Regina sports fans certainly got their money's worth this weekend, at least from an excitement point-of-view!
Let's start with Mosaic Stadium yesterday. A leather-lunged throng of 28,800 took the noise level to a new level, as the Riders held off the Calgary Stampeders 26-24 in the CFL west semi-final. The game was much closer than it needed to be, as the Riders only reached the end zone once - with Luca Congi adding six field goals. And, once again, the defence showed a propensity for getting beat deep. However, in the end, the Riders made more plays than the Stamps and move on to next week's west final in Vancouver.
The Regina Pats dispatched Saskatoon 5-2 Friday night. On Saturday, the Pats edged the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings 3-2 in a shootout. The Pats very nearly let Edmonton sneak out of the Brandt Centre with two points, and needed a Michael MacAngus goal with 16 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Waaaay too close for comfort, but the fans were well-entertained. And rookie goalie Jeff Bosch was outstanding again for the Pats.
On Sunday night, the Pats opened a 7 game road trip with a 2-1 loss in Brandon. Jordan Eberle (who else?) was the lone Pat to dent the twine.
Unfortunately, the Canada West football final between the University of Regina and Manitoba Bisons lacked drama. Or competitiveness. The Rams took a 5-0 lead into the second quarter, and then the Bisons replied with 45 unanswered points! The Bisons will host my hometown Western Mustangs in a national semi-final next weekend. Good luck to Regina's John Makie (the Bisons' quarterback) against the 'Stangs.
1 comment:
Hi Pete - I think the Rams should have mailed in the two points. It would have saved them travelling costs. McCrystal was let down by some people. This team went to the Vanier Cup and then disappeared for a few years. I wonder what the future holds for this program. It just can't seem to get to the elite status the Rams used to be associated with.
The Pats..wow! Staurday night was a foreshadow of what is becoming a real concern. This team has the one line and only one line. People stop them on the road, we lose. We get last change at home and we win, most nights. We got beat 5-1 in Swift, 4-0 in MJ and 2-1 in Brandon. Thats 2 for/11 against. Again like last year we are showing we can not score on the road, at least against good teams. This road swing has started poorly with the loss in Brandon then into the Hat where we haven't won in ages. From there the US divison where the top three teams are excellent and the bottom two no slouches in their barn. I believe we may be one or two games above .500 by the time the team returns. With the depth we have I can't see much more. Not counting ot/so we were 8 games over .500 when season ended last year. We are 7 games over .500 right now before the big road trip. I ask you, is that real improvement?
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