THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews

– A big two points for the Regina Pats Tuesday night with a 4-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders at the Brandt Centre. It wasn’t a perfect game but the club was able to capitalize on some Raider mistakes and improve to 4 and 1 over their division rivals.

– It was so good to see Luc Smith get his first WHL goal in the game. The kid has worked so hard and has come close so many times. Good for him.

– Adam Berg is headed back to Calgary to join the Mustangs of the AJHL. They have about 10 games left in their season before he is eligible to join the Pats full time. I expect that he will be back for the end of the year. He has played very well in his 7 games with the club.

– Pavel Padakin has 8 goals and 4 assists in the 12 games since the trades. He has stepped up big time.

– It took Connor Hobbs 9 games to get his first points as a Pat but now the 17 year old is riding a three game point streak. The defenceman has 4 assists in his last three games and is really finding his stride in the league again. He’s also a plus 6 in his last 6 games.

– Taylor Cooper has a 7 game point streak going with 4 goals and 5 assists in that stretch.

– Daniel Wapple is 4th in the WHL in wins with 24 on the year.

– Sam Steel has only been held pointless in 2 of his last 10 games. He has 3 goals and 6 assists in those games. He has bounced back well after a bit of a slow start after Christmas where he was pointless in 6 games. A happy belated birthday to Steel who turned 17 yesterday.

– Colby Williams lost his d partner in Kyle Burroughs before the trade deadline but that hasn’t slowed down the 19-year-old. Williams is up to plus 33 on the year after a plus 4 night last night.

– James Hilsendager has returned from his upper body injury and made an immediate impact in the three games he’s played. The physicality he brings is fun to watch, he’s a special player. It’s been a long time since the Pats D core has been in tact like it is now.

– With the win last night the Pats have played 51 games, the same amount as Swift Current and Moose Jaw. The Pats are 11 points up on the Broncos and 18 points up on Moose Jaw. If the playoffs started today the Pats would host Swift for games one and two and Brandon would take on the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round. Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Lethbridge would all miss the post season.

– I love the new center ice score clock at the Brandt Centre. The rink has a new feel, an air of professionalism almost. So good to see.

– The Saskatoon Blades visit the Brandt Centre Friday, the Pats have won 11 in a row over the Blades going back to last season.

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– Sunday’s Super Bowl might be the best one I have ever seen. Now if I was a Seahawks fan I would be feeling pretty down this week but as an NFL fan who does not care who wins between the Patriots and Seahawks, I was thoroughly entertained. The game drew twice as many viewers than the Grey Cup in Canada at over 8.2 million. An interesting number.

– A lot of debate this week about the play call by Seattle on second down and goal from the 1. I truly believe that with the defense the Patriots had out there the right call was to throw the ball. But at the same time you have Marshawn Lynch so it’s the wrong call. Seattle had a time out, you have to give your best player the ball in that situation.

– The Leafs have lost 10 in a row… I hope they lose every game for the rest of the year and win the draft lottery and take Connor McDavid. I’m going to jump on the Winnipeg Jets band wagon in the mean time. They are a fun team to watch. But as John Paddock told me on the weekend, ever since you started cheering for them they started to lose. I must be a curse.

– Anyone else take in a weekend of golf on TV for the Waste Management Open? I was glued to the tube to watch some great golf. Tiger Woods was awful while Graham DeLaet had a good weekend finishing at 11 under par. Too bad he didn’t get any air time. Blows me away how CBS will show Tigers Woods every shot when he’s 5 over par and stay away from the lesser known guys who are in contention.

– Good to see Ben Heenan get a shot at the NFL. It’s pretty incredible the pipeline between the CFL and the Indianapolis Colts. They have found some gems from up north including former Rider linebacker Jerrell Freeman. Good luck Ben!

That’s it from me today, have a great week.

Phil
@PhilTheThrill18