Regina Pats goaltender Ewan Huet had his greatest start of the season with 48 saves in a tight 4-2 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Pats and Hurricanes were tied after 20 and 40 minutes of action, as both teams traded leads in the first two periods. First, the Pats opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Zach Pantelakis. Then, in period two, after the Canes took the lead, Matt Paranych scored on the power play to even things up.
Brayden Edwards would score short-handed in the third to retake the Hurricanes lead, and Brayden Yager would ice it with an empty netter late. Jackson Unger made 18 saves in their eighth straight win.
FINAL SCORE: Hurricanes 4, Pats 2
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0: Pats at 10:17 – Zach Pantelakis (9), unassisted // Pantelakis picked up a loose puck along the right boards. He then cut to the front of the net and fired it under Unger's arm to give the Pats a 1-0 lead.
1-1: Hurricanes at 14:56 – Logan Wormald (26), assisted by Brayden Edwards & Tristan Doyle // Huet, denied Edwards' one-timer, but the rebound bounced to Wormald in front, and he fired it past the Pats netminder to tie the contest up at 1-1.
Second Period
2-1: Hurricanes at 2:48 –Jordan Gustafson (5), assisted by Brayden Yager & Leo Braillard // Yager, stole the puck along the right boards and sent a pass to the front of the net, where Gustafson tucked it past the Pats netminder to make it 2-1 Hurricanes.
2-2: Pats at 12:54 – Matt Paranych (5), assisted by Julien Maze & Keets Fawcett (PP) // Maze carried the puck to the left point, fed a pass to Paranych at the midpoint, and his one-timer blast beat Unger to even the game up at 2-2.
Third Period
3-2: Hurricanes at 8:05 – Brayden Edwards (18), unassisted (SH) // Edwards broke in on a one-on-one, and his shot got past Huet to make it 3-2 for the hometown Hurricanes.
4-2: Hurricanes at 19:43 – Brayden Yager (14), unassisted (EN) // Yager raced down the ice and buried the empty netter to seal the game at 4-2.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina– 6-7-7–20 | Lethbridge – 16-14-22–52
PP: Regina – 1/4 | Lethbridge – 0/6
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Ewan Huet (48 saves / 51 shots)
Lethbridge: Jackson Unger (18 saves / 20 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Brayden Edwards (1G-1A) – Hurricanes
Second: Ewan Huet (38 Saves) – Pats
Third: Jordan Gustafson (1G) – Hurricanes
JUST NOTES
- Zach Pantelakis scored his ninth of the season. He has points in back-to-back games, which gives him four points (3G-1A) in his last five games.
- Matt Paranych scored fifth of the season and second with the Pats. He has points in back-to-back contests.
- With an assist tonight, Julien Maze has three assists in his last two games.
- Keets Fawcett ended an three game pointless streak with a helper on the Pats second goal.
- Ewan Huet made a season-high 48 saves in the contest. It was the seventh 40+ save game of his WHL career.
- The Pats scored a power-play goal for a third straight game.
- The Pats drop to 12-26-4-2 while the Hurricanes improved to 27-14-1-1.
COMING UP
The Pats return home to face the Prince Albert Raiders at the Brandt Centre on Saturday, January 25. Get your tickets at ReginaPats.com.
