DAY 2 PATS CAMP UPDATE
Regina, Saskatchewan – The second day of camp will go down as the busiest on the main sheet of ice at the Cooperators Centre on Friday. Three scrimmages brought Rookie Camp to an end while the 1997-94 born players hit the ice for the first sessions of Main Camp.
Team Grey carried their winning ways from Day One into Day Two, starting the morning off with a 4-2 victory over Red. Goaltenders Jordan Hollett and Kurtis Chapman held the line for the first half of the scrimmage with the teams heading to the break scoreless.
The second half saw considerably more scoring. For the third straight contest, Red led off and built a two goal lead courtesy of Brady Third and Chase Brakel. Grey stormed back with Erik Gardiner showing off a great individual effort to get his team on the board. Sam Steel then found Jacob Elmer who tied the game. Grey wrapped the tilt with Zachary Cox getting his first of Training Camp and Steel adding some insurance.
Most of the rookies hit the ice for five scrimmages after two days. Sam Steel felt the players did their best to battle through fatigue.
“It’s a lot of skating, but so far I think all the guys have been holding up pretty well. I think the pace has slowed down a little bit and a little bit sloppier, but you can expect that with this many ice times.”
The day’s second scrimmage saw Team Red break the slide with a 3-2 win. Tristyn DeRoose made sure Red opened the scoring for a fourth time, but Gary Haden responded with two for Team Grey to make it a 2-1 contest. Before the end of the half, Eamon Milligan squared things up at two a side. Chapman and Hollett looked set to post another clean frame until the final minutes of the scrimmage when Quinton Ong found a loose puck and put it to the back of the goal for the Team Red win.
While the rookies took a much deserved break, the 1997-94 born group got in a brief skate in two split sessions. The groups will be augmented with players moving on from Rookie Camp to create three teams for scrimmages that run Saturday through Sunday.
Defenceman Brady Reagan was a part of the first group to hit the ice. Back for his second season with the club, Reagan feels his off-season training will help leading into the new season.
“During the off-season, you have to get better and be thinking about next season even at the beginning of the summer. You have to make sure you get into the right habits through the summer and it all helps in the end.”
The final scrimmage of Rookie Camp saw Team Grey get back in the win column with a 4-2 victory. Hunter McDonald notched a pair while Zachary Cox and Chase Goods picked up the other Grey goals. Ryan Moon and Carson Welke scored for Red.
Main Camp begins in earnest Saturday morning with the first scrimmage getting going at 10:00 a.m. at the Cooperators Centre.
(Courtesy Daniel Fink)
