Pats Begin Road Trip with 5-2 Win
December 16, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Regina Pats News Release
Lethbridge, Alta. - The Regina Pats began their three game Alberta road trip with a convincing 5-2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday inside the Enmax Centre.
The Pats have now won three of their last four games. Dru Mushumanski (2G-1A), Braxton Whitehead (3A) and Carson Haynes (2G) led the way offensively for the Pats tonight while Kelton Pyne made 34 saves for his third straight win and seventh win of the season. Tanner Howe also scored his team leading 18th of the season, which opened the scoring two minutes into the contest.
Brayden Edwards (1G-1A) and Noah Chadwick scored for the Hurricanes while Koen Cleaver made 22 saves as Lethbridge dropped their third straight game.
THEY SAID IT
"We knew we have a long trip in front of us and we didn't want to get ahead of ourselves, so we really put a focus on the three periods tonight. It was a great team win for us. From our goaltender, to our defence and to our forwards. We got some contributions from throughout our lineup and some timely goal scoring." - Assistant Coach Evan McFeeters
FINAL SCORE: Pats 5, Hurricanes 2
Click for the Official WHL Box Score
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0 Pats at 2:00 - Tanner Howe (18), assisted by Braxton Whitehead // Whitehead directed the puck towards the front of the Hurricanes net where Howe corralled the puck, spun, and fired the biscuit that beat Cleaver low to give the Pats a 1-0 lead early in the contest.
1-1 Hurricanes at 8:47 - Brayden Edwards (14), assisted by Noah Chadwick & Logan Wormald // Just as a Pats penalty was expiring, Edwards sent a shot from the top of the right circle that bounced off a couple of legs and past Pyne to tie the game up at 1-1.
Second Period
2-1 Pats at 9:02 - Dru Mushumanski (1), assisted by Sam Oremba & Kolten Bridgeman // The Pats' original shot is kicked out to the slot and Mushumanski grabbed the rebound and fired home his first career goal to give the Pats a 2-1 lead.
3-1 Pats at 9:34 - Carson Haynes (1), assisted by Braxton Whitehead & Dru Mushumanski // The Pats broke in on a two-on-one with Whitehead connecting with a streaking Haynes to give the Pats a 3-1 lead midway through the second.
Third Period
4-1 Pats at 6:25 - Dru Mushumanski (2), assisted by Braxton Whitehead // A miscue by the Hurricanes gifted the puck to Whitehead who found Mushumanski in front where he made no mistake and buried his second of the game (and of his career) to give the Pats a 4-1 lead.
4-2 Hurricanes at 12:51 - Noah Chadwick (7), assisted by Brayden Edwards // Chadwick found room at the top of the slot and his shot beat Pyne to pull the Hurricanes to within two at 4-2.
5-2 Pats at 19:13 - Carson Haynes (2), assisted by Kelton Pyne (EN) // Haynes fired the puck from his own goal line the length of the ice into an empty net to seal the Pats 5-2 victory.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina - 9-14-4-27 | Lethbridge - 9-11-16-36
PP: Regina - 0/1 | Lethbridge - 0/4
Face-offs: Regina - 32 | Lethbridge - 37
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne (34 saves / 36 shots)
Kelowna: Koen Cleaver ( 22 saves / 26 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Dru Mushumanski - Pats (2G-1A)
Second: Braxton Whitehead - Pats (3A)
Third: Brayden Edwards - Hurricanes (1G-1A)
JUST NOTES
Dru Mushumanski connected with his first career WHL goal in the second period. He added an assist 32 seconds later. He would cap the game off with his second career goal in the third period and the first three-point game (2G-1A) of his career.
Carson Haynes scored the fifth and sixth goal of his WHL career which happens to be his first two goals in a Pats uniform. It was also his first career two-goal game.
Sam Oremba picked up an assist and is now on a four-game point streak (1G-5A).
Tanner Howe scored to extend his point streak to five games (3G-4A).
Braxton Whitehead had a trio of assists and has points (5A) in all three games since returning from his injury.
The Pats ended their nine-game losing streak on the road with the victory and moved to 3-11-0-0 away from the Queen City. The last win on the road was October 17, a 4-2 win over the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
Western Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2023
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- Chiefs Wrap up First Half on the Road against Winterhawks - Spokane Chiefs
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- Wild Fall Victim to Cool Start Friday against Prince George in 6-3 Loss - Wenatchee Wild
- Hawks Win OT Thriller 6-5 Over Spokane - Portland Winterhawks
- Pats Begin Road Trip with 5-2 Win - Regina Pats
- Spokane Drops Heartbreaker in OT, Rematch in Portland Tomorrow - Spokane Chiefs
- Tigers Drop 4-3 Decision to Hitmen - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Oil Kings Fall to Broncos - Edmonton Oil Kings
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