Pats lose 6-1 on Guaranteed Win Night against Ice

The Regina Pats proclaimed Friday night’s game against the Winnipeg Ice “Guaranteed Win Night,” but Regina was far from victorious.

The WHL-leading Ice handled business at the Brandt Centre, posting a 6-1 win as technically the home team despite playing in the Queen City. The game was originally slated to be played in Winnipeg, but an April blizzard moved the teams’ games Friday and Saturday to Regina.

It didn’t take long for the Ice to find the scoreboard Friday, with centre Zachary Benson scoring 4:47 into the game. Then, in a span of 6:22, the Ice added goals from winger Mikey Milne, centre Conor Geekie, winger Evan Friesen, and winger Connor McClennon.

Pats centre Braxton Whitehead put a small dent into the Ice lead, scoring with 11:35 left in the second frame.

But that was as close as the Pats would get, with the only other goal in the game coming from Ice winger Jakin Smallwood.

With the loss coming on what the Pats called “Guaranteed Win Night,” a large number of the 2,799 fans in attendance were given a free game voucher for the 2022-23 season.

The loss wasn’t the final blow to the Pats’ playoff hopes, but it nearly put them to bed.

The Pats (26-35-3-2) are two points behind the Swift Current Broncos (26-35-5-2) and Prince Albert Raiders (27-35-4-1) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Calgary Hitmen (25-34-6-2) are one point back of Swift Current and Prince Albert and one point ahead of the Pats.

The Broncos finished their regular season Friday with a 4-1 loss to P.A. The Raiders and Hitmen each have one game left and the Pats have two remaining.

Regina is back in action Saturday against Winnipeg at the Brandt Centre and then hosts the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday.

Prince Albert plays host to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. Calgary entertains the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sunday.