The Regina Pats scored three third-period goals, gathering a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre.
With the Pats trailing 3-0 after two periods of play, Zach Moore, Matt Paranych and Julien Maze would score in the third to force extra-time. After Dayton Deschamps fought to give the Pats a spark in the third period, Moore got Regina on the board, and they had life.
After Paranych brought Regina within one, head coach Brad Herauf pulled the goalie, and Maze would tie things up with 39 seconds to play.
Kelton Pyne had yet another solid outing for the Pats, allowing just three goals on 36 shots.
Max Hildebrand made 33 saves as the Raiders broke their three-game skid. Justice Christensen (1G-1A), Niall Crocker (1G-1A) and Vojtech Vochvest scored for the Raiders.
FINAL SCORE: Raiders 4, Pats 3 (SO)
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0: Raiders at 10:05 – Justice Christiansen (22), assisted by Niall Crocker // The Raiders entered the Pats zone with numbers, and Crocker got the puck to Christiansen, who was able to beat Pyne to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
Second Period
2-0: Raiders at 26 seconds – Vojtech Vochvest (1), unassisted // Vochvest got a loose puck on the left side of the Pats zone. His long-range shot beat Pyne low to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
3-0: Raiders at 5:38 – Niall Crocker (25), assisted by Justice Christiansen // Christiansen’s point shot, went wide of the Pats net, but the puck caromed out to the front of the net where Crocker batted it off of Pyne and in to extend the Raiders lead to 3-0.
Third Period
3-1: Pats at 4:37 – Zach Moore (11), assisted by Ephram McNutt & Jace Egland // McNutt, got a pass at the point, and he let a slapshot go that Moore got a piece of which tipped past Hildebrand to get the Pats on the board at 3-1.
3-2: Pats at 10:31 – Matt Paranych (6), assisted by Kristian Lacelle & Ephram McNutt // Hildebrand, stopped an initial shot by Lacelle but knocked it to an open spot where Paranych pinched, and his shot beat Hildebrand to get the Pats to within one at 3-2.
3-3: Pats at 19:20 – Julien Maze (11), assisted by Reese Hamilton & Matt Paranych // With Pyne on the Pats bench and an extra attacker on the ice, the Pats were buzzing. Hamliton’s point shot was kicked out by Hildebrand right to Maze at the left circle, and he fired it past the Raiders goalie to tie the game at 3-3.
Overtime
No scoring.
Shootout
Raiders – Aiden Oiring – No goal
Pats – Caden Brown – No goal
Raiders – Tomas Mrsic – Goal
Pats – Zach Pantelakis – No goal
Raiders – Lukas Dragicevic – No goal
Pats – Julien Maze – No goal
Raiders win.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 13-9-12-2–36 | Prince Albert – 6-15-12-3–36
PP: Regina – 0/2 | Prince Albert – 0/2
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne (33 saves / 36 shots)
Prince Albert: Max Hildebrand (33 saves / 36 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Vojtech Vochvest (1G) – Raiders
Second: Julien Maze (1G) – Pats
Third: Niall Crocker (1G-1A) – Raiders
JUST NOTES
- The Pats overcame their largest deficit of the season, scoring three times in the third to gather a point.
- Zach Moore ended a 10-game goalless drought and continues to add to his career-high in goals with his 11th of the season
- Matt Paranych scored his sixth goal of the season, and third with the Queen City Kids and first in 15 games. He would finish with two points (1G-1A).
- Julien Maze ended a 10-game goalless drought with the game-tying marker with 39 seconds left. He now has points (1G-1A) in back-to-back games.
- Ephram McNutt picked up a pair of assists. He now has seven assists over his last eight games.
- Jace Egland has picked up assists in back-to-back games.
- The Pats played in their 15th extra-time game of the season and fifth to reach the shootout.
- The Pats finish the season series 2-4-0-2 versus the Raiders.
- Regina fell to 15-37-5-3 while Prince Albert improved to 34-20-5-1.
COMING UP
The Pats’ next game is on Friday, March 7th, when the Queen City Kids travel to Moose Jaw to face their Trans Canada rivals, the Warriors.
