The hometown Regina Pats (6-8-2-1) faced the Prince Albert Raiders (6-8-2-1) in the late game at the Subway WHL Hub.
Regina went with the kid in goal, Matthew Kieper made his fifth appearance in the Hub. Prince Albert had Max Paddock between the pipes.
The Hub series between the clubs was even at one game apiece. Prince Albert was victorious 6-3 on March 12. Regina returned the favor with a 5-3 win on March 25.
15-year-old Tanner Howe made his Pats debut wearing number 43. He was the Pats third-round pick in the 2020 Bantam Draft who signed with the team in March.
“I was a bit nervous at the start, but once you get a shift or two in, it’s good, it’s fast,” said Howe of his first game with the Pats.
“It was a big jump just playing against bigger, stronger guys. It’s for sure faster than midget AAA.”
“it was a bit tough at the start,” said Howe who had not played since the fall for the Prince Albert Mintos. “Just staying on the ice and staying in the gym helped.”
Four goals by the Raiders in the first 10 minutes of the second period were enough to sink the Pats. The Pats scored two goals late to make it interesting, but the Raiders held on for a 4-2 win.
Here are how things went…
First period
Both teams had early powerplays and neither capitalized.
The Pats Carter Massier and Raiders Grayson Gotaas dropped the mitts at 13:50 of the frame.
The Raiders carried most of the play in the first period. They owned the shot clock 16-7 and the faceoff dot winning 13 of 16.
Second period
The wheels totally fell off for the Pats in the second period. The Raiders exploded for four goals in the first half of the period.
Tyson Laventure got the Raiders on the board. Logan Linklater won a battle behind the Pats’ goal line and fed it in front. Laventure made no mistake and buried his second goal at 3:26 of the second period.
The Raiders made it a two-goal game less than two minutes later. Justin Nachbaur tipped a Remy Aquilon point shot past a screened Kieper. His sixth made it 2-0 Prince Albert at 5:15.
The Raiders took a three-goal lead as Evan Herman deposited a bounce off the back wall. Herman’s sixth of the season came 4-on-4 just over two minutes after the last Raider goal. Aquilon picked up the lone assist on the 3-0 goal.
The Raiders all but put the game away when Logan Linklater scored his first career goal to give the Raiders a four-goal cushion. Niall Crocker fanned on a one-timer and the puck made its way to Linklater who made a nice move and put the puck past Kieper. The Raiders were now up 4-0 at the 10:02 mark of the frame.
Prince Albert continued to dominate and outshot Regina 12-7 in the middle twenty.
Third period
The Pats made a game of it when Logan Nijhoff scored a 4-on-4 goal with 4:11 left breaking Paddock’s shutout bid. Chorney fed the puck across the front of the net and Nijhoff netted his eighth of the season. Ryker Evans extended his point streak to seven games with the secondary assist on the 4-1 goal.
Evans got the Pats within a pair when his point shot went in off the Raider defenseman. His third goal of the season on the powerplay got the Pats to within a pair at 4-2. Cole Dubinsky and Carson Denomie added the assists on the goal.
It was too little too late for the Pats as they fell 4-2 to the Raiders.
The Raiders outshot the Pats 13-6 in the third and 41-20 overall in convincing fashion.
Despite allowing four goals, Kieper was strong in goal, making 37 saves in the Pats net.
“He prepares himself the right way all the time and I think that’s allowed him to perform as he has when he’s gotten in there.” Pats head coach Dave Struch said of Kieper.
“It doesn’t matter how many games he gets,” Struch said on Kieper’s development. “Being here with the guys, taking the shots in practice are going to be very important next year.”
Patterings: Zach Smith left the game late in the third period when he was checked by Landon Kosior. Kosior received a major penalty for checking to the head and game misconduct.
The Pats’ next game is Thursday at 4 p.m. against the Saskatoon Blades.
