REGINA — With an explosive offence, the Regina Pats won four straight games last week.
The Western Hockey League club has scored 37 goals in its last seven games. Last week’s success improved the Pats’ record to 28-24-2-1. They are sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
The Regina team hosts the second game of a five-game homestand on Friday when the Winnipeg Ice visit. On Saturday, the Pats host the Red Deer Rebels and then the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday.
The Pats’ week started with a 4-2 win at home over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Feb. 20. After a scoreless first period, the Hurricanes and Pats traded goals in the second period. They were knotted at 2-2 entering the third. Tanner Howe scored the game winner while Zane Rowan’s fourth of the season was an insurance goal. In the second period, Stanislav Svozil scored Regina’s first goal, while Braxton Whitehead’s power play marker tied the game at 2-2.
Pats goalie Drew Sim stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced. Harrison Meneghin had 30 saves for Lethbridge.
On Wednesday, the Pats won their second straight game with a 6-3 home win against Medicine Hat. The teams had entered the contest tied in the standings. Regina led 2-1 and 3-1 at the intermissions. In an offence-filled final period, the Pats outscored the Tigers, 3-2.
Howe scored twice for Regina and added two assists. Bedard lit the lamp once and finished with five points. The Pats’ other scorers were Zack Stringer, Tye Spencer, and Sam Oremba. Svozil had three assists. Sim made 26 saves.
Bedard delivered the game winning goal in the final two minutes on Friday night in Brandon to lift the Pats to a 4-3 victory. After a 1-1 first period, the Wheat Kings took a 2-1 lead in the second. Regina equalized and went up 3-2 later in the frame. The Wheaties tied things up again before Bedard capped the scoring.
Svozil, Matteo Michels, and Alexander Suzdalev had Regina’s other goals. Sim turned away a whopping 44 shots.
Back in Regina on Saturday, the Pats scored five unanswered goals to win 6-3. Alexander Suzdalev had opened the game’s scoring in the opening frame, which was then followed by three goals by the visitors to give the Wheat Kings a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
In the second period, Svozil and Howe scored on the powerplay to tie the game at 3-3. Suzdalev’s marker put Regina up 4-3 before the second intermission. His second of the night made it 5-3 before Bedard added an empty net goal. In net, Kelton Pyne made 35 saves for the win.
