THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews

First of all what an incredible weekend with the 1974 Memorial Cup Champion Regina Pats in town for their 40 year reunion.

It was great to see almost the entire team in the Queen City and from what I could tell they had a great time. The Pats did a great job with having the team out on the ice ahead of their game against the Tr-City Americans.

How cool was it that Dennis Sobchuk walked onto the surface carrying the Memorial Cup?  I also had the honour of hosting the reunion luncheon on Saturday at the Press Box. My stomach still hurts from laughing at the stories Clark Gillies told during the Q and A. Unfortunately they aren’t exactly appropriate to put in writing.  Let’s just say it’s a lot better to be a rookie today then it was back then in the WHL.

Here are some photos from the evening courtesy Keith Hershmiller Photography. He does some great work, you can find it at www.khphoto.ca or follow him on Twitter @KHPhoto.

Now some musings…

1.) The Pats are off to their best start in my fourth season calling games. A tough loss on Friday to Tri-City 3-1 but credit the Americans in that one and their goaltender Eric Comrie who played very well. The Pats had a great first period in that one outshooting the visitors 14-5 but couldn’t keep it going in the 2nd and 3rd.

2.) Now the club is off on their first real road trip of the year. It starts Friday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice who have Tim Bozon back from Montreal. Will be a tough one but the Pats looked very good in a 5-4 win at the Brandt Centre over the Ice last Wednesday. Then Friday the Pats are in Lethbridge against the 1-6-0-1 Hurricanes. That’s a game they have to have. Then the 3 games in three days wraps up Sunday in Calgary against the Hitmen. Calgary owns the same record as the Pats at 4-3-0-1. It’s a tough stretch through the Central Division with a lot of hockey in a short period of time.

3.) Morgan Klimchuk is hoping to get into the lineup on Friday against the Ice. He is still dealing with some pain but said on Tuesday that playing this weekend is a possibility.

4.) Jordan Weal is off to a good start in his 3rd AHL season with the Manchester Monarchs. He picked up 2 assists in the team’s first game. Chandler Stephenson went plus 1 in his first game of the year with the Hershey Bears. Dyson Stevenson did not make the AHL’s Portland Pirates and is with the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators.

5.) The Regina Thunder completed the regular season with a solid outing at home in a 26-18 win over the Winnipeg Rifles on Sunday. Nick Brown had another solid game out of the backfield with 137 yards on 20 carries. Matt Frass and Colton Klassen scored rushing touchdowns in the game and Spencer Mack threw a TD to Thomas Bresciani in the win. The Thunder finished the year with a 5-2-1 record and will host the Calgary Colts in the semi-finals on Saturday at 7 at Mosaic Stadium. The Colts won the only meeting of the season between the two clubs at Mosaic 20-13 three weeks ago. The other semifinal sees Saskatoon home to the Winnipeg Rifles.

6.) The Rider offense was… well you can pick the adjective for that one. Wow is all I can say. I picked the Alouettes to win the game but I didn’t see it going down like that. I thought Tino Sunseri was going to have a better day, though he didn’t get much of a chance to throw the football. The run game was great in the first quarter but once the Alouettes adjusted to that the offense just couldn’t get on track. On a side note, wish TSN would have showed more of the Anthony Calvillo retirement ceremony at halftime.

7.) Jonathan Crompton looked really good for a young quarterback. I know that development takes time but sometimes guys are just better suited for the Canadian game. Crompton seems to have what it takes.

8.) Do you start Kerry Joseph against the Eskimos this weekend? I think I would.

9.) I have watched a total of 20 minutes of the NHL since the season started. It was the Oilers and Canucks in the 3rd period and overtime on Saturday. The Oil came away with a point but it looks like it’s going to be another long year in Edmonton. Their defence looks below average again. At least Victor Fasth and Ben Scrivens should be able to keep them in games.

10.) The reason I haven’t watched any NHL is because I am glued to the MLB playoffs. Imagine my disappointment when game 3 of the ALCS between the Royals and Orioles was postponed due to rain on Monday. I am a Blue Jays fan through and through but I have jumped on the Kansas City band wagon. The NLCS between St. Louis and San Francisco has been fantastic too, nothing beats post-season baseball.

This week’s edition of Pats TV will feature forward Patrick D’Amico, Director of Ticket sales Kellin Enslev and Senior VP Chad Lang. Thursday at 7 o’clock.

Talk to you from the rink on Friday.

Phil
@PhilTheThrill18