Saturday, January 05, 2008

Watt was that?

The Regina Pats, on the strength of Jordan Eberle's shootout marker, edged the Lethbridge Hurricanes 2-1 tonight. It was a good result for the Pats, especially considering the makeover the lineup has received in the past few days. It will take a while for the team to develop into a cohesive unit, given the numerous players both leaving and arriving.

The newcomers all had an impact of some sort tonight. Ryan Bender was a rock on defence. Fellow blueliner Dallas Jackson showed some skills, especially on the powerplay, where he scored the Pats only goal in regulation time. Scott Doucet brought a solid work ethic, and created a couple of decent scoring opportunities.

That leaves J.D. Watt. I can only hope Watt was too eager to impress his new team, and that caused him to make some poor decisions. Lethbridge scored their only regulation time goal while Watt was serving one of his three penalties on the night - two minors and a major for elbowing, with the accompanying game misconduct. Let's hope that's not a sign of things to come!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I really liked the Jackson kid. He was really good. A nice find I think. Watt was excellent until the third period. He drew the penalty we scored on as well. Maybe seeing what his team mates did for him by killing off a major and then winning in the SO, will shame and force him into a little more discipline. I am sure Curtis Hunt will! He should be a good addition. I think they should put Watt on a line with Eberle. Yes we still need an offensive force but not if the price is too high, particularly a half year player. I have heard the Figren name but I sense the Oil Kings will want too much. Maybe Tyler Swystun out of Portland would come cheaper and he has just about as many goals as Figren, while on a poor team. It appears someone else will win the Wishart/Tyrell sweepstakes. Whatever deal they do, I hope they do it soon and lets get this group gelling.