Gutsy Third Period Gives Pats Comeback Win over Canes
March 17, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Regina Pats News Release
Lethbridge, Alta. - An absolutely wild third period ended in the Regina Pats favour on Wednesday night in Lethbridge, after they scored three unanswered goals to come away with a 6-3 victory.
The Pats now hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings with 13 games remaining in the regular season.
A slow start luckily didn't cost the Pats, as Connor Bedard's power play goal late in the opening frame tied the game 1-1 after 20 minutes. Regina only managed four shots on goal in the first period.
Although the Hurricanes took an early lead in the second period on the power play, the Pats responded with two goals in under two minutes, with Bedard scoring his 40th of the season and second of the night, followed by Logan Nijhoff jamming home his 16th goal of the season.
Lethbridge took back the lead midway through the third period with two goals of their own in quick succession, both off the stick of Justin Hall.
But the Pats rallied, and quickly too, with Neithan Salame putting home a back-door feed from Bedard at the 10:10 mark of the third, which was followed by Layton Feist's go-ahead goal just four minutes later. Cole Dubinsky gave the Pats some much-needed insurance less than a minute later to make the score 6-4.
Regina took back-to-back penalties late in the game, giving the Canes a 6-3 on advantage, but they were unable to score. In the end, the Pats went 1-for-2 on the power play, and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Pats are 3-0-1 in their last four games and now hold the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference with 51 points. Calgary and Prince Albert are each one point back, but Calgary has played three more games. The Pats still play P.A. twice more this season.
THE GOALS
1st Period
LET 1-0 at 4:21 - Nolan Bentham (4), assisted by Yegor Klavdiev and Brayden Edwards // Benthem's shot from the right point beat Kieper high on the glove side to open the scoring.
REG 1-1 at 17:08 - Connor Bedard (39), assisted by Ryker Evans and Tanner Howe (PPG) // Howe threaded a cross-ice pass through the seam on the power play from the top of the left circle to Bedard at the top of the right circle, who then rifled a wrist shot home to increase his point streak to 19 games.
2nd Period
LET 2-1 at 4:16 - Yegor Klavdiev (13), assisted by Logan McCutcheon and Jett Jones (PPG) // Off an offensive zone face-off to begin a power play, Klavdiev fired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that found the top corner.
REG 2-2 at 13:34 - Connor Bedard (40), assisted by Zack Stringer and Layton Feist // Bedard entered the zone on a 2-on-2 with Whitehead and let a shot go that was stopped by Thomson initially, but eventually squeaked past.
REG 3-2 at 15:33 - Logan Nijhoff (16), assisted by Cole Dubinsky and Tanner Howe // Nijhoff's initial shot from the right wing left a big rebound for Dubinsky, who's shot just missed the net on the short side. However, Nijhoff was there to stuff home the ricochet off the end boards.
3rd Period
LET 3-3 at 7:23 - Justin Hall (32), assisted by Alex Thacker and Logan Wormald // Thacker tried a wrap-around on the backhand that was stopped by Kieper, but led to a rebound at the other end of the crease, where Hall was waiting to put home.
LET 4-3 at 7:50 - Justin Hall (33), unassisted // Hall led a 2-on-1 with Wormald and tried a pass, but had it blocked by Evans. Luckily for Hall, the puck came right back to him and was able to shoot it past Kieper, who had already slid across.
REG 4-4 at 10:10 - Neithan Salame (3), assisted by Connor Bedard and Cole Dubinsky // Dubinsky led the rush and fed the puck across the Bedard, who quickly one-timed a pass backdoor to Salame, to tie the game 4-4.
REG 5-4 at 14:22 - Layton Feist (7), assisted by Cole Carrier and Jakob Brook // Carrier and Brook worked down below the goal line to maintain possession, and eventually worked the puck up to Feist at the top of the left circle, whose shot beat Picklyk through traffic.
REG 6-4 at 15:17 - Cole Dubinsky (17), unassisted // Dubinsky scored this one himself during some 4-on-4 play, going end-to-end, driving the net and finishing by tucking it through the five-hole.
FINAL: Pats 6 | Hurricanes 4
STATISTICS
SOG: REG - 26 | LET - 35
PP: REG - 1/2 | LET - 1/4
Face-Offs: REG - 38 | LET - 35
GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Matthew Kieper made 31 saves on 35 shots for his 16th win of the season.
Lethbridge: Bryan Thomson got pulled 35:33 into the game, after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Jared Picklyk came in relief and allowed 3 goals on 12 shots.
3 STARS
Connor Bedard - REG: 2G, 1A, 4 SOG
Yegor Klavdiev- LET: 1G, 1A, 3 SOG
Cole Dubinsky - REG: 1G, 2A, 4 SOG
UP NEXT
The Pats next game is in Moose Jaw on Saturday, March 19.
Their next home game is Saturday, March 26 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Western Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2022
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- Rockets Prepare For Back-To-Back Games Against Kamloops - Kelowna Rockets
- Raiders Hosting Second Annual "This Girl Can" Night - Prince Albert Raiders
- Bedard Continues Memorable Season with 40th Goal - Regina Pats
- ICE Recall Woo - Winnipeg Ice
- Yager Makes Warriors History, Breaking 37-Year-Old Record - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Americans Earn 2-1 Victory over Giants in Overtime - Tri-City Americans
- Oil Kings Win Streak Snapped with Loss to Blades - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Raiders Doubled Up By Broncos - Prince Albert Raiders
- Gutsy Third Period Gives Pats Comeback Win over Canes - Regina Pats
- Warriors Fall to East Division Leaders in Winnipeg - Moose Jaw Warriors
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