SATURDAY SPORTS: BLADES DOWN PATS, BEDARD INJURED, CFL NEWS

Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats had a strong third period, but their comeback fell short in a 6-4 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday inside the Brandt Centre.

The Pats opened the scoring early in the first and were tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play, but fell behind 5-2 after two periods. Trailing 3-1 in the second period, the Pats got back within one, as Zane Rowan tucked off a beautiful backhander to get the Pats back in it. The Blades would add two more before the end of the second to take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission.

In the third, the Pats finished strong despite being on the losing end, as Anthony Wilson and Zach Moore scored their first in a Pats uniform to bring the group within one at 5-4 in the third.

The Pats got goals from four different players on Friday. Jaxsin Vaughan opened the scoring early in the first, while Rowan, Wilson and Moore rounded out the scoring. Kelton Pyne made 37 saves in the loss and Tyson Buczkowski had two assists.

Trevor Wong led the way for Saskatoon with a four point game (2G-2A). Egor Sidorov, Brandon Lisowsky, Vaughn Watterodt and Ben Saunderson rounded out the scoring. Austin Elliott stopped 23 shots in the Blades victory as they have now recorded a point in 14 straight games.

(ReginaPats.com)

Elsewhere in the WHL Friday:

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Jagger Firkus produced one goal and four assists as the Moose Jaw Warriors topped the Prince Albert Raiders 6-4 on Friday night in the Western Hockey League. Moose Jaw has won five games in a row.

BRONCOS 8 CHIEFS 4

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Josh Filmon and Caleb Wyrostok each scored twice as the Swift Current Broncos topped the Spokane Chiefs.

REBELS 5 TIGERS 3

RED DEER, Alta. — Jhett Larson scored a hat trick as the Red Deer Rebels downed the Medicine Hat Tigers.

HITMEN 6 BLAZERS 2

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Sean Tschigerl scored twice as the Calgary Hitmen topped Kamloops Blazers.

ROCKETS 4 OIL KINGS 3

KELOWNA, B.C. — Luke Schelter scored twice, including the game-winning goal at 13:04 of the third period, as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Edmonton Oil Kings.

WINTERHAWKS 5 SILVERTIPS 4 (SO)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Winterhawks defeated the Everett Silvertips during the shootout.

COUGARS 2 THUNDERBIRDS 1

KENT, Wash. — Ephram McNutt knocked in the game-winning goal at 10:53 of the third period as the Prince George Cougars edged the Seattle Thunderbirds.

AMERICANS 3 HURRICANES 0

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Parker Bell scored twice as the Tri-City Americans (16-16-3) blanked the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 (18-16-3). Kyle Kelsey made 38 saves to earn a shut out.

NHL

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard departed after he was leveled in the first period of a 4-2 loss to Simon Nemec and the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Bedard was hit by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith after the 18-year-old center carried the puck into Chicago’s offensive zone. Bedard then skated to the bench holding his face as Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and several teammates ignited a skirmish behind the Devils net.

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson had no update on Bedard after the eventual 4-2 loss. He said he will be evaluated on Saturday when the team is back in Chicago.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nate Schmidt and Cole Perfetti scored in the third period, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Friday night to extend their point streak to 11 games.

Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for Winnipeg, and Laurent Brossoit made 37 saves. Vladislav Namestnikov had two assists.

The Jets earned their fifth consecutive win and improved to 9-0-2 in their last 11 games overall.

“We know we have a chance,” Ehlers said after the Jets won their fourth consecutive game when trailing 1-0 early. “We get behind by one and we have that feeling of, ‘We’re still going to win this game.’ That’s a pretty good feeling to have, which is something we haven’t had for a while.”

In other games Carolina smoked Washington 6-2.

CFL

EDMONTON – McLeod Bethel-Thompson is returning to the CFL.

A league source said Friday night the veteran American quarterback had agreed to a one-year deal with the Edmonton Elks. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as the CFL team hadn’t publicly announced the move.

Contract details weren’t immediately known but TSN reported the deal could be worth as much as $500,000, with bonuses. Edmonton (4-14) finished last in the West Division standings and last participated in the CFL playoffs in 2019.

HAMILTON – Bo Levi Mitchell is taking less to remain with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The Ticats announced Friday that Mitchell has restructured his CFL contract that will keep him with the franchise for the next two seasons.

“We believe a healthy Bo Levi Mitchell can still play at a championship level and help us compete for Grey Cups,” Orlondo Steinauer, Hamilton’s president of football operations, said in a statement. “As we continue to shape our roster, we feel Bo is a key piece of our football team going forward.”

REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders have released veteran American defensive back Derrick Moncrief, the CFL club announced Friday.

The six-foot-two, 220-pound Moncrief appeared in 66 career games over five seasons with the Riders (2017-19, 2022-23).

He registered 225 tackles, four sacks, nine interceptions and a forced fumble.

Twice Moncrief was a West Division all-star (2019, 2022) and also earned CFL honours in 2019.

Moncrief also spent time with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams (2020-21) and appeared in nine games with Edmonton in ’21, recording 23 tackles in four sacks.

Moncrief was also active off the field in Saskatchewan and was named the Mosaic community player of the year for 2023.

Moncrief was set to become a free agent Feb. 13.

(CP)