The short-staffed Regina Pats suffered a tough 7–2 loss to the Portland Winterhawks in the fifth game of their six-game U.S. road trip on Friday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Short-handed with just nine forwards and seven defencemen, the Pats were missing several key pieces due to injury, including Zach Moore, Cohen Klassen, and leading scorers Keets Fawcett and Caden Brown. The lack of depth proved challenging against a deep Winterhawks lineup that struck early and often.
Portland opened the scoring midway through the first period and added two more goals late in the frame to take a 3–0 lead into the intermission. The Winterhawks continued to apply pressure in the second, scoring three times — including two goals from Nathan Free — to extend the lead to 6–0 after 40 minutes.
The home side added another early in the third period to make it 7–0 before Regina found some offence. Liam Pue broke the shutout at 7:17 of the third, finishing a strong individual effort after generating several chances earlier in the game. Ruslan Karimov added a power-play marker late in the contest, jamming home a rebound near the crease with just under two minutes remaining.
Despite the scoreline, the Pats continued to compete with a shortened bench and showed resilience late, but ultimately couldn’t recover from the early deficit.
Regina will look to regroup and close out their U.S. road trip on a positive note in the sixth and final game, Saturday versus the Wenatchee Wild.
FINAL: Portland Winterhawks 7, Regina Pats 2
THE GOALS
First Period
Winterhawks 1-0 — #88 Alex Weiermair (13), assisted by #28 Nathan Brown & #12 Cole Slobodian at 9:57 // Weiermair cut into the slot, used a screen, and lifted the puck over the blocker of Marek Schlenker to open the scoring.
Winterhawks 2-0 — #9 Jordan Duguay (9) scores, assisted by #88 Alex Weiermair & #86 Nathan Free at 16:26 (PP) // Duguay found a loose puck in the slot and slipped it five-hole past a sprawling Schlenker to increase the lead on the power play.
Winterhawks 3-0 — #9 Jordan Duguay (10) scores, assisted by #88 Alex Weiermair & #22 Griffin Darby at 19:36 // Duguay sent a high shot from the middle of the Regina zone that deflected off a Pats defenceman and in just before the end of the period.
Second Period
Winterhawks 4-0 — #86 Nathan Free (14), assisted by #23 Ryan Miller & #12 Cole Slobodian at 1:01 // Free walked in on a one-on-one rush and ripped the puck past the glove of Schlenker to make it 4-0.
Winterhawks 5-0 — #88 Alex Weiermair (14), assisted by #9 Jordan Duguay & #28 Nathan Brown at 14:03 // Duguay sent the puck from the corner to the front of the net, where Weiermair spun around and sent a backhander past the outstretched Schlenker.
Winterhawks 6-0 — #86 Nathan Free (15), assisted by #12 Cole Slobodian & #23 Ryan Miller at 17:11 // Slobodian got the puck to the front of the net, and Free was there, finding it in the crease before lifting a backhander top corner.
Third Period
Winterhawks 7-0 — #18 Kyle McDonough (3), assisted by #72 Reed Brown, #27 Jake Gustafson at 2:59 // It was another scramble in front of the net; this time, McDonough pounced on the loose puck to beat the down-and-out Schlenker early in the third.
Pats 7-1 — #13 Liam Pue (2), assisted by #72 Julien Maze & #21 Ellis Mieyette at 7:17 // After a handful of chances earlier in the game, Pue was finally able to beat Stebetak, deking out the Portland goaltender in tight.
Pats 7-2 — Ruslan Karimov (4), assisted by #6 Reese Hamilton & #55 Ephram McNutt at 18:02 (PP) // Hamilton blasted the puck on net from the right side, and Karimov was there just outside the blue paint, sending it home on the power play.
Shots on Goal
- Pats: 5 – 11 – 11 — 27
- Winterhawks: 19 – 16 – 17 — 52
Power Plays
- Pats: 1/5
- Winterhawks: 1/4
Goaltending
- Pats: Marek Schlenker — 45 saves on 52 shots
- Winterhawks: Ondrej Štěbeták — 25 saves on 27 shots
Three Stars
- First Star: #88 Alex Weiermair (2G-2A)
- Second Star: #9 Jordan Duguay (2G-1A)
- Third Star: #86 Nathan Free (2G-1A)
COMING UP
The Regina Pats finish their six game U.S. road trip on Saturday with a battle against the Wenatchee Wild. The Pats then travel back to the Queen City and prepare for their final four games before the Christmas Break. The Pats are back home on December 5 where they take on the Brandon What Kings.
