Preview: Pats Open 2022-23 Season against Warriors
September 23, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Regina Pats News Release
Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats host the Moose Jaw Warriors to open the 2022-23 regular season at 7:00 p.m. inside the Brandt Centre.
Doors for tonight’s contest will open at 5:00 p.m. with the pre-party. The first 1,000 fans will receive FREE popcorn! All attendees will also be able to purchase $2 hot dogs, plus take advantage of the 2-for-1 Happy Hour Special (draught beer) from doors open until puck drop.
For all the details regarding today’s pre-party and post-game autograph session, CLICK HERE.
MATCHUP
Tonight will mark the 371st all-time battle between the Pats and Warriors in the Trans-Canada Highway clash. The Pats are coming off a 4-1 pre-season while the Warriors went 1-3.
Last season, the Pats finished 27-36-3-2 with 59 points, which was tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, missing the playoffs for a fourth straight season. The Warriors on the other hand went 37-24-4-3 with 81 points, good for fourth in the East, as they defeated Saskatoon in round one in five games before losing to Winnipeg in round two in five games.
The Pats lineup today will not be their full lineup as the season goes on, as they are missing Alexander Suzdalev (WSH) and Stanislav Svozil (CBJ) to NHL camps, while also missing several key players due to injury.
For Moose Jaw, they will likely be missing Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) and Jagger Firkus (SEA) who are at NHL camps. Mateychuk was selected in the first round, 12th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Firkus was drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Seattle Kraken. Mateychuk signed his NHL Entry-Level contract with Columbus in July.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Radio: 620ckrm.com
Stream: WHL Live
TV: AccessNowSports
HEAD TO HEAD (0-0-0)
This will mark the first of 10 meetings this season. The Pats are 194-146-13-9-8 vs. the Warriors, all time.
2022-23 HEAD TO HEAD
Date Home Away Time Result
September 23rd Regina Moose Jaw 7:00 p.m. MDT
September 24th Moose Jaw Regina 7:00 p.m. MDT
October 20th Moose Jaw Regina 7:00 p.m. MDT
October 23rd Regina Moose Jaw 4:00 p.m. MDT
December 16th Moose Jaw Regina 7:00 p.m. CST
February 11th Regina Moose Jaw 7:00 p.m. CST
March 17th Regina Moose Jaw 7:00 p.m. CST
March 18th Moose Jaw Regina 7:00 p.m. CST
It’s the first of eight meetings between the Pats and Warriors. The Pats won last years season series 6-4, going 5-0 at home and 1-4 on the road. The Pats have recorded at least a point in 13 of their last 17 meetings against Moose Jaw (11-4-1-1) coming in. The last time these two clubs met was on April 17, with Regina winning 7-4, as Connor Bedard scored two goals and five points to reach 51 goals and 100 points.
HEADLINES
Tonight, we will potentially see the debut of goaltender Koen MacInnes, who was acquired by the Pats in exchange for a pair of late picks from the Everett Silvertips at the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. MacInnes is a 20-year-old goaltender who hails from Burnaby, B.C. and begins his fourth season in the WHL, having now played for three clubs (Saskatoon, Everett, Regina). Last season with the Silvertips, he went 21-7-5 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage and four shutouts.
Yesterday, the Pats announced their 2022-23 leadership group, anointing Connor Bedard as the youngest captain in Pats history, while also making Luke Bateman, Cole Dubinsky and Braxton Whitehead alternate captains.
Open the season with a home-and-home against the Moose Jaw Warriors for the first time since the 2019-20 season when the Pats won the home opener 3-2 before losing 5-3 the next night at Mosaic Place…the Pats are 2-3-1 in season openers since 2016-17 and are 3-2-1 over their last six home openers.
BY THE NUMBERS
3: Three graduating 20-year-olds from last year; Logan Nijhoff will play for the San Diego Gulls (AHL), Ryker Evans is expected to play for the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) and Neithan Salame has committed to play for Grant MacEwan Univ. this season (USports).
3: Three Pats players attended NHL training camps this fall, as Cole Dubinsky (Edmonton Oilers), Alexander Suzdalev (Washington Capitals) and Stanislav Svozil (Columbus Blue Jackets) all received invites…Svozil and Suzdalev will not return for opening weekend.
4: Cole Dubinsky is 4 points away from 100 career points and 8 games away from 200 career games.
69: Points (27G-42A) for Tanner Howe last year was tied for third amongst all rookies, while his 42 assists were tied for third…he finished one point away from tying Jordan Weal for the fourth most points (70) by a 16-year-old in a single season in franchise history.
100: Points last season for Connor Bedard was fourth in the WHL, while his 51 goals was second…He recorded 85 points (40G-45A) over his final 42 games (since Nov. 28), with points in 39 of those 42 contests, after he had 15 points (10G-5A) in his first 20 games this season.
COMING UP
7:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept 24 – Regina Pats (0-0-0-0) at Moose Jaw Warriors (0-0-0-0)
7:00 p.m., Thursday, Sept 29 – Regina Pats (0-0-0-0) at Edmonton Oil Kings (0-0-0-0)
7:00 p.m., Saturday, October 1 – Regina Pats (0-0-0-0) at Red Deer Rebels (0-0-0-0)
2:00 p.m., Sunday, October 2 – Regina Pats (0-0-0-0) at Calgary Hitmen (0-0-0-0)
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