Regina Pats chew Medicine Hat Tigers 7-4
REGINA - The Regina Pats didn’t exactly tame the highest-scoring team in the WHL on Wednesday, but they did deliver a pretty effective kill shot.
Regina broke open a back-and-forth game with three unanswered goals in the third period, skating away with a 7-4 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers before 3.626 fans at the Brandt Centre.
“I said before the game … ‘This could be a wild one,’ ” said Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, referring to the firepower on both sides. “We’ve put up numbers (this season). They have. They lead our league in scoring. But we found a way.”
Although the Tigers never led on Wednesday, they did erase an early two-goal deficit and came back from two subsequent one-goal advantages.
Matt Strueby got it all started by staking the home team to a 2-0 lead with power-play goals just 1:11 apart. Both came from his office at the top of the crease, giving him 10 goals in just 15 games. It was his first game back after missing three with a concussion.
“I didn’t expect it to happen that fast,” he said with a smile. “It was good to get those two goals out of the way. Like the guys said, ‘The garbage man is back.’ “
Regina’s advantage was short-lived as Taylor Gal and Wacey Hamilton scored 2:20 apart to tie it up heading into the first intermission. The Pats went up 3-2 early in the second period courtesy of defenceman Cody Carlson, who scored his first goal as a Pat in his first game against his former team. Linden Vey tied it up on a two-man advantage but the Pats regained the lead just nine seconds later on a short-handed marker by Brett Leffler, whose long wrist shot fooled goaltender Tyler Bunz.
The back-and-forth action continued with Vey tying it up just 27 seconds into the third period but Jordan Eberle set up Leffler for his second of the night, then added an insurance marker of his own. Garrett Mitchell rounded out the scoring with his first goal of the season.
“We wanted to bury them,” said Leffler. “We kept our foot on the head of the snake and we got the job done. The last two periods I thought we really took charge. Us older guys stepped up. We were challenged (by Hunt) in the first period and I think we did a good job. Unfortunately that can’t happen in the first period from us older guys. We have to be ready to play from the start. But we didn’t quit and we got he W.”
A big assist in the victory went to Pats goaltender Damien Ketlo, who made a couple of game-saving stops in the second period, including a clear-cut breakaway effort by Matt MacKay. Just prior to that, Ketlo kicked out a point-blank shot by Joey Frazer but the rebound went right to Kale Kessy, who was staring at an open net, only to have Ketlo take it away with a lunging glove save that nearly brought the house down.
“I don’t know how he got it but that was just tremendous,” said Hunt. “It gave us a chance.”
So did Eberle, who wasn’t noticeable early in the game but came up big when it mattered. He finished with a goal and two assists despite battling the flu.
“That’s seems to be the way he always does it,” said Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins, who’s slated to coach Eberle on Team Canada at this year’s world juniors in Saskatoon and Regina. “He’s always there when they need him. I think he’s a big-game player and that’s the way he plays.”
EXTRAS: Bunz allowed five goals on 21 shots before getting the hook early in the third. Deven Dubyk stopped seven of nine the rest of the way … Regina went 3-for-5 on the power play while Medicine Hat finished 1-for-5 … Pats D Brandon Davidson (knee) returned after missing three games … Regina’s scratches were LW Graham Hood and D Myles Bell (flu), along with D Travis Sparrow (healthy) … The Pats’ next game is Friday at the Brandt Centre against the Saskatoon Blades.
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