The Regina Pats continued their strong push up the Eastern Conference standings with a hard-fought 4–3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday night at Rogers Place, handing one of the WHL’s hottest teams just its second regulation loss in the last 12 games.
Coming into the night, Edmonton sat third in the Eastern Conference and had gone 9-1-0-1 over its previous 11 contests, but the Pats rose to the challenge behind a poised, complete team effort and a career night from goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk.
The win was Regina’s 15th of the season, moving the Pats into a tie with the Red Deer Rebels for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 36 points. Regina has now gone 4-1-1 over its last six games, continuing a strong stretch at a crucial point in the season.
The Pats opened the scoring early in the first period when Ruslan Karimov finished off a 2-on-0 rush set up by Zach Lansard and Cohen Klassen. Edmonton responded midway through the frame, but Regina regained the lead late in the period on the power play as Ephram McNutt blasted home a one-timer to make it 2–1 after 20 minutes.
Regina extended its advantage early in the second period with another man-advantage marker, as Ellis Mieyette buried a centring feed from Caden Brown. The Oil Kings pushed back late in the period with a power-play goal in the final seconds to cut the deficit to one heading into the third.
In the final frame, Matt Paranych restored the Pats’ two-goal cushion by jumping on a loose puck behind the Edmonton defence. The Oil Kings made things interesting shortly after with a shorthanded breakaway goal, but Regina shut things down the rest of the way.
Tabashniuk was the difference, turning aside a career-high 39 shots in his best WHL outing to date, including several key saves during a heavy second-period push from Edmonton. The Oil Kings outshot the Pats 42–29, but Regina made the most of its opportunities and bent without breaking defensively.
FINAL: Regina Pats 4, Edmonton Oil Kings 3
THE GOALS
First Period
Pats 1-0 — #25 Ruslan Karimov (12), assisted by #57 Zach Lansard & #37 Cohen Klassen at 4:43 // Klassen forced a turnover at centre and created a 2-on-0 for Lansard, who waited and set a pass to the right wing side for Karimov, and he blasted home a snap shot to open the scoring.
Oil Kings 1-1 — #14 Dylan Dean (10), assisted by #34 Aaron Obobaifo & #10 Kayden Stroeder at 12:30 // After the Pats were unable to clear the zone, a made scramble took place in front of the net with Dean jamming home a loose puck after several saves by Pats goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk.
Pats 2-1 — #55 Ephram McNutt (9), assisted by #6 Reese Hamilton & #21 Ellis Mieyette at 18:58 // The Pats worked the puck around on the man-advantage, finding McNutt at the left circle where he blasted home a one-timer to take the lead with 62 seconds to play in the first.
Second Period
Pats 3-1 — #21 Ellis Mieyette (9), assisted by #27 Caden Brown at 3:40 (PP) // Caden Brown circled the Edmonton net and centred the puck in front to Mieyette, and he slipped it past Parker Snell to extend the lead.
Oil Kings 3-2 — #47 Ethan MacKenzie (11), assisted by #17 Gavin Hodnett at 19:56 (PP) // Hodnett made a nice move at the attacking line, finding a cutting MacKenzie backdoor, and he rifled the puck over the blocker of Tabashniuk to make it a one-goal game.
Third Period
Pats 4-2 — #44 Matt Paranych (6), assisted by #57 Zachary Lansard & #32 Mathis Paull at 9:52 // Paranych snuck in behind the Edmonton defence and deposited home a loose puck to extend Regina's lead back to two.
Oil Kings 4-3 — #92 Miroslav Holinka (28), unassisted (SH) at 11:59 // Holinka forced a turnover at the Edmonton line and skated in on a breakaway, beating Tabashniuk with a backhander to make it a one-goal contest.
Shots on Goal
- Pats: 13 – 8 – 8 — 29
- Oil Kings: 13 – 22 – 7 — 42
Power Plays
- Pats: 1/6
- Oil Kings: 1/3
Goaltending
- Pats: Taylor Tabashniuk — 39 saves on 42 shots
- Oil Kings: Parker Snell — 29 saves on 30 shots
Three Stars
- First Star: #30 Taylor Tabashniuk (39SV)
- Second Star: #14 Dylan Dean (1G)
- Third Star: #21 Ellis Mieyette (1G-1A)
COMING UP
The Regina Pats continue their road trip on Friday in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes, looking to move into sole possession of eighth in the East. The Pats will end their Alberta road trip on Saturday evening against the Calgary Hitmen.
