Monday, February 8, 2010

Pats Weekly

Week In Review:
Monday, Feb 1: Kootenay 2 Regina 1 SO
Tuesday, Feb 2: Red Deer 3 Regina 2 SO
Friday, Feb 5: Saskatoon 5 Regina 4 SO
Saturday, Feb 6: Regina 5 Kootenay 4 OT

Injury Report:
None to Report
Games lost due to injury – 72

Kets great at home:
Pats goaltender, Damien Ketlo has had his ups and downs this season, battling back from both a sprained hip flexor and a partially separated shoulder. The one thing the Pats can count on is how good he has been at home. Ketlo is 13-2-0-4 at the Brandt Centre.

Defensive Scoring:
The Pats have three defencemen in the team's top ten scorers. Colten Teubert leads with 33 points; Brandon Davidson has 30 and Cody Carlson are right behind him with 29.

Top 5 Scorers in Canada:
Jordan Eberle is second in the WHL with 79 points, 2 points back of Craig Cunningham for the league lead. Eberle is the top goal scorer in the country.

Mid-Term Rankings:
The NHL CSS mid-term draft rankings were released earlier this week, and the Pats are represented with a pair of players. Jordan Weal is 45 in North American skaters, while Brandon Davidson continues to move up the rankings, he is now 57th.

The Last 15 games:
The Pats have been one of the best teams in the WHL over the last 15 games with just 3 regulation losses:
1. Everett 13-2-0-0  26pts
2. Kootenay 11-2-2-0  24pts
3. Brandon 10-3-1-1  22pts
T4.Regina 8-3-0-4    20pts
T4.Tri-City  9-4-0-2    20pts
T4.Kelowna 9-4-0-2    20pts

They are all big games:
With the Pats in full chase mode in the Eastern Conference playoff race, every game is important from here on in. Here's how the rest of the schedule breaks down: 16 games (6 home/10 away), 14 v/ Eastern Conference, 9 East Division, 2 B.C. Division.

Bank on extra time:
With the Pats trying to grind their way to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they have found a way to get points in all but one of their last 12 games. 7 of them have gone to overtime with 6 going to a shoot-out with the Pats winning 2 of them.

Cardiac Kids:
In their last three games, the Regina Pats have needed to pull out the last minute heroics to tie hockey games. On Tuesday against Red Deer, Matt Strueby tied the game with 12 seconds left, Friday night saw Jordan Eberle score with 2:36 left to tie Saskatoon, and on Saturday, both Carter Ashton and Jordan Eberle scored in the final two minutes to tie Kootenay.

Streaking:
*Jordan Eberle is on a 4 game point streak (4g 3a)

Milestones
*Matt Strueby is 10 games away from 200 in his WHL career
*Jordan Eberle is 12 games away from 250 in his WHL career
*Carter Ashton notched his 100th career WHL point in Saturday night
*Brett Leffler is 5 points away from 150 in his WHL career
*Colten Teubert is 3 games away from 250 in his WHL career
*Jordan Weal is 5 points away from 150 in his WHL career

Eberle topping the charts:
Jordan Eberle is currently the Pats active leader in goals with 144 for his Pat career and points with 283.

NHL: Change In Montreal

TSN.ca ALERT: Bob Gainey stepping down as GM of the Montreal Canadiens; Pierre Gauthier to take over.

The Monday Morning Goalie

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on their 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami! Not too many people saw that one coming.

Thoughts on the game? Where'd you watch it? Hopefully you enjoyed it because it's the last football game you'll see live until June. Lots of guys (and gals) I know will be going into football withdrawal for the next little while and when you combine that with the sub-minus 20 temperatures around here right now, the winter blahs have officially set it.

More football in a moment but we'll open today's column with hockey...

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The Regina Pats certainly are making things interesting down the stretch. The hockey club came back from a 4-2 deficit Saturday night to rally and beat the Kootenay Ice in overtime. Jordan Eberle set up one goal with two minutes left, tied the game with 0:55 left, and assisted on the overtime winner.

Sometimes this team makes it awfully tough to cheer for them and I don't blame the dozens of fans who headed to the exits with five or so minutes remaining. However apparently the Pats used it as motivation.

"We saw people getting up and leaving," said Pats assistant coach Shaun Sutter on the postgame show. "We were booed and we were heckled but we hung around and got it done. It seems nobody but our players and staff believes we can get into the playoffs but we're going to fight tooth and nail until this is all over."

With the win the Pats closed the gap for the final playoff spot to five points with 16 games to go. They finished their homestand at 1-0-0-3, meaning they earned five of eight points. It's another crazy week ahead as the Pats visit Brandon tomorrow, host Calgary Wednesday and visit Red Deer Friday and Edmonton on Saturday. That's a REAL crazy schedule.

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Pats coach Curtis Hunt was under fire last week for playing his top guns too much, particular Jordan Eberle who leads the WHL with 39 goals. So in Friday night's 5-4 shootout loss to the Blades, we put a clock on him in the press box. The result? Eberle got 24:00 of ice-time which INCLUDED overtime.

Before Saturday night's Pats game, I compared Jordan's 24 minutes to the top players in that afternoon's NHL games and this is what we found:

Jordan Staahl 23:24
Evgeny Malkin 20:00
Sidney Crosby 21:00
Tomas Plekanec 22:13
Brian Gionta 21:00
Scott Gomez 21:00

So basically Eberle's not playing any more than any team's top stars and many feel the criticism is ridiculous.

"I don't know any coach who would play Eberle any less than Curtis does," Pats colour commentator Al Dumba said on Saturday's pregame show. "When I coached the Pats I told Jason Smith, Nathan Dempsey, David Wilkie and Jeff Friesen to stay out there until I told them to come off and we went all the way to the East Final."

'Nuff said.

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Molleken's Men tried to goon it up in the Pats-Blades game Friday night but the Pats were having none of it. It was retro night as far as Saskatoon's style of play went, but nobody seemed to have a problem with it.

"It was 1980s WHL hockey!" mused Pats coach Curtis Hunt. "Hey I just wish somebody would've told us! We thought maybe we'd draw some penalties in the first period by taking punches to the head and not retaliating but that didn't happen. Hey that's fine. We manned up and stayed out of it. You know why the rabbit's not afraid of the bear? Because he's quicker and he's smarter."

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Do you believe the Pats will make the playoffs?

If you don't, you'd be wise to book your seats on the Major League Tours bus-trip to Edmonton now to catch two Oilers games in late-March (against San Jose and Detroit). If the Pats wind up missing the playoffs, that trip will sell out in minutes as Regina hockey fans will want to watch Jordan Eberle make his Oilers debut. The trip includes two nights hotel accomodation, two Oilers games and a day at West Edmonton Mall. Click on the Major League Tours add at the top left of this page for the info.

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Who got to meet Wayne Gretzky at Friday's Kinsmen Dinner in Saskatoon? I'd be interested to hear your stories.

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Speaking of that dinner, Rider President Jim Hopson got people excited when he mentioned something about the Riders' 2010 training camp being in Saskatoon. I've been told by the football club that Jim's comment was something to the effect of "my intention is to hold training camp in Saskatoon this season" and people took it and ran with it.

While it's likely the team will wind up there, nothing's officially been announced yet.

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By the way there was considerable discussion on the blog this weekend about training camp being in Saskatoon. It's NOT a cash-grab. Jim simply wants to reward Rider fans in northern Saskatchewan and feels this is the best way to do it. Truthfully I'm not pumped to go there for one simple reason; it's like a three week road trip and when you got kids at home relying on you for rides to and from school and their activities, it becomes a massive headache. If I was single with no kids, training camp in Saskatoon would be a dream.

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The CFL must be loving all the off-season media attention it's getting with the coaching carousel going round and round. It got another gigantic heave yesterday with the Sportsnet report that the Argos are going to hire Jim Barker as their new head coach. What exactly is going on in these interviews with Greg Marshall anyways? Why does he interview, then never get the job? I'd be interested to know that.

Paul LaPolice fired his defensive and special teams coordinators on Friday and word is he's looking at Bomber receivers coach Bob Dyce to be his offensive coordinator but he's also received permission to talk to Rider QB coach Jamie Barresi. And of course yesterday the Winnipeg Sun reported LaPolice also plans to interview Kavis Reed for the D.C. job in Winnipeg.

And in a weird twist, Rider coach Ken MIller has asked for, and received, permission to speak with Dice about the O.C. job here. Whew! The Calgary Stampeders are also looking for an offensive coordinator to replace George Cortez.

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John Lynch surmised on the weekend that perhaps former Rider hoggies Mike Abou-Mechrek and/or Andrew Greene might make good candidates for the vacant Rider offensive line coaching job. Luckily Abou-Mechrek is now an Investors Group co-worker of my partner Al Dumba so during the Super Bowl, Al shot Abou a text asking him about it.

"I'm not old, crusty or fat enough yet to become a coach," was Abou-Mechrek's reply. As for Drew, well, we'll have to look into that this week.

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Another announcement coming down the pike soon will be about the Riders' new assistant General Manager. A friend of mine in the league asked me to put a good word in for him with Kenny on Friday but when I did, Miller said they've all but filled that position. They've identified the guy and are now negotiating his deal.

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You may want to know that EA Sports has simulated the last seven Super Bowls and predicted the winner correctly in six of them. That includes the Saints yesterday, although they had the score at 35-31 with the Saints scoring on a last minute drive to win. That's darn close for a video game, since Porter's late 74-yard INT return sealed the win for New Orleans.

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The Who? Really? THE WHO?? Kenny Chesney was AT the game but they had THE WHO sing at halftime? That's a joke.

Honestly I was driving to my brother's at halftime so I missed the performance but hopefully they come up with a better act for Super Bowl XLV in Dallas next year. George Strait perhaps?

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We caught the American commercials on CBS HD at the Press Box yesterday but it was so jammed you couldn't hear them. Any thoughts on those ads? On Saturday the NFL Network ran a program rating the best Super Bowl ads of all-time, hosted by Jim Nantz. Here were the top three:

1 - Budweiser's ad where a bunch of Clydesdale, other horses and livestock gather in a meadow for a game of pick-up football and a sheared sheep streaks through the middle of their game.

2 - E-Trade where the toddler tells us how easy it is to buy stock through E-Trade, then throws up all over himself. And...

3 - Pedigree Dog Food's ad where people try to train animals to be pets, like a yak or a boar with no success. The message is "why not adopt a dog?"

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Weird things about the CBC telecast of Super Bowl:

- No cameras set up in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

- No shots of Kim Kardashian. Was she hiding?

- No shots of the Mannings. Did I miss them?

Perhaps I did. There was lots going on.

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Speaking of the Press Box, they've got all you can eat Soup N' Salad today for just $7.99.

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And the new Walmart Supercentre opens on Wednesday in Harbour Landing. It looks great!

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Don't forget Sportsline tonight at 6:00 on 620 CKRM and HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
RP

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Saints Super Bowl XLIV Champs

New Orleans is ready for what could be the mother of all parties.

The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions, after rallying to beat the favoured Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Drew Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions, the last a two-yard slant to Jeremy
Shockey for the winning points with 5:42 remaining. Tracy Porter killed the Colts comeback hopes when he picked off a Peyton Manning pass for a 74 yard touchdown.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named the Super Bowl MVP. Brees passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns. His Indianapolis counterpart Peyton Manning completed 31 passes for 333
yards and a T-D.

(Courtesy The Canadian Press)

Bombers Like Kavis

The Winnipeg Sun
Byline: BY KIRK PENTON

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have asked the Saskatchewan Roughriders for permission to speak with Kavis Reed, their special teams coordinator and running backs coach.

It's believed new Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice is interested in talking to Reed about Winnipeg's defensive co-ordinator position. LaPolice and Reed are quite familiar with one another, having coached together in Toronto, Hamilton and Saskatchewan.

Meanwhile, a CFL source told the Sun that the Bombers have parted ways with offensive line coach Charlie Carpenter.

Blue want word with Kavis

The Winnipeg Sun
Byline: BY KIRK PENTON

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have asked the Saskatchewan Roughriders for permission to speak with Kavis Reed, their special teams co-ordinator and running backs coach.

It's believed new Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice is interested in talking to Reed about Winnipeg's defensive co-ordinator position. LaPolice and Reed are quite familiar with one another, having coached together in Toronto, Hamilton and Saskatchewan.

Meanwhile, a CFL source told the Sun that the Bombers have parted ways with offensive line coach Charlie Carpenter.

Pats 5 Ice 4 OT

REGINA -- It was Jordan Eberle to the rescue again for the Regina Pats Saturday night, however rookie Mitch Spooner was the unlikely hero in the Brandt Centre. Trailing the Kootenay Ice 4-2 with two minutes to go and fans headed to the exits, the Pats staged a miraculous comeback to close out their homestand with a victory and keep their flickering playoff hopes alive.

For the fourth time in five games, the Pats were unable to score a first period goal and they trailed 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes courtesy Jesse Ismond's 15th goal of the season for Kootenay. Dustin Sylvester made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal early in the second however back-to-back goals by Regina's Carter Ashton and Andrew Reider made it a 2-2 game. Ismond scored again before the period was out to make it 3-2 for the Ice heading to the third.

Ismond completed the hattrick at 8:12 of the third to make it 4-2 and it looked like the Pats' chances were snuffed out. Some of the 4361 fans felt the same way and headed to the parking lot however with 1:53 to go, Jordan Eberle set up Colten Teubert who set up Cody Carlson for his 5th of the season to make it 4-3. And with fifty-five seconds to go, Eberle torched Kootenay goalie Todd Mathews for his 39th of the year to tie it up 4-4 and sent it to overtime.

On the only shot of overtime, Eberle set up linemate Jordan Weal in the Ice left-hand circle and Weal slid it cross-ice to Mitch Spooner on the right faceoff dot and he buried it up under the crossbar.

Game over: Regina 5 Kootenay 4 OT

STATS: Kootenay outshot Regina 31-27 ... Pats were 0/4 on the powerplay and 3/3 killing penalties ... The win pulls the Pats to within five points of Moose Jaw for the final playoff spot with 16 games to go ... Regina is now 24-25-3-4 and 2-2 against Kootenay on the season ... The Ice fall to 34-17-3-2.

MOLSON 3-STARS: 1) Eberle 2) Ismond 3) Ashton. Taylor Toyota Hardest Working Pat: Brandon Davidson.

UP NEXT: The Pats visit the Brandon Wheat Kings Tuesday night at 7:00 on 620 CKRM (Press Box Sports Bar Pregame Show at 6:35pm).

Sunday Sports

It's Super Sunday! Super Bowl 44 goes this evening in Miami (5:25pm kickoff Sask time), with the Indianapolis Colts taking on the New Orleans Saints. The Colts are rated about a five-point favourite. The Saints will be making their first appearance in the NFL title game. Indianapolis won the Super Bowl in 2007, when the game was also played in Miami.

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Former Bucs and Raiders defensive lineman Warren Sapp was arrested Saturday following an alleged domestic violence incident at a Miami Beach hotel, police said.

Sapp was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic battery and is expected to appear before a Miami-Dade County judge today.

Shortly after police officials confirmed the charge, NFL Network spokesman Dennis Johnson said Sapp - who is an analyst - wouldn't be part of the Super Bowl coverage for today's game.

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The NFL's career receiving and rushing leaders have been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith lead the class of 2010 that also includes John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. The induction ceremonies take place in Canton, Ohio, on August 7th.

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Rookie defenceman Mitch Spooner scored in overtime to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice Saturday night. The summary is below.

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J-S Giguere is the first goalie in Toronto Maple Leafs history with shutouts in his first two games with the team. He stopped 30 shots as as the Leafs dumped Ottawa 5-0. The loss snaps the Senators' eleven-game winning streak. The Leafs held a moment of silence to honour the memory of Brendan Burke, who died Friday in a car accident. Brendan Burke is the son of Toronto general manager Brian Burke.

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The Edmonton Oilers are winless in their last nine road games, after getting blanked 3-0 by Colorado. Calgary lost to Tampa Bay 2-1 in overtime. Vancouver is 2-2 on its 14-game Olympic road trip, after a 3-2 shootout win at Boston. The Bruins are winless in ten games.

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Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak was coming off back-to-back 45-save victories, but this time he faced a season-low 21 shots in the Canadiens' 5-3 victory over Pittsburgh. The Los Angeles Kings set a franchise record with their ninth straight victory, as they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Detroit 4-3.

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Jennifer Jones goes after a third straight Canadian women's curling championship today when she faces PEI's Kathy O'Rourke in the final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. PEI advanced to the final in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with a 10-6 victory over Ontario.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Pats Game Night vs Kootenay

Kootenay (34-17-3-5) at Regina (23-25-3-4)
Tonight 7:00pm Brandt Centre
6:35 Press Box Sports Bar PreGame Show 620 CKRM
No TV Broadcast

SaskTel Hat Night:
The first 5000 fans through the door get a Pats hat courtesy SaskTel.

The Lowdown:
These two teams will play each other for the second time in 6 days, with the Ice winning the last match-up on Monday night in a shoot-out 2-1. That was the make-up game from the postponed January 27th game that was delayed because of bad weather

About the Ice:
With a record of 18-2-1-0 in their last 21 games, the Ice are one of the hottest teams in all of the WHL. Because of this fantastic streak, they have now climbed into 2nd spot in the Central Division and 4th in the Conference.

Who’s who:
The Ice have one of the most dynamic and speedy top lines in the WHL in Steele Boomer, Dustin Sylvester and Kevin King:

Player:
Dustin Sylvester 28 46 74
Steele Boomer 21 34 55
Brayden McNabb 15 35 50

Jordan Eberle picked up 2 goals in the Pats 4-3 shoot-out loss last night..

Player:
Jordan Eberle 38 38 76
Jordan Weal 24 48 72
Matt Strueby 29 15 44

The Race:
With just 17 games left in the WHL season, the Pats are currently 7 points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors for the 8th and final playoff spot, and 8 back of the Prince Albert Raiders for 7th.

On the ice tonight:
There are 9 other games tonight in the WHL with the Pats keeping a keen eye one other game with the Red Deer Rebels in Swift Current to face the Broncos.

They are all big games:
With the Pats in full chase mode in the Eastern Conference playoff race, every game is important from here on in. Here’s how the rest of the schedule breaks down: 17 games (7 home/10 away), 15 v/ Eastern Conference, 11 East Division, 2 B.C. Division.

Goaltending is Key:
Since coming back from his shoulder injury on January 13th, Damien Ketlo has been solid between the pipes. In 10 games, he is 5-1-0-4 with a 2.50 GAA and a Save % of .926.

Rider Training Camp in Saskatoon

Roughrider President Jim Hopson announced at the Kinsmen Dinner in Saskatoon Friday that 2010 Roughrider training camp will be held in Saskatoon.