REGINA — The Regina Pats capped last week with a Sunday road victory over the Saskatoon Blades in front of 14,768.
The 4-2 win gave the Pats a 3-1 record in the Western Hockey League last week. With a victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier this week, the team clinched a playoff berth. The squad is in the postseason for the first time since 2018. The Pats sport a 34-28-3-1 record and sit sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
On Sunday in front of a sold out crowd, the Pats got the scoring started with second period goals by Alexander Suzdalev and Tanner Howe. In the third, Blade Brandon Lisowsky scored on the power play to pull the home team to within one, 2-1. The Pats responded with goals by Brayden Barnett and Connor Bedard to increase their lead to 4-1. It was Bedard’s 70th goal of the season. Lisowsky scored again but the Blades could not get closer.
For the Pats, Kelton Pyne faced 44 shots and stopped 42 of them. Austin Elliott made 18 saves for Saskatoon.
The Pats wrap up their regular season this week. They play in Saskatoon on Friday. The Pats host the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday.
Against the Moose Jaw Warriors on March 18, Bedard scored his ninth hat trick of the season as the Pats won 7-3 on the road and clinched playoff spot. Regina led 3-1 and 5-3 at the intermissions.
Bedard finished with five points. Also scoring for Regina were Riley Ginnell, Zack Stringer, Parker Berge, and Braxton Whitehead. Whitehead accumulated three points. Pats goalie Drew Sim made 45 saves.
Jackson Unger stopped 16 shots for Moose Jaw. Scoring for the Warriors were Martin Rysavy, Tate Schofer and Jagger Firkus.
The Regina squad snapped a five-game losing streak on March 15 when the Brandon Wheat Kings came to town. The Pats never trailed and won 6-3.
Ginnell, Brayden Barnett, and Howe put Regina up 3-0 in the first period. Howe’s second of the night came shorthanded in the second period to give the Pats a 4-0 lead. Jody Baumuller scored for Brandon to make it 4-1. A Bedard marker made it 5-1 Regina at the second intermission.
The Wheat Kings fought back in the third period. Zakhar Polshakov and Nolan Ritchie scored to pull Brandon within two, 5-3. Bedard added an empty net goal late.
Bedard finished with four points. Defenceman Tanner Brown recorded two assists. Sim made 27 saves. For Brandon, Carson Bjarnason started and made 14 saves on 19 shots. Nicholas Jones came on at the start of the third period. He had five saves on as many shots.
On March 17, the Pats fell 9-5 to the Moose Jaw Warriors at home. The visitors led 3-1 and 7-3, respectively, at the intermissions.
Bedard scored a hat trick and had five points. Ginnell and Suzdalev also scored for the Pats. Sim stopped nine of the 14 shots he faced. He was relieved in the second period by Pyne, who made 22 saves on 26 shots.
Firkus had a hat trick. Also getting goals for Moose Jaw were Ryder Korczak, Atley Calvert, Josh Hoekstra, Rysavy, Eric Alarie, and Logan Dowhaniuk. Unger had 21 saves.
