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WHL Regina Pats

Pats Pick up Crucial 2 Points in Win over Blades

March 31, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Regina Pats News Release


Regina Pats defenceman Layton Feist shoots vs. the Saskatoon Blades
Regina Pats defenceman Layton Feist shoots vs. the Saskatoon Blades
(Regina Pats, Credit: Keith Hershmiller Photography)

Regina, Sask. - The Regina Pats played arguably their best defensive game of the season on Wednesday night, which led to a crucial 3-2 win over the visiting Saskatoon Blades.

The Pats limited the Blades to just 23 shots on goal, including 13 in the first two periods. Multiple players sacrificed their body in the game, especially in the final couple minutes with the team holding a lead.

Borya Valis, Logan Linklater and Ryker Evans scored in the win, with Cole Dubinsky and Logan Nijhoff each picking up a pair of assists.

Drew Sim was solid all night, finishing with 21 saves on 23 shots.

"Managing the puck, shot blocks, being hard to play against in our d-zone: those are all things that we've been hammering home in the this last month," Pats assistant coach Brad Herauf said after the game. "That's playoff hockey mentality. We're not the biggest team in there world, but we can compete. Blocking shots doesn't take size or strength, it just takes willingness and we had more guys willing to do it tonight."

Regina went ahead 1-0 after one period following a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal from Borya Valis.

In the second, Linklater scored his first as a Pat off a saucer feed from Connor Bedard.

Evans' scored on the power play early in the third to make it 3-0, before the Blades scored twice to make things tight.

"If you look at the way we dominated 5-on-5 [and] if you look at how bad we wanted it tonight, that's the biggest thing," Linklater said. "If you just look at our bench and how alive we were and how much energy we had, I mean, that's everything, right? Those are the moments in hockey where, those will win or lose you games."

Regina's power play went 1-for-2, while their penalty kill went perfect 2-for-2.

Unfortunately for the Pats, they still sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 53 points, after Swift Current, Prince Albert and Calgary all won. The Pats are now five points back of the 8th-place Lethbridge Hurricanes.

THE GOALS

1st Period

REG 1-0 at 12:45- Borya Valis (9), assisted by Logan Nijhoff (22) and Cole Dubinsky (25) // A perfect tic-tac-toe was executed between Dubinsky, Nijhoff and Valis off an odd-man rush.

2nd Period

REG 2-0 at 6:26 - Logan Linklater (1), assisted by Connor Bedard (41) and Tanner Howe (37) // Howe chased the puck behind the net off a dump-in and was able to slide the puck out to Bedard, who displayed his patience and then threw a cross-ice pass to Linklater for the one-time goal.

3rd Period

REG 3-0 at 1:31 - Ryker Evans (14), assisted by Cole Dubinsky and Logan Nijhoff (PPG) // Evans was able to walk in from the blue line and wire one top corner past the glove of Maier to give the Pats are huge three-goal lead.

SAS 1-3 at 11:26 - Kyle Crnkovic (36), unassisted // Crnkovic scooped up a loose puck in the offensive zone on the left half-wall and was able to cut his way to the goal, where he deposited the puck home along the ice on the backhand.

SAS 2-3 at 17:54 - Egor Sidorov (19), assisted by Tristen Robins and Tanner Molendyk // Moments after the Pats blocked multiple shots in a row (with the Blades net empty), Robins one-timer went off Sidorov in front and in.

FINAL: Pats 3 | Blades 2

STATISTICS

SOG: REG - 29 | SAS - 23

PP: REG - 1/2 | SAS - 0/2

Face-Offs: REG - 37 | SAS - 17

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Regina: Drew Sim made 21 saves on 23 shots for his 6th win of the season.

Saskatoon: Nolan Maier allowed three goals on 29 shots.

THEY SAID IT

Pats Assistant Coach Brad Herauf: "Obviously that was a big win, [especially] with what's happened here in the last few games. I think the bigger thing for our group is just to be rewarded for their effort. I think that we've had a real great effort [in] a lot of these games here lately, [but] we just haven't had the result. And tonight to see that what they did in the third period - I think that we talked about growing and how to win and these guys learning how to win - I think that was a big thing. What happened after they scored that first goal and the way we responded as a team, we didn't let it snowball. That's what we're talking about: learning how to win and I think we took a step in the right direction tonight...I think that's one of the things that we've been missing down the stretch here, is those extra shot blocks [and] those body self sacrifices. That's what we're talking about when we're talking about learning to win and that was tonight. That's exactly what it took to win. And a lot of times it's not easy to do that. When you're sharing with your teammates after you don't think about it until you get the ice bag on and tonight, it was nice to see old guys [and] young guys all stepping up and being a part of that."

Pats Forward Logan Linklater on the multiple blocked shots in the final two minutes: "That's everything. You know, that's what we're looking for right now. We need to fight and we need to grind and make playoffs and when you have guys step up like that, and even if you just look at our bench and how alive we were and how much energy we had. I mean, that's everything, right? Those are the moments in hockey where, those will win or lose you games."

3 STARS

Logan Linklater - REG: 1G, 2 SOG

Connor Bedard - REG: 1A, 7 SOG

Ryker Evans- REG: GWG, 3 SOG

UP NEXT

The Pats next game is a home date with the Winnipeg ICE on Friday, April 1. They'll travel to Prince Albert and take on the Raiders the following night.

Check out the Regina Pats Statistics




Images from this story

Regina Pats left wing Tanner Howe eyes the goal vs. the Saskatoon Blades
Regina Pats left wing Tanner Howe eyes the goal vs. the Saskatoon Blades
(Keith Hershmiller Photography)		 Regina Pats right wing Borya Valis (right) faces off with the Saskatoon Blades
Regina Pats right wing Borya Valis (right) faces off with the Saskatoon Blades
(Keith Hershmiller Photography)		 Regina Pats defenceman Layton Feist shoots vs. the Saskatoon Blades
Regina Pats defenceman Layton Feist shoots vs. the Saskatoon Blades
(Keith Hershmiller Photography)



Western Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2022


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