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Sarah Mills says parents are probably breathing a sigh of relief as kids head back to school after the Easter break.
The Regina Pat Canadians were handed their first loss of the Telus Cup in a battle of unbeaten teams on Friday.
Regina, the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League Champions, faced off against the Chevaliers de Lévis — the Quebec representative — with both teams sporting unblemished 4-0 records.
But it was the Chevaliers who emerged the victors with a 6-2 decision in Chilliwack, B.C.
That means Lévis will finish in first place in the Telus Cup round-robin and will face the fourth-place team in their semifinal game on Saturday. Regina will take on the third-place team.
The Chevaliers got out to an early lead in the game, scoring four goals in the opening period. Charles-Albert Pouliot had a pair of goals while Félix Grenier and Malyk Côté also scored against Pat Canadians goalie Adam Muntain.
Regina got onto the board in the second period when Logan Mehl scored on the power play.
While the Pat Canadians got another goal in the third from Ryan Ulmer, the Quebec representatives added a pair of their own — Brandon Delarosbil and Charles-Antoine Dubé scored — to secure the big win at Canada’s male U18 AAA hockey championship.
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Regina’s Muntain made 19 saves in the contest while Levis’ Ryan Gagné had 20.
Pat Canadians forward Maddox Schultz added two assists in the game to bring his point total to 16. Schultz, a 15-year-old from Regina, currently leads the tournament in points despite being one of the youngest players there.
Since the tournament became the Telus Cup in 2004, the record for most points is 22, set by current Utah Hockey Club forward Alex Kerfoot back in 2010-11 when he played for the Coquitlam Express.
Overall, Cliff Ronning had 26 points in eight games in 1981-82 when it was known as the Air Canada Cup, making him the all-time points leader in tournament history. Ronning also had 17 goals, which is the most ever; Schultz has eight.
Schultz is expected to be the first overall pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.
Schultz led the SMU18AAAHL in scoring with 93 points (43 goals, 50 assists) in 44 regular-season contests. He also led the playoffs with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists).
The Regina Pats have the first overall pick after winning the WHL’s draft lottery. The last time the Pats selected first overall, the club took Connor Bedard in 2020.
This is the Regina Pat Canadians’ 10th time at the tournament and the organization is a four-time winner. A fifth gold medal would tie them with Notre Dame and Séminaire Saint-François for the most ever.
