THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS
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| Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews |
The Regina Pats are home to the Kootenay Ice Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre (7:00 pm, 620 CKRM). The Pats enter the game with a 3-2-1-0 record while the Ice are 2-3-0-0.
In terms of the match-up: The Pats have scored 22 goals to Kootenay’s 14 while Regina has given up 20 goals to the Ice’s 21.
It will be interesting to see Kootenay without star forward Sam Reinhart who has taken 2nd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. As well Kootenay is without goaltender Mackenzie Skapski who is a New York Rangers prospect. He is entering his 20 yard old season and most likely won’t be back with the club, but you never know. The Ice still do have Jaedon Descheneau and Luke Philp so it’s not like the scoring isn’t there and Wyatt Hoflin is a heck of a goaltender. They will be tough as always.
Morgan Klimchuk is looking at next week for his season debut with the Pats. The Calgary Flames first round pick is dealing with a wrist injury and is hoping to play next Friday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice to kick off a three game Alberta road trip. Tough luck for the 19 year old the last two seasons when it comes to participating in the Flames training camp. A lot of people have asked me lately if he is a band-aid but that’s certainly not the case. Played 67 games as a rookie, all 72 in his 17 year old year and 57 last year. Just has had some bad luck in training camps.
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Sam Steel will play for Team Canada, Black at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Sarnia Ontario in November. Steel was the lone Regina Pat selected to the tournament. Was surprised 16 year old prospect defenseman Liam Schioler was not named to the team.
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As you can see in the pictures below, the Brandt Centre will have a new TEMPORARY addition to the rink starting Wednesday night. Take a look, pretty exciting stuff…
Two very large LED screens will be in place until a more permanent structure is installed. Replays will be looking fantastic.
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Former Regina Pat Jordan Weal is still with the Los Angeles Kings as far as I can see. Would be great to see him make the big club this season after a breakout year in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs in 2013/14.
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Interesting situation with Chandler Stephenson and the Washington Capitals. The 20 year old former Pat was assigned to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However yesterday the Capitals recalled him and sent down Liam O’Brien. According to the Washington Post the flip flop will happen again before the Capitals open the regular season on Thursday. It’s a salary cap move and a weird one. At the end of it all it looks like Stephenson will begin the season with the Hershey Bears.
Colton Jobke was also assigned to the AHL by the Minnesota Wild to the Iowa Wild.
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On to the Riders, is a little magic from 2007 left in Kerry Joseph? The veteran QB is headed back to Saskatchewan but likely won’t start on Monday against the Alouettes. Will be interesting to see how this all works out. But like I said last week, if the Riders can bring in a veteran guy who doesn’t cost them much, then why not. It’s another option and a guy who has been there and done it. Wouldn’t that be something if he led this team to another Grey Cup… 7 years later.
Optimism seems to be the word in Rider nation when it comes to the Green and White. Yes they lost to Calgary on the weekend but the defense looked great and the offense found a groove in the second half under Tino Sunseri. Tino had a great half and if he can continue that, Joseph will never see the field.
The Riders are still in second place, the same spot they were in when Durant went down 5 games ago. Yes it’s been up and down but this team is battling through and the Eskimos aren’t running away with things either. The games against the Eskimos here at Mosaic will decide if the Riders host a playoff game or not. Makes for an exciting final 5 weeks of the year.
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How good have the baseball playoffs been this year? I can’t get away from my TV these days. Can you believe it will either be the Baltimore Orioles or the Kansas City Royals representing the American League in the World Series? So good to see new teams making a mark. Now I just hope the Cardinals and Giants don’t win it all. Sick of the same old teams winning all the time.
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The 1974 Memorial Cup Champion Regina Pats will be in the Queen City this weekend for their 40 year anniversary reunion. The entire team will be here minus Rob Laird and the late Rick Uhrich who passed away at the age of 60 on September 4th.
There will be a luncheon held at the Press Box Sports Bar on Saturday at noon. tickets are available for 50 dollars each, you can get them by contacting Kim MacDougall at 306-539-6764 or Drew Callander 306-552-8784 or at the Regina Pats office in the Brandt Centre. I am very much looking forward to emceeing the luncheon and hosting a Q and A segment with a number of the alumni. Should be fun. get your tickets!
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Be sure to tune in to Pats TV, Thursday at 7 on Access 7. My guests this week are Alumni Kim MacDougall, goaltender Daniel Wapple and Goaltending Coach Rob Muntain.
That’s it from me today, talk to you from the rink Wednesday night.
Phil
@PhilTheThrill18
Centre ice screens are great addition…now if they could get someone to run the replays correctly it would be even better.
Re Riders. What made you say 'the defense looked great'? Call a spade a spade, they looked less than average when Corndog was in then blew it in the final three minutes. Why does the Regina media refuse to look at the Riders objectively?
I can't speak for other reporters but as for Phil and me, unlike you, we have to attach our names atop our work. So we don't anonymously butcher the team like so many others in the digital world.
So why say, 'the defense looked great'? Why not just leave it alone?
Terri Jones slams the Esks or Oilers when they need it.
– Perhaps it's Phil's opinion?
– And the Esks and Oilers dislike Jonesie. Perhaps that's the way he likes it. He's also a newspaper columnist and that's his job. It's not Phil's and my job description. Sorry if you don't see the difference.
I don't think the defense was entirely bad, however the last drive was brutal. In fact some guys on the D were very unhappy with their play. It never ceases to amaze me how people who run these blog sites get on their high horse based on having to put their name down. Don't they run these as commercial blogs? Most of these guys make good money rolling over ads from those who advertise on their blogs. It's money they use to look after their families and have the extras in life. If it wasn't for the "anonymous" bloggers the… Read more »
Why was Cornish out of the game? Oh yeah, the defense beat the sh*t out of him. Chick pancaked him twice.
Why don't fans look at the Riders objectively? One of the GREATEST players in franchise history has watched the last five games and we currently sit in second spot in a battle for a home playoff game. Reason enough for me to be excited!
Wiener Wednesday at the Brandt tonight folks, get there early before Scruffy does his Joey Chestnutt impersonation
You are always welcome to write your thoughts on the Riders here. You also don't have to be accountable for them. We do. End of story.
Rod is bang on. We all hide behind anon or some made up name and spew our frustrations. (Suppose it saves the dog from a kick or two) Time to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Was at the game, just rewatched it again on the PVR. Defence did look great. They were repeatedly given horrible field position and yet battled through. You throw 3 picks and give up 9 points, that's pretty impressive. And Cornish was held in check. Look what he's done against other teams this year, he's a great player (I hate to say that) but never broke off any long runs. In fact, he looked pretty average. I have more confidence in this team after that showing as compared to the beat down in Edmonton. And another thing, watching the PVR I… Read more »
Complete agreement with the statements that point out the positives that appeared on defense Friday night. They had their back's against the wall for a lot of the night due to turnovers and poor cover teams. You have to look at so much more than simply the points against. Look at Calgary's individual stats, nobody, and I repeat nobody offensively had a game worth talking about. All you 'glass half empty' guys are nauseating to say the least. We are 9 – 5 and in complete control of our destiny in the west given we play Calgary again, but more… Read more »
I have been watching the CFL for 40 years. It is rare that a defense can play 100% perfect for 60 minutes. Usually the offense can make plays since they are pros. Sure, there have been games where an opposing team has been so poor there was a blow-out, but in any game there are always moments when a defense or offense takes momentum.
I know that there are fans that long for perfection, but in the real world of the CFL this is a rare event.
Man oh man! Has the contingent of the Loyal Order of Rider Fan Whiners and Haters ever been more productive? Do other teams have the same group of clowns to run down their team? The Riders will be condemned for making a move, or not making a move. I so hoped that the education level of the fan base would rise high enough to drown out these chronic complainers.
"The veteran QB is headed back to Saskatchewan but likely won't start on Monday against the Alouettes."
Really??? I thought for sure he would be the starter…. NOT!!!
Maybe stick to hockey!
I have faith in the Riders as well. I feel they will be a very competitive team going forward.Do I believe we can win the Grey Cup without Darian Durant… Absolutely not! Tino is fun to watch when he gets things rolling. Just no where near consistant enough to take this team to the promised land. So enters Kerry Joseph!… That is very confusing as Kerry hasnt had one decent game since he left SK in 2008.Kerry flopped all over the field for 2 years in Toronto.Kerry looked terrible as a back up in Edmonton. Kerry has never been a… Read more »
Rod and Phil GET PAID to put their names on the opinions they are instructed to have. Period.
Neither is a journalist or expert analyst.
It gets confusing at times, but that's the way SPIN works.
They maybe sneak over to brink of criticism once in a while to appear neutral, but will always stick to what the paycheque tells them.
Not that there's anything wrong with it. It's a JOB. Just don't get it twisted that you should expect more.
Same goes with Dan Plaster (would have been a great name for a linebacker) who is on the Rider payroll.
"That is very confusing as Kerry hasnt had one decent game since he left SK in 2008." Remember when Joseph went 19-29 for 280 yards and 3 TDs to beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 37-20 in 2012? Apparently not. Or the game before that when he was 24-39 for 359 yards and again 3 TDs in a 35-20 win over Hamilton? Look at the games he started for Edmonton in 2012 and he did pretty good on a not so good Eskimo team. Also, who would you prefer to back up Tino Sunseri the rest of the season? Seth Doege who… Read more »