It was a back and forth game between the Regina Pats and Prince Albert Raiders on Friday night, with the scales tipping in the Raiders favour in the end as they picked up a 6-5 win.
With the score tied 4-4 after 40 minutes, Regina took an early lead in the third before the Raiders came back and scored a pair of goals in the third.
Connor Bedard was able to reach a couple of milestones against the Raiders. The Pats captain ended the evening with two goals, which gives him 50 on the season. He collected four points on the night, which give him 100 on the season.
🚨 50 IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASONS🚨
Connor Bedard becomes the 1st Pat since Mike Sillinger (1988-91) to score 50 goals in back-to-back seasons!#LegendsInTheMaking | #NHLDraft | #CB98 pic.twitter.com/Axr0Am9RvK
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) February 18, 2023
Alexander Suzdalev opened up the scoring for Regina, with a “Michigan” goal.
🚨 MICHIGAN ALERT🚨
Alexander Suzdalev pulls off the Michigan to open the scoring 😱#LegendsInTheMaking | @Capitals | @TSN_Sports | @BarDown | @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/txbl2J8eiE
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) February 18, 2023
Suzdalev would add his second his goal of the game which gives him 30 on the season.
Tanner Howe also picked up a goal for Regina in his hometown.
Assistant Coach Ken Schneider said after the game the Pats weren’t able to maintain the momentum from the first period when they led 3-1.
“We knew they were going to push back in the second and we didn’t match that challenge at all.”
Drew Sim made 25 saves in the loss. The Pats were 3/5 on the power-play.
Next action for the Pats is Saturday night when they meet the Winnipeg ICE. Schneider says the Pats will need to be better defensively against the ICE.
“Winnipeg plays so fast, their transition game is really quick and they get on top of your of defence in a hurry.”
He added that the Pats will have to pick up their checks, and believes matching up against the top team in the Western Hockey League is a good way to test that out.
The Pats were unable to remove themselves from a three-way tie for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Coverage for Saturday’s game on 620 CKRM begins with the pre-game show at 6:35.
