The Regina Pat Canadians wrapped up round‑robin play at the Telus Cup with a hard‑fought 5–4 victory over the Okanagan Rockets on Friday, a win that clinched first place overall and secured the top seed heading into Saturday’s semifinals.
Regina came out flying and delivered one of their most dominant starts of the tournament, pouring 25 shots on goal in the opening period and building a commanding three‑goal cushion.
Brodie Bowen opened the scoring just 2:30 into the game, finishing a slick back‑door feed from Ethan Young. The Pat Cs kept pressing, with Liam Pue ringing a shot off the crossbar less than two minutes later. Pue would make good shortly after, converting on the power play on a stretch pass from goaltender Adam Muntain to make it 2–0. Regina struck again late in the frame when Brady Vipond buried a power‑play marker off a feed from Grady Hodgins, sending the Pat Cs to the intermission up 3–0.
Okanagan started the second period with a 5‑on‑3 power play and capitalized 34 seconds in to cut the lead to two, but Regina quickly responded. Xavier Doane restored the three‑goal cushion with a seeing‑eye shot from the point, with Cooper Bratton and Vipond picking up the assists.
Penalties again played a role as the Rockets found another power‑play goal midway through the period, but the Pat Cs responded with sustained pressure. After dominating play for several shifts, Pue struck again late in the period to send Regina into the third up 5–2. By the end of forty minutes, Regina held a commanding 44–18 edge in shots.
The third period proved tense. After an uneventful opening half — including a Regina power play that came up empty — Okanagan mounted a comeback, scoring twice in just over four minutes to pull within one at 5–4. A late double‑minor kneeing penalty to Ryker Doka added pressure, but moments later the Rockets took a double minor of their own, creating a 4‑on‑4 stretch that helped Regina regain composure.
Okanagan pulled the goaltender in the final minute, but the Pat Canadians held on, with a few key blocked shots and timely saves to close out the win.
Regina finished the game with a 57–33 advantage in shots, going 2‑for‑6 on the power play while killing off key penalties when it mattered most.
With the victory, the Pat Canadians finish the round robin in first place and now turn their attention to the semifinals Saturday. Regina will face either the Halifax Macs or the same Okanagan Rockets, pending the outcome of the game between Halifax and Chevaliers de Levis later this afternoon, where the Macs need at least a point to clinch 3rd.
