Saturday, December 01, 2007

Pats devour Tigers

Well, maybe "devour" is a bit over-the-top, but the Regina Pats did look good in blanking the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-0 on Friday night. The Pats winning streak now sits at three games, and goaltender Linden Rowat has notched two shutouts in a row. Regina's home-ice record is now 12-3 on the year. Not bad!

Super sophomore Jordan Eberle opened the scoring for the Pats on a ridiculous short-handed effort, demonstrating his impressive skills by stuffing in the puck from behind the Tigers' net. Newcomer Todd Kennedy was impressive, notching a goal (his first in the WHL) and an assist. He's a definite upgrade over the departed Levi Lind.

The Pats are back in action tonight at the Brandt Centre against the Kootenay Ice. Veterans Troy Ofukany and Tim Kraus, who sat out last night for disciplinary reasons, will likely watch this one from the seats as well.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both you and Randy did a very nice job last night. Due to an operation I will be out of the rink for a while. You guys made my friday night better.

Qusetion. Is channel 7 going to cary a few more Pats games this year? After you broadcast they switched over to Kelowna/Kamloops. It appears Shaw only set up two for the Pats whereas we see the Rockets almost every weekend.

It is early but Kennedy looked like a player. Hope we win tonight cause it would be nice to get on a run till Christmas. We just don't want that loss collum to bulge much more this year.

Pac58 said...

Operation? Nothing too serious I hope?

Access usually carries 4-5 games a year. I assume that's the plan again this year. The next one is on December 30th (Blades).

Tough loss tonight. After Eberle, we just don't have any guys with the kind of moves you need in a shootout, unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

No, just a small foot proceedure that will keep me on the DL for 10 days. You are so right about Eberle. After him it's pretty hard to find hands.

On the Pats and the East Division. I told you I would comment after the road trip.
-the East division is weak again.
-the Pats are a good team but not an elite team. Brent Parker says in the LP " we are not an elite team now, not even close" His words and he is right of course!
-we need two but probably three players to get us there. A major trade is needed.
-having two 20 yr olds sitting out on an important weekend (discipline) is unacceptable and raises some serious questions.
-30 games into the season Leflar finally has a decent game. Ross, Elder, Gross, Rowatt, Cerveny have been luke warm and inconsistent. Rowatt is getting better but needs to string 9-10 games of excellence together.
-The Pats goals for/against is not good good compared to the other contenders plus we have played more games.
-Not enough discipline, to many penalty minutes is costing us dearly.
-our road play has to improve. We are below .500 on the road with games in Calgary, Lethbridge, Kootney (we haven't been there yet). I am not liking our chances.
-losing coach Hunt for a month is going to hurt us.
-in junior hockey you only have th present. This team is 4 years into the rebuilding process and the GM is saying it's not an elite team????? When will it be one? Spokane built one quicker than that. We are in 1st place yes, but barely hanging on. We are one bad weekend road trip from 3rd.
-Parker had better take a good look at reality and strengthen up this team. Like I said the Pats are a good team but not an elite team. An elite team would have scored on a 5 on 3 and won the game. I get the feeling Kootney would have. This is the year to do something and fans are getting a little antzy. They don't want to hear wait till the 5th or 6th year of the rebuilding process.

Pac58 said...

Well, that about covers it! A very comprehensive list, no doubt about it.

The Pats are the most penalized team in the WHL. And they don't fight a lot. That, to me, indicates a lack of discipline. It would seem that problem extends to off-ice activities as well. They'd be wise to address that problem as soon as possible.