PREVIEW: Pats Host T-Birds For The First Time In Four Years
Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats begin a four game homestand tonight at 7:00 p.m. against the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Brandt Centre, marking the first game against Seattle in Regina since January 6, 2019.
The Pats are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday at Westoba Place. The Pats trailed 2-0 after one and 3-1 after two. Riley Ginnell and Zack Stringer scored for Regina in the loss. Drew Sim allowed five goals on 21 shots through 49:21 of ice time and Kelton Pyne stopped seven of eight in relief for the final 10:39 of the game. The final shots were 29-20 for Brandon. The Pats went 1-5 on their power play while the Wheat Kings went 3-4 on their power play.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Thunderbirds begin their six game Eastern Division road trip tonight against the Pats. The Thunderbirds are coming off a 2-0 win over the Kelowna Rockets on December 31. Scott Ratzlaff earned his third shutout of the season with 18 saves. Jeremy Hanzel and Sawyer Mynio had Seattle’s goals as they sweep their home-and-home set with the Rockets after they beat them 4-1 on December 31. The final shots were 35-18 for Seattle. They went 0-5 on their power play and 5-5 on their penalty kill.
Seattle has now won their last eight games, having outscored their opponents 41-to-16 (+25) during that time, with their last lost being a 4-3 SOL to Portland on Dec. 10…in fact, they’ve recorded at least a point in 13 straight games with their last regulation loss coming on Nov. 27 (L, 4-3 at TC).
Match Up
|
Seattle |
Regina |
|
| Team Record | 27-4-1-1 — 56 points | 18-18-1-1 — 38 points |
| Division Ranking | 1st U.S. | 4th East |
| Conference Ranking | 1st Western | 7th Eastern |
| League Ranking | 3rd | 10th |
| Past 10 Games | 9-0-0-1 | 4-6-0-0 |
| Streak | 12-0-0-1 | 0-2-0-0 |
| Last Game | 2-0 W vs Kelowna (Dec 31 2022) Final | 6-2 L @ Brandon (Jan 4 2023) Final |
| Home Record | 14-1-1-0 | 7-8-0-1 |
| Away Record | 13-3-0-1 | 11-10-1-0 |
| GF | 146 | 136 |
| GA | 78 | 151 |
| PP (Overall) | (28/150) 18.7% | (38/149) 25.5% |
| PP (Home) | (19/86) 22.1% | (14/63) 22.2% |
| PP (Away) | (9/64) 14.1% | (24/86) 27.9% |
| PK (Overall) | (25/142) 82.4% | (42/171) 75.4% |
| PK (Home) | (11/73) 84.9% | (11/63) 82.5% |
| PK (Away) | (14/69) 79.7% | (31/108) 71.3% |
| PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% | (0/0) 0% |
| Leading Rookie | Sawchyn (11-27-38) | Suzdalev (21-26-47) |
| Most PIM | Sawchyn – 54 | Vaughan – 58 |
| Team PIM/GM | 14.1/Game | 14.3/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Davidson (19-28-47) | Bedard (27-37-64) |
| Ciona (16-30-46) | Howe (21-27-48) | |
| Crnkovic (18-23-41) | Suzdalev (21-26-47) | |
| Sawchyn (11-27-38) | Svozil (5-32-37) | |
| Gustafson (13-17-30) | Valis (14-17-31) | |
| Last 5 Games | 2-0 W vs Kelowna (Dec 31 2022) Final | 6-2 L @ Brandon (Jan 4 2023) Final |
| 4-1 W @ Kelowna (Dec 30 2022) Final | 5-2 L vs Prince Albert (Jan 1 2023) Final | |
| 6-5 W @ Spokane (Dec 28 2022) Final | 4-3 W @ Prince Albert (Dec 30 2022) Final OT | |
| 7-5 W vs Spokane (Dec 27 2022) Final | 4-0 L vs Brandon (Dec 28 2022) Final | |
| 5-1 W @ Everett (Dec 17 2022) Final | 6-1 L vs Saskatoon (Dec 17 2022) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 17-1-0-0 | 14-1-1-0 |
| Leading After 2nd | 20-0-0-0 | 15-0-0-0 |
| Tied After 1st | 7-1-0-0 | 2-3-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 4-0-0-0 | 2-4-0-0 |
| Trailing After 1st | 3-2-1-1 | 2-14-0-1 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 3-4-1-1 | 1-14-1-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 21-2-1-1 | 8-6-0-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 4-2-0-0 | 9-12-1-0 |
| 1 Goal Games | 8-1-1-1 | 7-3-1-1 |
| 2 Goal Games | 5-1-0-0 | 1-1-0-0 |
| 3 Goal Games | 7-1-0-0 | 5-6-0-0 |
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
- Radio: 620ckrm.com
- Stream: WHL Live
- TV: Access
HEAD TO HEAD (0-0-0-0)
The Pats are 19-27-2-0-0 vs. the Thunderbirds, all time. 9-13-1-0 at home & 10-14-1-0 on the road.
| Date | Road | Home | Time | Result |
| January 6 | Seattle | Regina | 7:00 p.m. CST |
The Pats take on the Thunderbirds for the first time since January 17, 2020 when Seattle defeated Regina 4-2 in Kent, WA. The last time the Pats hosted the Thunderbirds was January 6, 2019 (exactly four years / 1,461 days) when Seattle beat Regina 6-3 at the Brandt Centre. The Thunderbirds have won their last three meetings against the Pats since the 2017-18 season.
HEADLINES
- Connor Bedard & Canada captured their second straight gold medal, winning the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship with a 3-2 overtime victory over Czechia on Thurdsday. The win gives Canada its 20th gold medal and 35th medal overall at the World Juniors. Meanwhile, Stanislav Svozil and Czechia get silver for their first medal at the World Juniors since 2005.
BY THE NUMBERS
64: Number of points (27G-37A) in 28 games for Pats captain Connor Bedard leads the WHL…and his 37 assists are first and his 27 goals are second…the North Vancouver, BC product is also on a 27 game point-streak with all 64 points during that time.
47: Points for Alexander Suzdalev is tied for ninth in the WHL, while his 21 goals are tied for sixth…the Washington Capitals 2022 third-round pick has points in 20 of his last 24 games (15G-23A-38PTS)…his 12 power play goals are tied for third in the WHL.
48: Points this season for forward Tanner Howe is eighth in the WHL, while his 21 goals are also tied for sixth and his shooting percentage of 26.3% (21-for-80) is fourth…he has 22 points over his last 16 games (11G-11A).
11: Points over Easton Armstrong’s last 12 games (6G-5A), with points in eight of those 12 contests…the Los Angeles, CA product has set career highs in goals (13) assists (9) and points (22) this season.
17-15-1-1: First half record this season versus the Pats 11-16-0 first half record last season where the Pats went 7-7-0 at home and just 5-9-0 on the road…at end of the first half last year, the Pats were 18th in the WHL and sixth in their conference.
COMING UP
4:00 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8 – Calgary Hitmen (20-11-3-1) at Regina Pats (18-18-1-1)
7:00 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13 – Saskatoon Blades (25-6-2-0) at Regina Pats (18-18-1-1)
7:00 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14 – Portland Winterhawks (26-4-2-1) at Regina Pats (18-18-1-1)
7:00 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20 – Regina Pats (18-18-1-1) at Swift Current Broncos (16-15-0-1)
