Keith Hershmiller/WHL

Pats return favor and beat Warriors in OT

 

Tuesday night was the second of four games between the Highway One rivals. Moose Jaw took the first meeting of the season in a comeback win. Regina had a 4-1 lead in the first period and the Warriors scored the final four goals in a 5-4 overtime win.

Coming off of their first nine-goal game in more than four years the Regina Pats looked to keep it going. The Moose Jaw Warriors on the other hand are looking to get back on track after four straight losses in the Subway Hub.

After picking up his first win of the season Roddy Ross got the call between the pipes for the Pats. The Warriors went with rookie netminder Brett Mirwald in goal.

In a fast tight-checking game the Pats returned the favor to the Warriors as they came from behind to win 3-2 in overtime. The game had almost everything you expect when the Trans-Canada Clash was in effect. Great goaltending, lots of chances, some big hits, it had a little bit of everything.

“There was good goaltending, lots of scoring opportunities in both ends, great defensive plays in both ends. There was so much good hockey in this game and obviously, someone has to win and we’re really happy it was us,” said Pats head coach Dave Struch.

“With a young lineup like we had tonight,” Struch said “lots of guys got lots of minutes and opportunities. It’s nice to be rewarded for doing things right.”

Neither team found the back of the net in the first period of play. Despite the Pats having three powerplays, they managed just 14 shots in the period. Moose Jaw managed to get 13 pucks at Ross. Both goaltenders played well for their respective teams.

After a scoreless first period, the second period started off the same way. The play started to sway the way of the Warriors and the Pats took a minor penalty. Moose Jaw failed to score on the powerplay, but kept much of the advantage.

Connor Bedard scores on Brett Mirwald (Keith Hershmiller/WHL)

Connor Bedard gave the Pats a 1-0 lead when he scored his 8th of the season. A bad pass by a Warrior defender bounced off his defensive partner and ended up on Bedard’s stick. He went in alone and put a backhand past Mirwald. The North Vancouver product’s goal extended his point streak to 10 games to start his Pats career and now has 18 points on the season.

“He’s elite. I mean, he’s got it under control. He’s very professional when it comes to hockey and you just love to see that coming from him, because you know he’s going to be very, very up there and he’s capable of a lot,” said Pats starting goalie Ross of Bedard.

There was no more scoring in the period. The goaltender’s duel continued throughout the frame.

The special team’s battle was not so special as both teams went 0-for-3 through forty minutes. The Pats got their fourth powerplay late in the frame that carried over to the start of the third.

The Pats had an 11-9 shot advantage in the second.

A huge final twenty minutes for both teams was on deck.

On a turnover behind the Pats’ net Brayden Yager tied the game for the Warriors. The 15-year-old converted an Eric Alarie pass ripping a shot past the Pat goalie to tie the game at 1-1.

A turnover in the Pats defensive zone led directly to an Alarie goal. On a delayed penalty the puck found its way to Alarie, who made no mistake to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead with less than nine minutes left to play in regulation.

Carter Massier scored to make it 2-2. He tipped a Layton Feist shot past the Warrior goalie just over a minute after the Warriors made it 2-1. The Pats outshot the Warriors 10-5 and 35-27 in regulation.

For the second time in as many games between the two teams, overtime was necessary.

Layton Feist celebrates the OT winner (Keith Hershmiller/WHL)

Feist ended it with 26.9 seconds left in the overtime. He accepted a pass from Bedard and he let fly a wrist shot which beat Mirwald on the glove side to give the Pats the 3-2 win. It was the Pats’ sixth shot of the extra frame.

“The main goal is to… get the defense-first then the offense will come,” said Feist who had his first career two-point night, “so the last couple of games I’ve been trying to really work on my defense and it turned out to help my offense.”

Ross picked up his second straight win and his best performance as a Pat.

“That’s really huge from the start that we had, well I had personally I guess – it wasn’t good. Having those wins means a lot not only for me but for the team and we’re playing really good right now,” said the Pat goaltender.

“I feel a lot better out there. I feel more myself and it’s all just falling into place and working out.”

Patterings: With the win, the Pats are now on their first winning streak of the season. Feist (2G), Mirwald (38 saves) and Ross (28 saves) were the three stars on the night. Both teams ended up 0-for-4 on the powerplay. The Pats’ next action is Thursday when they face the Wheat Kings in an 8 p.m. start.