Wild Affair Ends in Shootout Loss
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats (16-16-3-3) closed out 2015 against the Prince Albert Raiders (22-11-3-1). A wild affair saw the Pats and Raiders put up ten goals before Prince Albert came away with the 6-5 shootout victory.
Scoring Summary
First Period
Regina – Colby Williams (5) from Harrison and Wagner – 0:34
Prince Albert – Vojtech Budik (2) from Kelly and Montgomery – 9:11
Prince Albert – Jesse Lees (13) from Gardiner – 18:55
Second Period
Regina – Sergey Zborovskiy (5) from Zablocki and Hilsendager – 2:14
Regina – Adam Berg (8) from Wagner and Brooks – 3:24
Prince Albert – Luke Coleman (10) from Vanstone and Tkatch – 8:46
Prince Albert – Jordan Tkatch (9) from Coleman and Montgomery – 9:47 (PP)
Third Period
Regina – Austin Wagner (13) from Brooks and Berg – 1:44
Prince Albert – Parker Kelly (2) from Tkatch and Yorke – 2:57
Regina – Luc Smith (2) from Brooks and McAmmond – 15:54
Overtime
No Scoring
Shots on Goal
Regina – 8-10-9-3-(31) Prince Albert – 13-8-9-6-(37)
Powerplay
Regina – 0/2 Prince Albert – 1/4
Game Story
Only 34 seconds ticked off the clock before the Pats opened the scoring. Colby Williams jumped on a rebound and knocked it to the back of the Raiders net to get the visitors up early. Regina couldn’t add to the lead and the Raiders found a tying marker at 9:11 of the frame. After a scramble around the Pats net, Parker Kelly fed Vojtech Budik at the line and he wired a shot to the back of the net. The teams stayed tied until there were 65 seconds left on the clock. Reid Gardiner sent a pass into the slot and the puck hit a couple of bodies including Jesse Lees for the go ahead marker and a 2-1 Raiders lead.
The Pats got off to another hot start, tying the game just over two minutes into the second. After Sam Steel was knocked into goaltender Ian Scott, Sergey Zborovskiy picked up the puck and flicked it into the Prince Albert net. Following a discussion from the officials, it was ruled a good goal and a tie game. Just one minute later, Adam Berg tipped his eighth of the season to the back of the goal, giving the Pats a 3-2 lead. The Raiders turned the momentum again as, 20 seconds after a powerplay, Luke Coleman tipped a Tim Vanstone shot past Tyler Brown. The home-side took the lead when Jordan Tkatch found a bouncing rebound and lifted over a sprawled Brown to put Prince Albert ahead 4-3 at the 9:47 mark. That lead stood through the wild period which included a delay following two chunks of ice breaking in a corner of the Pats’ zone.
Once again the Pats scored early in the period, this time just 1:44 into the third stanza. Adam Berg put a saucer pass up to Adam Brooks who threaded the needle across the ice to Austin Wagner who slammed the puck into the back of the net. The Raiders came right back and grabbed the lead when Parker Kelly spun and fired off a stick into the Pats goal for the 5-4 lead. The Blue and White fought back again with just over four minutes left. Jared McAmmond freed the puck up for Adam Brooks who slung it in front, redirecting into the goal off the skate of Luc Smith to tie the game 5-5. Overtime saw the Pats come oh so close to coming out with a victory, but Ian Scott lunched over with the glove to make a candidate for save of the year off Sam Steel. The shootout saw the Pats break through and score twice in the extra shots, but Jordan Tkatch scored the winner as the Pats fell 6-5 in Prince Albert.
Quick Hits
– Adam Brooks posted his fifth three point night of December and leads the WHL with 25 points (8G, 17A) in the month.
– Austin Wagner has four multi-point games in his last five games.
– Game attendance was 2,500.
What’s Next?
The Pats are back at the Brandt Centre Friday night to play their first game of 2016 against the Swift Current Broncos in a 7 p.m. puck drop. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.ca, the Brandt Centre Box Office and Safeway locations throughout Regina.
