BY Jonathan Huntington
REGINA – The end result was never in doubt. The only question was how crazy the final numbers would look.
The Regina Pat Canadians beat the Thunder Bay Kings 13-1 on Thursday night in their opening game of the Telus Cup Western Regional Tournament at Co-operators Centre.
- The Pat Cs scored a touchdown in the opening period, leading 7-0 after firing 28 shots at Thunder Bay goalie Kainaan MacGillivray
- Regina added a field goal in the middle frame to lead 10-1 after 40 minutes
- Another field goal in the final period completed the rout
- Regina out-shot Thunder Bay 55-18
- Malaki Martin – Regina’s leading scorer in the post-season – had four goals and six points
- 15 of the Pat Cs’ 18 skaters had at least one point
- Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue – Regina’s star 16-year-old forwards – didn’t play a minute of the third period in a designed move to give them rest
“It’s tricky,” said Martin when trying to explain what it’s like to play in such a blow-out game. “We dominated them.”
While defeating the significant underdog in this four-team tournament makes individual stats look great, the Pat Cs will face a much different match-up Friday night when they battle the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors in Game 2 of the round-robin.
“I think we have to bring the intensity. Moose Jaw is going to be hungry,” continued Martin.
Moose Jaw and Regina have played nine times this year, with seven contests decided by one goal. The Pat Cs defeated the Warriors for the league title to end March.
“There is no wondering about what (Moose Jaw) is going to bring (Friday night),” added Regina head coach Ryan Hodgins.
The top two teams in the round robin will meet in the championship final on Sunday afternoon with the winner advancing to the national tournament in Ontario.
(Photo credit: Britt Lanigan)
