The Regina Pats fell short on Saturday night at Co-op Place, falling to the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-1 with an empty netter.
The Tigers came out of the gate with a 2-0 lead, as Andrew Basha opened the scoring 27 seconds in and Matthew Ward added to the lead just before the three minute mark. After Cole Temple fired the puck off the post, minutes later Connor Bear cleaned up his own rebound to get the Pats within one midway through the opening period.
In the second frame early on, Jaxsin Vaughan came up short on a partial breakaway, and Tye Spencer was robbed in tight on a two-on-one. The Tigers then took a 3-1 lead and wouldn’t look back, adding one more early in the third.
For the Tigers, Matthew Ward (2G-1A) and Andrew Basha (1G-2A) each led the way with three point games, while Jordan Switzer made 22 saves. Ewan Huet got his first start since October 9, making 30 saves. Kristian Lacelle also picked up an assist for the Pats for his first career WHL point.
FINAL SCORE: Tigers 5, Pats 1
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0 Tigers at 27 seconds – Andrew Basha (5), assisted by Jonas Woo & Mathew Ward // Woo’s point shot was stopped by Ewan Huet but the rebound went to Basha and he fired it past the Pats netminder to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead early in the game.
2-0 Tigers at 2:52 – Mathew Ward (3), assisted by Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll & Andrew Basha // A pair of Tigers got close to the Pats net with Ward one-timing the puck past Huet to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
2-1 Pats at 10:28 – Connor Bear (2), assisted by Aleksey Chichkin & Kristian Lacelle // Bear’s shot was kicked right back out to the Pats forward and he buried his own rebound to pull the Pats to within one at 2-1.
Second Period
3-1 Tigers at 12:28 – Matt Paranych (3), assisted by Jack Kachkowski & Marcus Pacheco // Kachkowski found Paranych at the top of the right circle and he one-timed it past Huet to restore the Tigers’ two-goal lead.
Third Period
4-1 Tigers at 38 seconds – Gavin McKenna (6), assisted by Oasiz Wiesblatt & Jonas Woo // McKenna grabbed the puck behind the Pats net, cut to the front of the net and put a backhander past Huet upstairs to extend the lead to 4-1.
5-1 Pats at 19:11 – Mathew Ward (4), assisted by Andrew Basha (EN) // Ward sealed the win with an empty netter.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 6-7-10–23 | Medicine Hat – 12-12-11–35
PP: Regina – 0/5 | Medicine Hat – 0/5
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Ewan Huet (30 saves / 34 shots)
Medicine Hat: Jordan Switzer (22 saves / 23 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Mathew Ward – Tigers
Second: Ewan Huet – Pats
Third: Andrew Basha – Tigers
COMING UP
The Pats are back on home ice on Wednesday, October 30 for their Halloween game. Puck drop is set for 7pm against the Prince Albert Raiders. Tickets are available, HERE!
