TALKING POINTS
The Tips actually played two fairly decent periods of hockey tonight. Unfortunately for Everett that third period, or more specifically the first, was a real stinker. By the time the Tips recovered following the first intermission they were already down 3-0 and it was too late.
That first period may have been the worst period I’ve seen the Tips play this season. Broadcaster Travis Huntington mentioned that a couple periods during the long road trip were probably worse, but we couldn’t think of a worse one at home. The Tips looked like the proverbial chicken with it’s head cut off in the first. They were all over the place, looking scattered and unfocused, and as a result they struggled mightily to clear the defensive zone and get the puck deep in the offensive zone. While Everett was a mess, Regina was crisp and incisive. The shot differential in the first was 17-5, and the game was every bit as one-sided as that differential indicates.
Everett was much better in the second and third periods, and when the Tips pulled within 4-2 it seemed there was a glimmer of hope. But Everett’s other issue of the night, penalties, reared its ugly head in the third as the Pats put the game away with another power-play goal. The final power-play differential was 7-2 in favor of Regina. Hard to win a game with numbers like those.
TURNING POINT
The game’s first shift set the tone for the first period. Everett defenseman Nick Walters had all kinds of trouble handling the puck, eventually turning it over and taking a cross-checking penalty just 21 seconds in. Regina scored on the resulting power play, and Everett was chasing the rest of the period.
HIT OF THE DAY
Everett’s Ryan Harrison had several solid hits, though none of them really stood out individually.
THREE STARS
First star: Jordan Weal, Regina. Two goals and one assist, pretty much did whatever he wanted during the first period.
Second star: Dominik Volek, Regina. One goal and one assist, good work along the boards.
Third star: Kohl Bauml, Everett. One goal, hustled and made the right plays.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Chandler Stephenson, Regina. One goal and one assist, he’ll go high in next year’s NHL draft.
BOX SCORE
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