Liam Pue recorded his first WHL hat trick as the Regina Pats snapped the Calgary Hitmen’s perfect start to the season with a convincing 7-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Pue scored three times, while Matthew Paranych, Samuel Karsay, Keets Fawcett and Owen Sejna also found the back of the net for Regina, which improved its record to 2-2-0-1 with a strong road performance.
Calgary entered the contest looking to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 2009-10, but the Pats had other plans.
Regina jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period. Fawcett opened the scoring at 1:51, finishing a play set up by Zach Moore. Pue doubled the lead at 9:39, with assists from Fawcett and Karsay.
The Hitmen responded in the second period, scoring twice to tie it up. Charlie Kresl got Calgary on the board at 10:02 before Carter Sanderson tied the game at 12:29, setting up a crucial response from the Pats.
Pue delivered at 14:28, scoring his second goal of the afternoon off a feed from Ellis Mieyette to put Regina back in front. Paranych extended the Regina lead to 4-2 at 16:56, with Cohen Klassen and Maddox Schultz picking up the assists.
Regina dominated the middle frame, outshooting Calgary 13-4 and controlling the game despite the Hitmen's brief comeback.
Schultz began the third period serving a 10-minute misconduct for a mouthguard violation, but the Pats kept dictating the play.
Karsay added some insurance at 16:35, scoring his first WHL goal with assists from Schultz and Zach Moore to make it 5-2.
With Calgary's goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Pue completed his hat trick with 48.8 seconds remaining. The Pats forward showed good second effort to find the back of the net and put Regina ahead 6-2.
@TheWHL 🚨 PUEY HATTY ALERT 🚨 https://t.co/7bjKfsUStY
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) October 4, 2026
The game became increasingly physical in the final minutes, with fighting majors and additional penalties handed out to both teams. Sejna capitalized on a power play five seconds remaining to complete scoring.
Taylor Tabashniuk turned aside 21 shots to earn the win for Regina, while Eric Tu made 27 saves for Calgary.
The Pats finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Hitmen were held scoreless on two opportunities.
Pue was named the game's first star, with Calgary's Kresl earning second-star honours and Fawcett taking third star. The victory was a statement road performance for the Pats, who overcame Calgary's second-period push and finished with five unanswered goals to close it out.
The Pats are back on the ice on Friday night when they host the Prince Albert Raiders. You can hear the game on 620 CKRM, starting with pregame talk at 6:30 p.m.
