Regina Pats advance with sweep of Calgary

The Regina Pats strong second period vaulted them to complete the sweep of the Calgary Hitmen in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

Calgary came out strong looking to extend their season but the Pats fought off the strong start to go into the second period tied 0-0.

That’s when the Pats began to take control as they’ve done for most of the series, outscoring Calgary 3-0 in the period and outshooting them 17-5. Dawson Davidson started the scoring and Austin Wagner followed that up with two power-play goals.

The Hitmen awoke again in the third period with their season at stake, scoring once and coming close to cutting the lead to one but Tyler Brown turned them away.

Calgary again found themselves in penalty trouble late in the period with some undisciplined penalties, with the Pats finishing with two more power-play goals and a 5-1 win.

Regina outscored Calgary 20-6 in the series as the best team in the WHL didn’t lose any momentum from an eight game win streak going into the playoffs.

The Pats will now wait to see who comes out of the Swift Current/Moose Jaw series that is currently tied at two games a piece.

Three Stars

Austin Wagner – 2 goals ended up being the game winner and insurance goal

Connor Hobbs – Hobbs had two assists before adding an empty net goal on the power play

Mark Kastelic – The Hitmen forward assisted on the lone Calgary goal