The Regina Pats were finally able to exhale on Wednesday night, snapping a seven-game skid with an impressive 5-3 win over the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre thanks to a 38-save performance from Kelton Pyne. Five different Pats players found the back of the net with Zach Moore, Jace Egland, Julien Maze, Zackary Shantz and Caden Brown scoring for Regina. Egland scored his first in the WHL, while Brown and Maze added their first with the Regiment. Maze finished the game with three points (1G-2A), while Zackary Shantz (1G-1A) and Connor Bear (2A) each added multi-point efforts.
Regina was outshot 41-26 in their seventh win of the season. The Pats were 1-4 on the power play and 2-3 on their penalty kill. The win also marked Regina’s first victory in the second game of a back-to-back.
Also to note: the Pats have three victories away from the Brandt Centre this season which is two shy from their road win total last season.
Tonight’s matchup will mark the fifth and final game against B.C. opponents this season.
The Cougars have dropped their last three games and are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place on November 30. Parker Snell shut out the Cougars in his first WHL start, and Prince George has been outscored 12-to-7 in their last three games. The final shots were 32-29 for Edmonton. The Cougars were 0-5 on their power play and 5-7 on their penalty kill.
WHO TO WATCH
Julien Maze is coming off a standout performance on Wednesday, tying his career-high with three points (1G-2A). His goal in Vancouver broke a ten-game goalless drought and was his first with Regina. He’s now produced five multi-point games this season.
Jace Egland is also looking to build off a strong outing after he scored his first career WHL goal. Egland has shown his ability to score goals at the U18 level with the Swift Current Legionnaires, picking up 14 goals in nine games this season and 29 goals last season.
The Cougars have five players in the WHL’s top 50 scorers: Tarik Parascak (33PTS), Borya Valis (34PTS), Riley Heidt (34PTS), Koehn Ziemmer (28PTS), and Viliam Kmec (28PTS). Despite not scoring in his last four contests, 20-year-old forward Ziemmer has 19 goals in 19 games this season, which ranks tied for fifth in the WHL.
Valis, a former Pat, is an easy choice for a player to watch. He is having a career season with 34 points (13G-21A) in 24 games and is currently on pace for 94 points (36G-58A) in 66 games.
COMING UP
The Regina Pats will finish this eight-game stretch away from home on Sunday with a 4 p.m. MDT puck drop against the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Pats return home for two games before the Christmas Break: December 13 vs. Saskatoon and December 14 vs. Moose Jaw.
GET IN THE GAME
Bennett Dunlop Ford Regina Pats hockey will be broadcast on 620 CKRM, starting with pre-game talk at 8:30 p.m. (SK Time).
