WHL
Two of Regina’s newest players made their home debuts against the Lethbridge Hurricanes Saturday night, both with varying degrees of success. Dallas Jackson had a solid night, while J.D. Watt’s had an outing he’d like to soon forget.
The Pats won the game in a shootout 2-1, with Jordan Eberle scoring the winner and assisting on Jackson’s marker in the second period.
Playing in his first game with Regina (25-15-2-1) after joining the team earlier in the day from the Red Deer Rebels, Jackson showed off some hustle to get the play started.
With Lethbridge’s Jesse Craige in the penalty box and Regina on the power play, the six-foot-two blue-liner stretched to the limit with one hand on his stick and managed to keep a Lethbridge clearing attempt in the zone by mere inches. Jackson shovelled the puck over to Eberle who gave it right back. Jackson then wired a wrist shot from the blue-line through a crowd and into the top corner for his fifth goal of the year and his first in a Pats jersey.
Watt’s night wasn’t as memorable. At the end of the first period, Watt was called for hooking Lethbridge’s Mike Wuchterl to the ice by his neck.
At 2:37 of the third, Watt was busted again for hooking. On the ensuing power play, Lethbridge’s (26-14-1-2) Mitch Fadden banged in his own rebound to tie the game at 1-1 and record his 21st goal of the season.
Watt’s night then came to an early end at the 5:00 mark of the third when an elbow to the head of Lethbridge’s Mitch Versteeg earned Watt a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
The score remained tied 1-1 for the rest of regulation and overtime until Eberle finally settled things with the only goal of the game’s shootout portion.
Elsewhere in the WHL, it was: Kootenay 7 Moose Jaw 1; Spokane 3 Tri-City 0; Kelowna 6 Kamloops 1; Everett 7 Portland 2; Chilliwack 4 Prince George 2; Prince Albert 6 Medicine Hat 2; Swift Current 5 Saskatoon 2; Calgary 4 Red Deer 3 and Vancouver 2 Seattle 1.
At Regina, recording the win while stopping 22 shots for Regina was Linden Rowat (19-1-2-1). Lethbridge netminder Michael Maniago (15-9-1-1) made 21 stops in the loss.
The Pats made two trades before Saturday’s game. In the first deal Regina acquired defencemen Victor Bartley and Regina native Ryan Bender from the Kamloops Blazers for Nick Ross, Spencer Fraipont and a 2008 fourth round Bantam Draft pick.
In the second deal Regina picked up Jackson from the Red Deer Rebels for Troy Ofukany and Juraj Valach. The trade, the second this week between Regina and Red Deer, will reverse part of the first deal as the two teams will swap draft picks and Regina will regain their third round pick in 2009 and the Rebels will regain their fourth round pick from 2009.
Ice 7 Warriors 1
At Cranbrook, B.C., Ice forward Dustin Sylvester scored his first career hat trick in the Ice’s (20-12-4-4) 7-1 win over the Warriors (24-14-3-0).
Chiefs 3 Americans 0
At Kennewick, Wash., Dustin Tokarski shut down the highest scoring team in the WHL, finishing with 32 saves leading the Chiefs (29-8-1-2) to a victory over the Americans (28-10-1-0).
Rockets 6 Blazers 1
At Kelowna, B.C., Cody Almond once again held the hot hand for Kelowna (24-13-2-4), netting two assists, as the Rockets flushed the Blazers (19-20-1-1).
Silvertips 7 Winter Hawks 2
At Portland, Ore., Vitali Karamnov had two goals and two assists to lead the Silvertips (21-19-0-2) over the Winter Hawks (7-31-0-1).
Bruins 4 Cougars 2
At Chilliwack, B.C., Mark Santorelli broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game, early in the second period as the Bruins (21-17-3-1) doubled up the Cougars (13-27-1-0).
Raiders 6 Tigers 2
At Prince Albert, Sask., Ryan McDonald scored two goals and a pair of assists as the Raiders (14-22-3-2) beat the Tigers (24-14-3-1).
Broncos 5 Blades 2
At Swift Current, Sask., Dale Weise scored a pair as the Broncos (20-17-0-5) beat the Blades (13-24-2-1).
Hitmen 4 Rebels 3
At Red Deer, Alta., the Hitmen (29-12-1-2) snapped a 2-2 tie with second period power-play goals from Michael Stone and Brock Nixon and posted a 4-3 win over the Rebels (11-27-4-1).
Giants 2 Thunderbirds 1
At Seattle, backup goaltender Kraymer Barnstable made 34 saves to lead the Giants (28-18-1-2) to a win over the Thunderbirds (17-14-5-1).
Source: WHL: Pats edge the Hurricanes
