THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

HERE WE GO! – The long wait is over, after eight pre-season games, the Pats open the regular season at home to the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday at the Brandt Centre. There has been a lot of hype around this team all off-season long and Friday, the club will look to begin what they hope will be a great year. Hope to see you Friday night!

AHL RETURNS – The Pats got one of their six guys gone to NHL camps back on Tuesday. Filip Ahl returned after rookie camp with the Ottawa Senators. He played in all three of the teams rookie games on the weekend but now sets his sights on his WHL debut Friday night. The 19-year-old is hoping to be a big contributor this season and once Sam Steel gets back from Anaheim Ducks camp Ahl will likely play on his wing. He met with the media yesterday: http://reginapats.com/video/filip-ahl-returns-from-ottawa-senators-camp

OTHER NHL GUYS – It is unlikely the Pats will get anyone else back for Friday’s home opener, though crazier things have happened. Sam Steel, Adam Brooks, Austin Wagner, Connor Hobbs and Sergey Zborovskiy will all likely be taken forward to main camp with their NHL clubs. The Ducks have already announced that Steel is being taken forward, no surprise for a first round pick. Here is a pretty cool picture of former Pat Cole Sanford being chased by Sam Steel in a rookie game between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks.

PATS REASSIGN THREE – The Pats trimmed their roster to 28 players this week reassigning forward Riley Krane to the Cariboo Cougars of the BCMML, goalie Kurtis Chapman to the Estevan Bruins of the SJHL and forward Cole Muir to the Yellowhead Chiefs of the MMHL. There are currently 18 forwards, 10 defencemen and 2 goalies remaining with the team.

BLADES ACQUIRE GOALIE -Seattle Thunderbirds general manager Russ Farwell announced the team has acquired defenseman Anthony Bishop from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for goalie Logan Flodell. Bishop has played five preseason games this season and has four assists. Bishop played 40 games in his rookie season last year with the Blades. He had two assists and 21 penalty minutes. Last season Flodell was 22-13-4-0 with three shutouts in 42 games. He had a save percentage of .904 and a goals against average of 2.68. In 54 games over three seasons with the T-Birds Flodell was 26-17-4-1 with a .899 save percentage, a 2.84 goals against average and three shutouts.

ANOTHER GOALIE TRADE – The Seattle Thunderbirds announced Friday the team has acquired goalie Rylan Toth from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a third round selection in the 2017 Bantam Draft. Last season Toth appeared in 44 games for the Rebels and had a 26-15-0-1 record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.67 goals against average and five shutouts. In nine playoff games for the Rebels Toth had a 3-5-1 record with a .905 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average. Toth was the Rebels goaltender for all four of their games at the MasterCard Memorial Cup last year. He finished the tournament with a 2-2-0 record, a .901 save percentage and a 2.99 goals against average.

Toth has appeared in 101 games with Red Deer over two seasons and has a 54-33-4-6 career record with six shutouts. His career save percentage is .908 and his career goals against average is 2.75.
Toth is 20-years old and joins centers Scott Eansor and Cavin Leth as the three 20-year olds on the T-Birds roster.

RAIDERS AND T-BIRDS SWAP FORWARDS – The Prince Albert Raiders completed a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Thursday afternoon. The Raiders acquired 1997-born left winger Nic Holowko from the Thunderbirds in exchange for 1997-born forward Layne Bensmiller and a conditional draft pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. Holowko, a product of Burnaby, BC, joined the Thunderbirds for the 2014-15 season. In two years in Seattle, he picked up 12 goals and 21 assists in 33 games. During the Thunderbirds run to the WHL Championship, he contributed two goals and four assists in 18 contests.

HURRICANES/WINTERHAWKS TRADE – The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club announced Wednesday that they have acquired forward Tanner Nagel from the Portland Winterhawks in exchange for the WHL playing rights to goaltender Shane Farkas. Nagel, 18, hails from Mossbank, Saskatchewan. The right-handed winger appeared in 38 games during the 2015-2016 season with the Winterhawks tallying one goal and 32 penalty minutes. He also dressed in 23 games last season with the Battlefords North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (Junior-A) where he registered seven points (6g-1a) along with 21 penalty minutes. Farkas, 17, was drafted in the fourth round (67th overall) in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft by the Hurricanes. The unsigned netminder spent the 2015-2016 season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Canadian Sport School Hockey League where he posted a 2.56 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. He is currently with the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League (Junior-A).

HURRICANES ACQUIRE NETMINDER – The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club announced Tuesday that they have acquired goaltender Ryan Gilchrist from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2017 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Gilchrist, 18, is a product of McLaughlin, Alberta. The undrafted netminder appeared in three games in the pre-season with the T-birds posting a 1-0-0-0 record along with a 3.51 goals against average and a .875 save percentage. The 6’4”, 188-pound puck-stopper spent the 2015-2016 season with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Canmore Eagles where he appeared in 22 regular season games posting a 9-8-2-0 record with a 3.77 goals against average and a .888 save percentage. Kegler, 19, appeared in two games for the Hurricanes in the ENMAX Pre-Season posting a 1-1-0-0 record with a 4.50 goals against average and a .873 save percentage.

THUNDER FALL IN MEDICINE HAT – The Regina Thunder fell to 3-3 on the season Saturday night in Medicine Hat with a 15-12 loss to the still unbeaten Calgary Colts who improved to 5-0. The first quarter scoring summary was just two singles for the Calgary Colts who led 2-0. The defensive battle continued into the second stanza and it wasn’t until 30 seconds were left in the half that the Colts scored a touchdown to make it 8-0 and that was the score at the break. In the third the Colts added a field goal and it was 11-0. The Thunder got their first points with 1:33 left in the quarter on a high snap that was kicked out the back of the endzone for a safety and it was 11-2 after 3. In the final frame the Colts added another single to go up 12-2. The teams traded field goals after that to bring the score to 15-5 Calgary. Regina scored their first and only touchdown of the game on a Sawyer Buettner toss to Levi Paul to bring the Thunder within 3 and 15-12. Regina got the ball back late and a hail mary on the final play was caught by Kristiane Desautels at the one yard line but he was stopped short and the Colts hung on to win 15-12 the final. Sawyer Buettner finished the game with 404 yards passing. The Thunder carry a 3-3 record into their bye week. They return to action on October 1st at home to the Saskatoon Hilltops at Mosaic Stadium.

That’s all I have for today, have a great week!

Phil
@Phil_Andrews_