PATS 3 WARRIORS 0
REGINA — Dawson MacAuley stopped 36 shots for his second career shutout and the Regina Pats collected a huge 3-0 victory over the rival Moose Jaw Warriors Wednesday night in the Brandt Centre on Rider Pride Night.
The Pats wore special green uniforms to honour the Roughriders and the Green & White’s Jim Hopson, Rob Bagg and Dominic Picard were on hand for the ceremonial opening faceoff. The game was scoreless through the opening two periods but a few fights livened things up in the opening 40 minutes. The Pats broke it open in the third with goals from Boston Leier and Geordie Maguire before Morgan Klimchuk iced things with an empty-netter.
The victory snapped a three-game slide for the Pats (8-8-0) and moved them into seventh in the WHL’s Eastern Conference while the Warriors (6-9-3) dropped to ninth. Regina outshot the visitors 39-36 while going 0/3 on the powerplay and 2/2 killing penalties. The attendance was 3501.
The Pats are next in action Friday when they visit the Prince Albert Raiders at 7:00 on 620 CKRM (Press Box Sports Bar Pregame Show at 6:35 pm).
(Photo courtesy Keith Herschmiller Photography)
When I first watched MacAuley I didn't like his game and doubted he would last very long. I have to admit that maybe I was wrong. He doesn't do anything flashy but just seems to let his big body get in the way of pucks. Overall his play has been pretty good. The recent losses can't be pinned on him. he turning into a darn good goalie. From what I hear he works hard in practice at getting better. That's something worthy of respect. It does create a bit of a goaltending issue. While Engel is a good back-up policy… Read more »
" Go Pats Go "
My children were hoping for a Hallowe'en contest. They came wearing their costumes but felt stupid because they were the only ones.
Agreed about the Halloween contest why not do something to attract families to the game with an on-ice costume parade (most WHL teams do this around Halloween) or candy give-away while allowing kids under 12 in costume or in Rider garb in free to attract more fans in. The Pats game promotion/presentation has gone down hill the last couple years, my kids used to love all the various activities to do in between whistles but now it's pretty dull and unoriginal. Regardless of the terrible crowd, the game was great! This Pat team is exciting to watch and should be… Read more »
See news out of Winnipeg is that TNSE had talks with another WHL team in regards to purchase and relocation of the club…..on another it's also rumored (Drinnan and other media/bloggers) that the Pats will be sold for 7 million by early Dec. Another brutal crowd last night and a quiet, quiet atmosphere….everyone wanted Brent Parker gone, so, he's gone, the Rider Pride things was a great idea to entice new fans…..what more does Regina want from a Junior hockey team? I pose this question to the RP blog regulars….has the damage been too great to repaired and bring out… Read more »
Win and the people will come. The Riders have at least had a chance to win and make playoffs in most of the past ten years. The Pats have not. If the Riders go in the tank for a five year stretch, that mighty organization will struggle to get the fairweather fan into the stadium too.
Rider game night.
Weiner Wednesday.
Playing the rival Moose Jaw.
And still less than 3000 at the game.
Its a joke….
And I agree why not do something for the kids like they used to a long time ago…. Ah I know why, because that would of taken some planning and organizing.
I wonder who kept the puck after last nights shut out win.
The coach or the goalie ?
I agree that the crowds have everything to do with the on ice performance. The biggest crowd of the year was when Edmonton was in, and the team played horrible. This team is still very inconsistent and limited in what it can do with the current talent. We appear to be headed for mediocrity again this year. A guy who sat beside me for years didn't renew and another good friend and his wife didn't as well. There were many more. The reason they gave me is that they were tired of losing and coming out in bad weather to… Read more »
Pundits, pundits, pundits……tsk, tsk, tsk. The negative is flowing again in Regina. Shake my head.
The nice thing about never having had any success over the past 20 years is two fold. (A) a whole generation of fan has grown up never knowing what a winner looks like (B) Those same fans get to comment on something they know nothing about…..
Agree that MacAuley was the difference last night and hope he can stay hot. Pretty good game overall…some of the old rivalry came out with solid hits on both sides, and fast paced. Was nice to see the 2nd line put in another good game. Out PP is not generating much of late so hopefully can get that going.
Unfortunately until the Riders are done, and we start winning a little more regularly the fence-sitters will not likely show. It is a shame as the games are well worth the money I think.
Bill W
I actually thought the Riders were playing last night, first 40 minutes there was no offence/scoring.
I agree with Bill. There are more people at the games after Rider season is done. It's too bad they couldn't have had this Rider night on a weekend instead. It is what it is and I enjoyed last night's game. The Pats are playing a much more exciting brand of hockey than the past few years in my opinion. I hope they can get more consistent and find some success on the road in November. The US division looks very strong. If MacAuley keeps it up I'm sure he'll steal a couple games down there.
LC
I go to Pats games because I like hockey period. The past is the past with whom ever was employed there, but at the end of the day if you like WHL hockey this is the option. On a separate note IF the Regina Pats were ever sold and moved and that is a big IF then the WHL would immediately the very next instant announce an expansion team to replace it the following season, and the lineup would enormous to get a team in this market. I could see a Cleveland Browns scenario unfold. The Parkers can sell and… Read more »
Remember 5 or so yrs ago when Brent Parker was having problems getting a lease deal done & he threatened to move the franchise…. anyone remember the league stepping in and saying that it would never get approved of this franchise being able to move?? Guess people forget about this stuff, the Pats franchise is going no where no matter who buys the team. Its not like they are losing money so it makes ZERO sense to move it to a market where you just don't know what will happen. As for the actual product on the ice, it is… Read more »
The NHL is NOT watered down. Get an NHL package and watch the teams worth watching.
When you go to a pats game now, it's so quiet, I almost fall asleep. There is no in between action. Heck the crowds don't even cheer when asked to get loud. It's gotten to the point that EVERY break is sponsored by someone. This post brought to you by Home Depot. In NHL rinks, they have players introducing stuff, etc etc…meh…that's why I cancelled my tickets. Not worth the time to go now and I love the game itself and the Pats and wish them all the luck. Might buy a couple playoff tickets if they are in it,… Read more »