THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Phil Andrews

Well the Regina Pats out played and out shot the Raiders heavily Tuesday night in Prince Albert but P.A. got an unbelievable performance from Nick McBride and beat Regina 5-3. The Pats outshot the Raiders 58-25 in the game, with McBride making a career high 55 saves.

The team got quite the scare in the second period as Sam Steel left the game with a left leg injury. He did not return but the initial assessment of the injury is that it’s not serious nor long term. Pats fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Feels like deja vu from last season.

On Friday Daniel Wapple takes a shot in the throat against Edmonton and leaves the game. The same team that he hurt his ankle against last year and was forced to miss the end of the season and games one and two of the playoffs. Then on Tuesday Steel goes down against Prince Albert. The same team that Dyson Stevenson broke his hand against last year and missed the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. The same teams and would be big players out of the lineup. At least this year it looks like the Pats have dodged the bullet.

Tuesday night Adam Brooks scored his 28th goal of the season, Braden Christoffer his 25th and Pavel Padakin his 24th. That’s three guys over 20. Add in Taylor Cooper with 25, Jesse Gabrielle with 20, Austin Wagner with 19, Patrick D’Amico with 18 and Sam Steel with 17. It’s almost hard to fathom the scoring depth of this team. 5 guys with over 50 points and two more who could get there.

It’s the Pats at the Broncos tonight (7 pm on 620 CKRM), the biggest game of the year for Swift, while for the Pats it’s all about fine tuning their game ahead of the post season. Their playoff position cannot change so much like last night, I think we will see even more ice time for the young players on this team. That being said, should these two clubs play in round one.  I believe it is an important game for the Pats to win, not just to make a statement to the Broncos but to prove to themselves they can win on the road against this team. Should be a fun one tonight. We will be live at 6:35 with the Press Box Sports Bar pre-game show.

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Jumping to next week the Pats will be wearing special jerseys for Tuesday’s St. Patrick’s Day game at the Brandt Centre against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Forward Adam Brooks is shown below in the very sharp looking sweater. Has the Minnesota Wild look to it, one of my favorite promotional jerseys the Pats have done. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the second intermission on Tuesday. Anyone want to bid for me?

Slap Shots

– I find it almost unfathomable that the Swift Current Broncos are in danger of missing the playoffs. At the start of the season I would have pegged them to be in a race with Brandon for top spot in the division. When you look at the Broncos roster, it doesn’t look like a non-playoff team.

– Match-up wise, the Warriors on paper would be the better opponent for the Pats in round 1. Simply going by the season series. The Broncos on the other hand have had the Pats number, especially in Swift Current. That being said, if the Warriors get in they would be riding quite the high. There are pros and cons for both possibilities. One thing I do know is that it would be a fun series to be apart of either way. Who would you rather the Pats play?

– If the playoffs started today Brandon would take on Edmonton, Regina vs Swift Current, Medicine Hat against Kootenay and Calgary with Red Deer in the Eastern Conference. Other than maybe the Brandon – Edmonton match up, the series would all be tight ones in my estimation. It’s going to be another fantastic playoffs in the WHL this year.

– I would love to see Kory Sheets back with the Green and White. The 2013 Grey Cup MVP will not be returning to the Oakland Raiders this year. He will obviously look at other NFL options but if that doesn’t work out he will be back in the CFL. Talking with Corey Chamblin on the Sportscage on Monday he said it was a big maybe. They would have to do their homework just as if he was a new player coming in. He also cited some character issues as something to take into consideration. Likely referring to his problems with the law after the Grey Cup game. My opinion is that he is worth the risk. He is a heck of a player, yes he is coming off his second achilles injury but if he can get even close to where he was two years ago it would be a win. He will end up with a team, would be tough to see home running all over the Riders in a Bomber uniform. Not sure the Riders will have the money that he would be asking for should he come back to the CFL.

– I was very pleased to see Randall Cobb elect to stay with the Green Bay Packers and not become a free agent. There would have been a lot of teams trying to enlist his services being one of the best slot receivers in the NFL. The teams with a lot of cap room include the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. Yes money is good, however, those teams are not contenders and their quarterbacks don’t even come close to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. A good reason to stay in my opinion.

– Along that some line of thinking I am surprised that former Broncos tight end Julius Thomas is reportedly going to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Why would you give up catching balls from Peyton Manning in favor of Blake Bortles or Chad Henne. I get making the most money possible but to me winning should play a big part in decision making.

– Surprised DeMarco Murray is still available through day 1 of free agency. The NFL’s leading rusher in 2014 should be a hot commodity in my opinion.

– Why would the New Orleans Saints trade tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle??? I don’t get it, he is one of maybe three elite players at that position and he was still under contract. The Saints get Matt Unger, a center and a 1st round pick in 2015. I don’t get it at all… Seahawks fans are happy no doubt.

– So glad the Leafs keep losing. Just make that chance of winning the draft lottery a little higher before the season ends. A lot of people have already brought up a possible conspiracy theory that if the Leafs win and get the 1st overall pick that there would be some sort of inside job done by the NHL. That is crazy talk, there is no way a league with the prestige of the National Hockey League would rig something like this.

– Moose Jaws Pat Simmons rescued Team Canada at the Brier and they took the gold. The team went 8 and 1 after he took over the skip stones from John Morris. Yes he is from Saskatchewan, and yes he won, however he left the provincial team and so I don’t really subscribe to the thought that Saskatchewan got a partial win.

– Be sure to catch Pats TV tonight on Access 7 at 6:30. My guests this week are Forward Pavel Padakin and defenceman Colby Williams.

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

Phil
@PhilTheThrill18