Hosts knock out OHL champions
Regina prevails over Hamilton in semifinal, to face Acadie-Bathurst in championship game
REGINA — Sam Steel scored the winner in the third period and Max Paddock made 44 saves as the host Regina Pats beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2 on Friday night in the Memorial Cup semifinal.
Regina moves on to face the AcadieBathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Sunday for the Canadian major junior championship.
Cameron Hebig, Austin Pratt and Jake Leschyshyn, into an empty net, also scored for the Pats.
Regina will try to duplicate what the Windsor Spitfires did last year and become the second straight tournament host to capture the Memorial Cup.
The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets also accomplished that feat back in 2004.
Nicolas Mattinen and Will Bitten found the back of the net for Hamilton, which won the Ontario Hockey League championship. Kaden Fulcher stopped 20-of-23 shots in defeat.
The Titan had an identical 2-1 record along with both Hamilton and Regina after the round robin, although a higher percentage of goals-for and goals-against gave them a direct berth to the final.
Steel teamed up with Hebig to force a Fulcher turnover and eventually put it into the wide-open net at 14:05 of the third. Steel leads the tournament with 12 points.
Bitten, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, cut the deficit to one at 15:17 when he was sprung on a breakaway and roofed the puck over Paddock’s glove.
Hebig gave Regina the lead 11 minutes into the second when he toe-dragged the puck just above the left face-off circle and sniped one above Fulcher’s blocker.
Much like in the tournament opener between the two teams, Paddock was solid in net and made several key stops when he had to.
Tempers boiled over shortly after Hebig’s goal with Hamilton captain Justin Lemcke and Bryce Platt dropping the gloves. It was the first fight of the tournament.
Mattinen used a slapshot from the point to beat Paddock glove side and tie the game 1-1. The goal came shortly after the Pats were able to kill off a Liam Schioler double minor for high-sticking, which brought the Brandt Centre crowd alive.
Pratt opened the scoring when he pounced on a juicy rebound at 5:22 after a nice passing play.
Regina previously edged the Bulldogs 3-2 last Friday in round-robin play.
Titan’s Dobson enjoying special season ahead of NHL draft
REGINA — When Noah Dobson was 15, he made the decision to forgo playing midget hockey in Canada and instead travelled to Austria to play for EC Red Bull Salzburg.
Dobson said the move allowed him to get daily ice time and improve his skills.
The star defenceman for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, from Summerside, P.E.I., said it also helped him mature as a person.
“The whole experience part of growing up, living on your own in Europe for a year was pretty incredible to see different parts of the world,” Dobson said in a recent interview at the Memorial Cup. “The whole experience was great and I really took it all in.” The QMJHL’s Titan drafted Dobson sixth overall in 2016 — and he has found success ever since.
The 18-year-old is the top prospect for June’s NHL draft playing at the Canadian major junior championship. He helped the Titan capture their first league title since 1999 and earn a direct berth to Sunday’s final.
Dobson has seven points through three games, leading all defencemen.
“It’s been an exciting year,” said Dobson, the No. 5 North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. “Just trying to enjoy the experience.”