Braxton Whitehead blasted home the overtime winner, breaking the Pats three game skid as the Regiment drove away with a 4-3 victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
After a stellar save on one end of the ice by defenceman Reese Hamilton, Caden Brown sent a cross ice pass to Whitehead who blasted home the overtime winner.
Kelton Pyne earned his ninth win of the season with 29 saves on 32 shots, with 11 saves in the second period. After the Pats got off to a 2-0 lead in the opening period, Pyne helped weather the storm in period two, keeping the Pats ahead by one.
Cohen Klassen scored his first WHL goal, which helped Regina retake a one-goal lead in the third. Brown (1G-1A) played his 200th WHL game, and tallied two points.
For the Rebels, they dropped their sixth consecutive game. They got goals from Matthew Gard, Derek Thurston and Trae Wilkie. Jaxon Fuder tallied two assists and Chase Wutzke was saddled with the loss, allowing two goals on 26 shots. Peyton Shore started the contest, giving up two goals in the first before leaving with an injury.
FINAL SCORE: Pats 4, Rebels 3 (OT)
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0: Pats at 6:59 – Caden Brown (13), assisted by Keets Fawcett & Matt Paranych // Brown got the puck high in the Rebels end and skated to the mid point where he let a shot go that beat Shore to give the Pats an early 1-0 lead.
2-0: Pats at 9:06 – Ephram McNutt (3), assisted by Anthony Wilson & Cohen Klassen // Wilson got the puck along the left boards. He found McNutt in the slot and beat Shore to the far side to give the Pats a 2-0 lead before the midway point of the first frame.
Second Period
2-1: Rebels at 4:19 – Matthew Gard (9), assisted by Talon Brigley & Jaxon Fuder // Gard grabbed a bouncing puck in front of the Pats net, spun and beat an outstretched Pyne to get the Rebels on the board at 2-1.
Third Period
2-2: Rebels at 6:23 – Derek Thurston (4), assisted by Luke Vlooswyl & Jaxon Fuder // Thurston’s shot from the left point was batted into the air by Pyne’s blocker, then off his shoulder and behind him to tie things up at 2-2.
3-2: Pats at 14:00 – Cohen Klassen (1), assisted by Player & Player (PP) // Babcock one-timed shot from the left point that Klassen got a nice piece on and deflected it past Wutzke for his first career goal and to give the Pats a 3-2 lead.
3-3: Rebels at 15:20 – Trae Wilke (7), assisted by Samuel Drancak & Talon Brigley // Wilke busted into the Pats zone with speed and as he got to the left circle he let a shot go that beat Pyne to even things up again, at 3-3.
Overtime
4-3: Pats at 2:12 – Braxton Whitehead (5), assisted by Caden Brown // A huge save by Pyne led to a break for the Pats as Brown raced up the right wing boards and sent cross ice pass to Whitehead who ripped home a one-timer to give the Pats a 4-3 win.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 14-6-13-3–36 | Red Deer – 9-12-9-2–32
PP: Regina – 1/2 | Red Deer – 0/3
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne (29 saves / 32 shots)
Red Deer: Peyton Shore (8 saves / 10 shots in 12:35) & Chase Wutzke (24 saves / 26 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Braxton Whitehead (1G, OT Winner) – Pats
Second: Jaxon Fuder (2A) – Rebels
Third: Zach Pantelakis (8SOG) – Pats
JUST NOTES
- Cohen Klassen scored his first career WHL goal and added an assist. He has three points (1G-2A) in his last five games.
- Caden Brown scored his 13th goal of the season, giving him goals in three straight games, and nine goals in the 16 games with the Pats. The nine goals have come in his last 10 games. He also added an assist for a two-point game.
- John Babcock has points in back-to-back games, both assists.
- Braxton Whitehead scored the OT winner and now has points in back-to-back games, and has five points (2G-3A) in his last seven games.
- Zackary Shantz had an assist to give him 12 points (3G-9A) in his last 11 games.
- Anthony Wilson picked up an assist and has points in back-to-back games, and in three of his last four games (1G-2A).
- Ephram McNutt scored his first as a Pat, he has three points (1G-2A) in five games with the Regiment.
- Keets Fawcett ended a three game pointless streak with an assist. He has three points (3A) in his last five games.
- Matt Paranych got on the scoresheet for the first time in a Pats uniform as he picked up an assist.
- The Pats went to extra-time against the Rebels for a sixth time in their last three seasons.
- The Pats have now outshot their opponent in six straight games.
COMING UP
The Pats travel to Calgary to play the Hitmen on Sunday, December 5th at 2 p.m. (SK Time). They will then have the next few days off before heading down the Trans Canada to Moose Jaw as they face the Warriors on Friday, January 10th. The Regiment’s next home game is Saturday January 11th when they face the Portland Winterhawks. Get your tickets at reginapats.com.
