Pats blast Wheat Kings 7-3

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This article was published 28/12/2024 (264 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The new-look Regina Pats spoiled the return from the Christmas break for the Brandon Wheat Kings, earning a 7-3 victory in Western Hockey League action at Westoba Place on Friday.

Regina (9-17-4-2), which has made a series of trades in the last few weeks, received two goals from Caden Brown and singles from Zach Pantelakis, Braxton Whitehead, Tye Spencer, Aleksey Chichkin and Zachary Lansard as they rebuild for the future.

Matteo Michels, Nolan Flamand and Caleb Hadland replied for Brandon (15-10-3-2) in front of a crowd of 3,382.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his club never looked good.

“We were really flat right from the drop of the puck,” Murray said. “We were on our heels and looked lethargic. We looked like we were carrying a piano all through the game and they had the same amount of time off — actually a little more — and had one practice too so it’s disappointing we weren’t able to match their pace and intensity. When you’re lethargic and slow, those are the results you get.”

It was an eventful day for the Wheat Kings, who acquired 19-year-old goalie Alex Garrett from the Everett Silvertips for a fifth-round pick in 2026. The move came after the club learned backup Ethan Eskit will be unavailable for an undetermined length of time due to an upper-body injury suffered during the Christmas break.

As a result, 16-year-old prospect Dylan McFadyen made his WHL debut on Friday, with Garrett serving as backup.

The Wheat Kings also brought in forward Garrett Thom of the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Camrose Kodiaks for a tryout as a replacement player. League rules allow teams to audition an unsigned player for three games.

The moves were necessary with starting goalie Carson Bjarnason (Canada) and forward Dominik Petr (Czechia) at the world junior championship, and forwards Roger McQueen, Easton Odut and Ben Binder Nord out with injuries.

Brandon also called up 16-year-old defensive prospect Cameron Allard from the Estevan Bears of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League, but he took in the game from the stands.

The team is carrying two goalies, eight defencemen and 13 forwards this season.

Brandon nearly opened the scoring in the opening 30 seconds during a wild scramble around Regina goalie Kelton Pyne, but the puck stayed out.

Three minutes later, the puck bounced into the air in the Brandon slot and fell into the net over McFadyen’s shoulder as he frantically tried to cover the crossbar. The goal was credited to Brown.

Brandon tied the game 13 minutes 30 seconds into the period off the rush. After Pyne made a nice save, the puck stayed in the zone and overage defenceman Luke Shipley found Michels all alone for a one-timer.

They hadn’t even finished announcing the goal when Pantelaskis jumped on a loose puck that bounced around in the slot and restored the Pats lead. The goals were 31 seconds apart.

The Pats took a two-goal lead with 62 seconds remaining in the opening frame after Jace Egland made a one-handed pass into the slot and Whitehead outbattled a Brandon defender for the puck and fired it past McFadyen to make it 3-1.

The Wheat Kings edged back within a goal 5:55 into the middle frame on something exceedingly rare for them. Caleb Hadland and Flamand converted on a give-and-go for Brandon’s second shorthanded goal of the season. It also snapped a 16-game scoring drought for the overage forward.

“If anyone was to see a monkey thrown off a back with a little bit of passion and just to get back in the goal-scoring mode, it just feels good,” Flamand said. “I didn’t really see myself getting a chance like on that the penalty kill but we made a nice criss-cross with Hads and the next thing I knew, I had myself open in front so I made sure to put that one in.”

Regina restored the two-goal lead late in the period on a redirection by Spencer on a shot from the point that snuck under McFadyen’s pad and made it 5-2 at the 5:29 mark of the third period when Brown was left all alone in front of the net and made an inside, outside, inside move and put the puck behind McFadyen.

The Wheat Kings hadn’t shown much pushback in the third period until Hadland broke down the side and appeared too be trying to find Brady Turko for a pass until he ripped a shot past Pyne as a pair of Regina defenders tried to disrupt him

Brandon had a busy power play soon after, with Pyne making a sensational pad save on a Michels one-timer, and then Michels hitting a crossbar as the Wheat Kings had a number of Grade A chances but failed to connect.

The Pats put the game away for good when Chichkin scored on a shot from the point that the young goaltender never saw through traffic.

Regina added a late goal after a terrible giveaway by rookie defenceman Giorgos Pantelas in the neutral zone that led to an odd-man rush and resulted in a goal by Lansard on the rebound after McFadyen made the initial save.

“The intensity wasn’t there,” Flamand said. “Regina doesn’t have the top skill guys, they just out their head down and work, and I felt like we let the skill try and win the game and we needed to work a little harder. We’ll start bringing that the rest of the season, but in the first game after Christmas, we just have to be better.”

McFadyen made 31 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Pyne stopping 24 shots for the Pats. Brandon went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Regina unsuccessful in four chances.

Regina head coach Brad Herauf said it was a nice effort by his young club.

“We just got back to our identity and what we’ve expected here the last three weeks with our hockey club,” Herauf said. “Our kids work extremely hard and we were really skating. Our pressure was a little bit of the difference tonight.”

ICINGS: Dylan Ronald had a pair of assists for Brandon … Former Wheat Kings forward Tony Wilson was a healthy scratch for the Pats. He was acquired by Regina in the one-for-one Michels deal … Hadland and Quinn Mantei led the Wheat Kings with four shots each on net … The game took two hours, 29 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 38-28 … The Wheat Kings travel to meet the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and the Swift Current Broncos on Monday before returning home to entertain Swift Current on Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock … In a major deal, the Lethbridge Hurricanes acquired overage forward Jordan Gustafson of Ardrossan, Alta., from the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday for overage forward Hayden Pakkala of Okotoks, Alta., plus third-round picks in 2026 and 2028 and a fifth-round pick in 2025. Also, the Saskatoon Blades sent 19-year-old Lukas Hansen of Winnipeg to the Calgary Hitmen for 15-year-old forward prospect Adam Halat of Chestermere, Alta.

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