The Regina Pats returned home from their lengthy road trip on Friday and walked away with a 4-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades inside the Brandt Centre.
After a scoreless first, where Regina killed off four penalties, the Pats scored three times in the second period. Aleksey Chichkin, Caden Brown, and Dayton Deschamps found the back of the net, all while outshooting the Blades 10-2 in the frame.
Zach Moore's third-period goal put Regina ahead 4-1, but it was the difference maker as the Blades scored two late goals to bring their group within one.
Kelton Pyne made 24 saves for his seventh victory of the season, helping the Pats to their first home victory since October 19.
FINAL SCORE: Blades 4, Pats 3
THE GOALS
First Period
No scoring.
Second Period
1-0: Pats at 1:07 – Aleksey Chichkin (2), assisted by Keets Fawcett & Zackary Shantz // The Pats gained the Blades zone with Fawcett getting the puck along the right boards. He then sent a cross-ice pass to the crease, where Chichkin tipped it home to make it 1-0 Pats early in the second.
2-0: Pats at 10:30 – Caden Brown (7), assisted by Braxton Whitehead & Zackary Shantz (PP) // Whitehead fed Brown a pass in the high slot, and he fired a wrister past Gardner to extend the Pats lead to 2-0.
3-0: Pats at 11:52 – Dayton Deschamps (3), assisted by Jace Egland // Egland grabbed the puck along the right boards and sent a pass to Deschamps at the point, and he lofted a long-distance shot that eluded Gardner to extend the Pats lead to 3-0.
Third Period
3-1: Blades at 5:22 – Isaac Poll (1), assisted by Brayden Klimpke & Brandon Lisowsky // After the Blades controlled the puck for an extended period of time, Poll's point shot bounced off a defender and past Pyne to get the visitors on the board at 3-1.
4-1: Pats at 7:12 – Zach Moore (6), unassisted // Moore stole the puck along the Pats blueline, battled his way down the ice, and as he got near the Blades slot, he let a shot go that beat McCallum far side to make if 4-1.
4-2: Blades at 15:22 – Ben Riche (18), assisted by Brandon Lisowsky & Tyler Parr (PP) // Lisowsky sent a cross-ice pass to Riche, who ripped a one-timer from the right circle past Pyne to pull the Blades to within a pair at 4-2.
4-3: Blades at 17:12 – Tyler Parr (12), assisted by Grayden Siepmann & Cooper Williams // With the Blades net empty for an extra attacker, Siepmann sent a wrist shot towards the Pats net, and Parr tipped it past Pyne to make it 4-3 late.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 7-13-6–26 | Saskatoon – 11-5-11–27
PP: Regina – 1/3 | Saskatoon – 1/5
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne (24 saves / 27 shots)
Saskatoon: Evan Gardner (14 saves / 17 shots in 31:52) and Ethan McCallum (8 saves / 9 shots in 25:43)
THE 3 STARS
First: Zackary Shantz (2A) – Pats
Second: Dayton Deschamps (1G) – Pats
Third: Zach Moore (1G) – Pats
JUST NOTES
- Zackary Shantz picked up two assists, giving him seven points in his last five games (2G-5A).
- Caden Brown scored his seventh of the season and now has six points (3G-3A) in 10 games with the Pats. He's also scored in three of his last four games.
- Jace Egland picked up his first assist as a Pat' and now has a pair of points in 10 games with the club.
- Braxton Whitehead ended an eight-game pointless streak with a helper on Brown's powerplay goal.
- Aleksey Chichkin notched his second goal of the season, which was the first since October 19 versus Seattle.
- Dayton Deschamps scored his third of the season, which tied him as the team lead for goals by a defenseman with three (newly acquired Matt Paranych also has three).
- The Pats converted on the power play for a fourth straight game (4-for-15).
COMING UP
The Pats host their annual Teddy Bear Toss Game on Saturday, December 14th, as the Club takes on the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Pats will enter the Christmas break and return to action on December 27th at Brandon before returning home the next night to host the Blades on the 28th.
