MOOSE JAW -- It would have been easy for the Regina Pats to call it quits after the first period on Friday night against the Moose Jaw Warriors, but instead, the exact opposite happened.
The Pats scored four straight goals to overcome a 3-0 deficit, and after a late Warriors goal tied the game, Zach Pantelakis would score 50 seconds into overtime to secure the win in Western Hockey League action at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Moose Jaw fell to 10-24-4-2 with the loss and are now two points back of Regina in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, with the Pats improving to 11-21-4-2.
The Warriors had a handful of good scoring chances in the early going, and they’d get things started in the opening five minutes.
Landen McFadden found some open ice at the side of the Regina net and would take a perfect pass from Connor Schmidt before putting a shot into the wide-open cage 3:43 into the game.
Cross-checking and delay-of-game penalties gave the Warriors a lengthy five-on-three midway through the period, and they’d quickly make it a 2-0 game.
Aiden Ziprick took a feed from Pavel McKenzie at the point and blasted home a howitzer of a shot with 9:50 gone. The goal gave Ziprick points in 11 of the Warriors last 12 games.
The Pats continued to have penalty issues as the period progressed, and McKenzie would strike again on the power play at 12:26 when he put home a puck out of a scrum in front of the net.
Regina began to turn the tables soon after that goal, and the contest could have gone into the first intermission tied if not for Warriors goaltender Matthew Hutchison, who made a handful of big saves off Pats chances in close.
Things settled down for Regina as the second period progressed, and they’d quickly be rewarded as they began to get pressure of their own.
Cohen Klassen opened scoring for the Pats when he redirected a point shot by Cohen Klassen 6:42 into the period and Cameron Kuzma finished off an odd-man rush with Cameron Kuzma 1:02 later, making it a one-goal game.
The Warriors were unable to generate much pressure of their own, and didn’t have a shot on goal through the first nine minutes of the period.
Regina then completed the comeback with 5:35 to play in the second when Julien Maze got off a perfect shot from the left face-off circle that found the top shelf glove side.
The Pats picked up where they left off to start the third, and would take their first lead when Keets Fawcett scored only 49 seconds into the frame.
The Warriors had a chance to change the flow of the game when Regina’s Braxton Whitehead was hit with a five-minute check-from-behind major for hitting Connor Schmidt, and they’d tie the game midway through the penalty.
Ethan Semeniuk snared a puck at the side of the net, turned and jammed the puck between Regina goaltender Ewan Huet’s pad and the post with 4:07 to play.
There things stood until the end of regulation, and the teams were off to overtime.
The Pats would end things in somewhat controversial fashion only 50 seconds into the three-on-three when Pantelakis jammed home a puck under Hutchison’s pads that the Warriors felt should have been blown down. A brief conversation between officials confirmed the goal, and Regina had the win.
Luke Moroz picked up three assists for the Warriors and now has four points in three games since the trade with Prince Albert. Ziprick also finished with three points and now has four goals and 19 points in Moose Jaw’s last 12 games. Schmidt had a pair of helpers.
Huet finished with 22 saves to earn the win, while Hutchison stopped 26 in the loss.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when Brayden Yager, Jackson Unger and Voytech Port make their return to Moose Jaw. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Events Centre.
Regina is back in action Saturday when the Portland Winterhawks make their biennial trip to the Brandt Centre, with puck drop at 6 p.m.
