An SJHL shutout record. Four 50-goal scorers. Schreiber and Callander extend their point streaks. The Pats hit 20 again. Leap Year babies and more.
This week we cover February 22 to 28. We have also included February 29th as a bonus.
February 22
1960-61 Pats
1961: The Pats wrapped up first place in the SJHL with a 9-0 win over the last-place Prince Albert Mintos. The win was the Pats’ 38th of the season and Art Koberinski’s sixth shutout which tied him for the league record.
Going up 4-0 after the first, the Pats kept the pedal to the medal adding 4 more in the second. With an 8-0 lead to start the third, the Pats held back scoring just once for the 9-0 win. Three of the goals were scored on the powerplay and one was scored while the Pats were down a man.
The line of Gary Butler, Garry Peters, and Norm Beaudin led the way for the Pats combining for 13 points. Beaudin scored a pair while adding three assists. Butler also scored twice and assisted on two others. Peters dented the twine once and picked up three assists in the rout. Captain George Knipelberg and Alex Hood also chipped in two goals each. Koberinski made 20 saves in the shutout.
Minto goaltender Ken Baum faced 45 shots making 36 stops in the loss.
February 23
Pats Player Card 1981-82
1982: In Medicine Hat, the Pats took a 2-0 lead after the first period, but the Tigers stormed back to tie it 3-3 after two. The Pats took over in the third scoring the only three goals to take the game 6-3.
Dave Michayluk scored the winner at 5:49 of the third and was on for six different Pats to score. Jock Callander, Brent Pascal, Dale Derkatch, Taylor Hall, and Lyndon Byers were the other scorers.
Callander also added an assist to increase his WHL scoring total to 164 points. Wally Schreiber added an assist. With their points, Callander and Schreiber extended their point-scoring streaks to 47 games which was a WHL record at the time.
Derkatch’s goal was his 50th of the season, giving the Pats four 50 goal scorers. The four 50 goal scorers tied a WHL record that was set in 1975-76 by New Westminster.
Jim Campbell was tested 39 times in picking up his second consecutive win in goal.
Mike Spencer with two and ex-Pat Brian Varga replied for the Tigers. Mark Frank faced 36 shots in the loss.
February 24
1923: In the South Saskatchewan final, the Pats played the Broadview Juniors in Indian Head. It was to be a two-game total goal series.
The game itself was no contest as the Pats took an 8-0 lead after the first period. The second period was a bit closer with the Pats outscoring the Broadview boys 6-1 to take a 14-1 lead into the third period. The Pats kept attacking and in the final frame scored nine more times to take a 23-1 win. With a 22-goal deficit, the Broadview club defaulted the second game and the series.
All seven Pats skaters scored at least one goal in the win. Harvey Naismith scored nine times and assisted on another to be the games’ top scorer. Sil Acaster had seven points on six goals and one assist. Defenseman Jack Gilhooly collected five points with four goals and an assist. Howie Milne also had seven points on one goal and six assists. Emory Collins also had five points (goal, four assists). Eric Pettinger and Cliff Schwindt rounded out the scoring. Jack Cunning got the win for the Pats.
Isaac Pollock scored the lone goal for Broadview. Fraser played the whole game and allowed all 23 goals in the loss.
The lone discretion in the contest went to Regina’s Collins who received a one-minute penalty in the first period.
February 25
1948: In getting ready for the playoffs, the Pats closed out their regular season schedule against the Notre Dame Hounds. With just 472 in the stands at the Queen City Gardens the Pats beat the Hounds 8-1. The win was the Pats’ 20th in 28 games on the season.
Maurice Young scored the lone goal of the first period giving the Pats a 1-0 lead. Fred Evans added to the Pat lead seven minutes into the second frame. Young then scored twice to complete his hat-trick and gave the Pats a 4-0 lead. Red Staley, Gord Knutson, Bill Turner, and Evans, with his second, rounded out the scoring for the Pats. Jim Shannon broke the Pats shutout with less than three minutes left in the game.
Young added an assist to make it a four-point game. Staley and Knutson also added two assists each.
John Craig and Don McNiven shared the goaltending duties for the Pats. Craig played the first period and McNiven played the final forty minutes. Despite allowing eight goals Notre Dame’s Dave McLay kept many of the Pats’ snipers at bay.
February 26
1980: The Pats moved back into first place in the Eastern Division with a 7-4 win over the hometown Saskatoon Blades. Doug Wickenheiser scored three and assisted on two others to lead the way for the Pats. Wickenheiser’s five points tied him with Dennis Sobchuk’s Pat record for points in a season with 147.
Mike Blaisdell scored twice while Ron Flockhart and Darren Galley helped in the goal-scoring department. Terry Paskaruk, Kevin Tendler, Glen Ganchar, and Kevin McNaught replied for the Blades.
Both goalies were busy on the night as the Blades outshot the Pats 45-42. Regina led 3-2 after the first and the score was tied 4-4 at the end of the second. The Pats scored the final three goals with their seventh into an empty net.
Bart Hunter made 41 saves for the Pats and Ron Loustel made 35 saves for the hometown Blades.
February 27
1951: Eddie Litzenberger’s hat-trick led the Pats to a 12-2 win over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. 2,759 fans watched as the Litzenberger-led Pats took a 3-games-to-1 semi-final lead. In playing their eighth game in 13 days, the Pats showed no ill effects taking a 4-2 lead into the second period. The Pats added four more in each of the final two periods for the 12-2 win.
Bunny Smith scored twice and assisted on all three of Litzenberger’s goals to give him five points. Brian McDonald, Garry Edmundson, Tony Schneider, and Gord Cowan all added a goal and two assists. Bernie Grebinsky, Willie Papp, and Doug Killoh rounded out the scoring for the Pats. Bob Tyler picked up the win for the Pats making 24 saves.
Rod Stafford and Bill McCully replied for the Tigers. Murray Dodd took the loss for the Tigers.
February 28
1973: Ed Staniowski picked up his first shutout of the season as the Pats beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-0. The 30-save shutout was Staniowski’s fifth career goose egg.
Dennis Sobchuk scored his 52nd and 53rd goals of the season to lead the Pats. His second goal came on a breakaway while the Wheat Kings pressed to try and break the shutout. Rob Laird, Clark Gillies, Glen Burdon, and Bill Bell were the other Pat sharpshooters.
Wayne Wilhelm was peppered with 40 shots in the Wheat King net.
February 29
1992: Chris Constant scored on a breakaway at 1:08 of overtime as the Pats beat the Warriors 5-4. Pats coach Brad Tippett collected his 100th victory before an overflow crowd of 3,010 at the Civic Centre in Moose Jaw.
Moose Jaw took a 1-0 lead into the first break. The Pats scored the first three goals on the second before the Warriors got the game back to within one at 3-2. Regina scored to make it 5-3 before the Warriors came back to eventually tie the game with 19 seconds left. The Pats scored on their second shot in overtime for the 5-4 win.
Constant scored twice for the Pats, with his second being the OT winner. Derek Eberle, Louis Dumont, and Trevor Hanas rounded out the scoring for the winners. Mike Risdale made 46 saves in the win.
Scott Allison scored a hat-trick and Dean Dorchak replied for the Warriors who outshot the Pats 50-37. Jason Fitzsimmons made 32 saves for the losing Warriors.
Leap Year Babies
Lyndon Byers an aggressive right-winger from Nipawin, Saskatchewan was born in 1964. In his three seasons (1981-1984) Byers played in 185 games. He scored 82 times and assisted on 120 others for 202 points. His rough style of play also helped him accumulate 476 penalty minutes. He also played 48 playoff games, collecting 48 points on 23 goals and 25 assists to go with 142 penalty minutes.
Shaun Fleming a Regina product was born in 1980. A goaltender played 24 games over parts of two seasons with the Pats. He picked up one shutout and a 7-10-2 regular-season record and 3.09 goals-against average. In the playoffs, he got into one game playing in 34 minutes not allowing a goal.
Mitch Spooner a defenseman from Port Moody, British Columbia was born in 1992, played parts of two seasons with the Pats (2009-11). In 40 game Pat career, he scored twice and added nine assists for 11 points.
Final Thoughts
As February ends and March begins, things are going to ramp up. The old saying “In like a lion, out like a lamb” does not fit the teams’ history at all. More goals, more records, and more playoff games yet to come.
