats’ final opponent hailing from south of the 49th parallel. This season the Blue and White hold a record of 2-2-0-0 against U.S. Division Teams. Overall against the Western Conference, the Pats are 6-3-0-0 which is the top mark for the East Division.
Colby Contributing
Defenceman Colby Williams continues to impress after the departure of Kyle Burroughs. Williams was named the first star last night after he posted four points including a shorthanded assist on the tying goal, then scoring the game winning goal. The Regina native capped it by being +4, moving his total to +37 on the season, tied for second in the WHL.
Comeback Kings
The Pats are tied for the WHL lead when it comes to picking up wins when trailing into the third. Five times the Pats have trailed after forty minutes and picked up two points. With three loss coming in overtime/shootout, the Pats have a total of 13 points when trailing after two, which leads the league.
Cole Picking Up the Pace
Rookie forward Rykr Cole has been increasing his production on a monthly basis. After earning three points in both November and December, the Moosomin product had five points in January and scored last night against Saskatoon. Cole has 12 points (6G, 6A) on the season with six of those points coming in the last eleven games.
First Goals
Rookies picking up their first WHL goal has been a common theme this season. The latest three are Adam Berg, Luc Smith and Jake Leschyshyn who scored their firsts in three straight games. Berg tallied against Lethbridge Jan. 31st, Smith scored against Prince Albert Feb. 3rd and Leschyshyn notched against Saskatoon Feb. 6th.
Streaks
8 – Taylor Cooper has points in eight straight games with 10 points (5G, 5A)
7 – Adam Brooks has points in seven straight games played with 10 points (4G, 6A)
4 – Connor Hobbs has points in four straight games with 5 points (5A)
4 – Sam Steel has points in four straight games with 5 points (2G, 3A)
2 – Colby Williams has points in two straight games with 5 points (1G, 4A)
2 – Pavel Padakin has points in two straight games with 3 points (1G, 2A)
Milestones
Games Played
100 – Jesse Gabrielle has played 99 games in his WHL career
Statistical
36 – Braden Christoffer set a new career high registering his 36th point January 30th at Kootenay
20 – Taylor Cooper reached the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career January 31st at Lethbridge
1 – Jake Leschyshyn scored his 1st WHL goal February 6th vs. Saskatoon
1 – Luc Smith scored his 1st WHL goal February 3rd vs. Prince Albert
Upcoming Schedule
at Medicine Hat – Tuesday, February 10th, 8:00 p.m. CST – Medicine Hat Arena (CKRM)
vs. Swift Current – Friday, February 13th, 7:00 p.m. – Brandt Centre (CKRM)
at Prince Albert – Saturday, February 14th, 7:00 p.m. – Art Hauser Centre (CKRM)
