WHL Regina Pats

Pats Down Raiders, Now 2 Points Back of 8th

Published on April 10, 2022 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Regina Pats News Release


Regina, Sask. - The Regina Pats moved to within two points of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings on Saturday night, following a 5-3 win over the Prince Albert Raiders at the Brandt Centre.

Blocking shots at key times, including late in the game, was a big contributing factor in the win.

"It's a complete effort, what we had. We didn't get as many shots on net [as we wanted], but we played the right [way]," Pats assistant coach Brad Herauf said after the game. "We defended the right way. We didn't take unnecessary chances. And when things kind of got rocky, we were real mature about the way we handled the momentum. I think it's just part of what we've been growing towards for two months."

The Pats were outshot 28-17, but they beat Raiders netminder Tikhon Chaika four times: twice off the stick of Connor Bedard, and once each off the stick of Tanner Howe and Borya Valis. Logan Nijhoff scored into the empty net to secure the win. Bedard's two goals get him to 49 on the season, one goal back of league-leader Ben King, and past the 90-point plateau. He remains fifth in Western Hockey League scoring with 92 points (49G-43A) in just 59 games.

Special teams was a big reason for the victory too, with the power play going 2-for-4 and the penalty kill going 4-for-4. Howe's game-opening goal late in the first period was also scored shorthanded, after he blocked a shot and took it the other way before finishing on the breakaway.

"Obviously [special teams] have been make or break for us a lot here lately," Herauf said. "I think our penalty kill has really tightened up the last three weeks. We were good at the very start of the season [and then] went through a lull for about two months it seemed...but we liked the way the guys battled back and are getting better."

The Raiders got a pair of goals from Evan Herman and a shorthanded goal from Cale Sanders.

The regulation win means the Pats hop into 10th place in the Eastern Conference and are now just two points back of the 8th-place Broncos, who only have one game left. The Pats have three games left, as does Calgary, who sit in 9th, one point ahead of Regina.

THE GOALS

1st Period

REG 1-0 at 16:04 - Tanner Howe (26), unassisted (SHG) // Howe blocked the point shot and took it back the other way, beating Chaika on the breakaway under the arm by just enough.

2nd Period

PA 1-1 at 2:45 - Cale Sanders (13), unassisted (SHG) // An erred drop pass on the power play allowed Sanders to try shorthanded, where he outmuscled Dubinsky for the puck and finished on the backhand top shelf to tie the game.

REG 2-1 at 6:19 - Connor Bedard (48), assisted by Tanner Howe// Howe got the puck behind the net and centered to Bedard, who ripped a wrist shot just under the crossbar for his 48th of the season.

REG 3-1 at 16:36 - Borya Valis (11), assisted by Braxton Whitehead and Cole Carrier (PPG) // Whitehead stopped behind the net and fed a pass to Valis at the side of the goal, who quickly one-timed it past Chaika on the short side.

3rd Period

PA 2-3 at 1:44 - Evan Herman (24), assisted by Reece Vitelli and Landon Kosior // Vitelli drew multiple Pats to him as he entered the one, which opened up a lane for his to dish to Herman on the odd-man rush, who one-timed it top shelf.

REG 4-2 at 6:46 - Connor Bedard (49), assisted by Neithan Salame and Jakob Brook // Bedard

PA 3-4 at 7:26 - Evan Herman (25), assisted by Reece Vitelli and Remy Aquilon // Herman came down the left wing and threw it on net from the left circle, which squeaked past Pyne for the quick response.

REG 5-3 at 18:20 - Logan Nijhoff (22), assisted by Connor Bedard and Tanner Howe (ENG) // After a couple blocked shots from Howe and Bedard, Bedard lifted the puck out to centre ice, where Nijhoff was able to track down and hit the empty net from the neutral zone to seal the deal.

FINAL: Pats 5 | Raiders 3

STATISTICS

SOG: REG - 18 | PA - 27 PP: REG - 2/4 | PA - 0/4 Face-Offs: REG - 32 | PA - 33

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Regina: Kelton Pyne made 24 saves on 27 shots, improving to 4-1-1 this season. Prince Albert: Tikhon Chaika allowed four goals on 17 shots.

THEY SAID IT

Assistant Coach Brad Herauf : "[Blocking shots] is part of Tanner Howe's game. It's what makes him so special. Everyone talks about the goals and stuff like that, but if you look, he's on the ice in the last 30 seconds. We've also got a 17-year-old in [Braxton] Whitehead in the last 30 seconds.Those guys aren't out there because they're high draft picks - they're out there because they are our most trusted people and those guys got the job done for us."

3 STARS

Connor Bedard - REG: 2G, 1A, 4 SOG Evan Herman - PA: 2G, 5 SOG Tanner Howe - REG: 1G, 2A, 2 SOG

UP NEXT

The Pats have only three games remaining on their 2021-22 regular season schedule. They play two consecutive road games in Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday of next week, before closing out the season on home ice on Sunday, April 17 at 4 p.m. against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Check out the Regina Pats Statistics

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