PAT CANADIANS OPEN WITH A WIN

RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP, Que. – Owen Sillinger found the back of the net twice and added two assists and Riley Woods had a goal and three helpers of his own to help the Regina Pat Canadians to a 7-2 win over the Toronto Young Nationals in the 2015 TELUS Cup opener on Monday.

Special teams were the story, as the Pat Canadians scored three times on eight power play opportunities, while Toronto scored both of its goals with the man advantage.

Sillinger didn’t waste any time getting the Pat Canadians on the board, one-timing a pass from Woods past Toronto goaltender Dalton Ewing with just 70 seconds gone in the opening period.

The Young Nationals tied it when Ryan Bonsteel buried the rebound of a Jordan Sambrook slap shot, but Arthur Miller and Bryce Platt scored 72 seconds apart late for a 3-1 Regina lead after 20 minutes.

The second period was an almost a carbon copy of the first. Woods pushed the Regina lead to 4-1 just 40 seconds in, depositing a bounce off the end boards and chasing Ewing, who was replaced by Eric Jackson after allowing four goals on 10 shots.

Four minutes later, Jake Tesarowski snapped a shot under Jackson’s glove with the teams at four-on-four.

Tylor Ludwar got his first Midget AAA goal on another Regina power play, wiring a slap shot through traffic and past Jackson to make it 6-1 just past the midway point of the middle frame.

Jake Joffe got one back for Toronto on the power play before the end of the period, but Sillinger’s second of the game – off a give-and-go with Miller – capped the scoring in the third.

In all, nine Regina skaters had points and four finished with multi-point efforts; Miller had a goal and two assists, while Tesarowski added a helper to his goal.

Despite the one-sided loss, Toronto finished with a 36-32 advantage on shots on goal.

The Pat Canadians are back on the ice at Centre Premier Tech on Tuesday afternoon (noon ET) against the Grenadiers de Châteauguay, while Toronto faces off against the Newbridge Academy Gladiators in the day’s middle game (4 p.m. ET).

(Hockey Canada)