PATCHAT

The Week That Was
The race for the East Division crown went right down to the final weekend of the season.  The Pats put themselves in good positioning with a dominant 7-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday to move within one point of clinching the division.  The Blue and White handed out their year-end awards Friday night while hosting the Brandon Wheat Kings.  Leading 3-2 in the final minute, the Pats couldn’t hold on as Brandon found a tying marker to send the game to overtime.  The point was enough to clinch the division title, but there was no celebration Eric Roy gave the visitors the 4-3 win in the extra frame.  The Pats closed out the Regular Season in Brandon jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but allowed five unanswered goals and fell by a 6-3 score to the team who will be their first round playoff matchup.

Playoff Round One vs. Brandon
The Pats and Wheat Kings open their playoff series Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Brandt Centre on 620 CKRM.  Game Two follows the next night, Sunday, at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are on sale now for the first two playoff dates through Ticketmaster.ca and the Box Office.  Be sure to wear Red to both games this weekend! The rest of the playoff dates follow below:

Game Three – Wednesday, March 26th – 6:00 p.m. CST (Westman Place)  
Game Four – Friday, March 28th – 6:30 p.m. CST (Westman Place)  

If Necessary
Game Five – Saturday, March 29th – 7:00 p.m. (Brandt Centre)  
Game Six – Monday, March 31st – Location/Time TBD  
Game Seven – Wednesday, April 2nd – 7:00 p.m. (Brandt Centre)

2013-14 Eastern Division Champions
Few would have guessed that after a 1-5-0-0 start to the season, the Pats would go on to capture the East Division title for the 2013-14 Regular Season.  They did it by the slimmest of margins, finishing with the same amount of points as the Swift Current Broncos, but won the crown by virtue of winning more games throughout the season.  It’s the first Division Championship for the team since the 2007-08 season.

Award Winners
The Pats handed out their annual end of year awards last night in Regina.  Overage forward Dyson Stevenson took the top honours as Player of the Year, Most Community Minded and Most Popular Player awards.  Stevenson set career highs in every category this season and leads the Pats with 38 goals.  Find the full list at ReginaPats.com.

Tim Bozon Trust Fund
The WHL has established a trust fund to assist Kootenay Ice player Tim Bozon and his family with medical and rehabilitation costs.  The public can make donations at any BMO Bank of Montreal branch in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  Bozon was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Royal University Hospital on Saturday March 1, 2014 and was diagnosed with Neisseria Meningitis. He remains in ICU however doctors have indicated his condition remains critical but stable and improving. He has been in a coma but doctors are now working to slowly wake him. His family has indicated that Tim has responded to verbal stimuli.

BMO Ultimate Fan
Congratulations to Pats fan Alison Giesenger who was named the BMO Ultimate Fan for the WHL last week.  Alison will be headed to the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup in London, Ontario!

Dodge Family All-Stars
Defenceman Griffin Mumby’s billets, the Kosior family, are in the running to win the Dodge Family All-Stars contest.  They’re currently one of three billet families remaining in the WHL pool and need your votes to advance to the next stage and win a trip to the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup!  Visit http://dodgefamilyallstars.com/billet-families#400 to cast your vote for the Kosior family.

(Courtesy Daniel Fink/Pats PR)