For someone who wasn’t supposed to return from injury until the end of January at the earliest, Tanner Molendyk (pictured) made life miserable for the Regina Pats Sunday by scoring once and adding two assists as the Saskatoon Blades recorded a 6-1 triumph.
The 18-year-old defenceman and first round pick of the N-H-L’s Nashville Predators last summer had to miss playing for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship after sustaining a broken bone in his left wrist during pre-tournament action. In his second game back from the injury, Molendyk had plenty of company on the scoresheet as five other members of the Bridge City Bunch tallied goals – Egor Sidorov, Easton Armstrong, Brandon Lisowsky, Misha Volotovskii and Rhett Melnyk. Lisowsky and Armstrong added assists while blueliner Ben Saunderson chipped in two helpers as the Blue and Gold tied a franchise record with their 18th consecutive game gaining at least one point in the standings (14-0-4). The Blades have also garnered points in the standings in 14 straight home games (13-0-1) while upping their overall record to a W-H-L-best 29-8-4. Only Kolten Bridgeman, with his first career W-H-L goal, could solve Austin Elliott in goal for Saskatoon. Elliott played after rookie Evan Gardner suffered a “medical issue” just before the opening faceoff and could not suit up. The Bridge City Bunch, who out-shot 15-21-6 Regina 38-20, head out to Alberta this coming week for games in Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, respectively. Following are the audio highlights from CJWW’s broadcast, Post-Game Show comments from head coach Brennan Sonne, centre Fraser Minten and Melnyk plus the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L…..
Regina Pats 1 at Saskatoon Blades 6 – Status: Final
Sunday, January 14, 2024 – SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Regina 0 1 0 – 1
Saskatoon 1 3 2 – 6
1st Period-1, Saskatoon, Sidorov 35 (Wong, Armstrong), 2:13 (PP). Penalties-Vaughan Reg (tripping), 1:59; Almen Reg (checking from behind), 11:39; Sidorov Sas (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 12:09.
2nd Period-2, Saskatoon, Armstrong 22 (Lisowsky), 0:18. 3, Regina, Bridgeman 1 3:10. 4, Saskatoon, Lisowsky 23 (Minten), 4:32. 5, Saskatoon, Volotovskii 5 (Molendyk, Saunderson), 11:09. Penalties-Babcock Sas (cross checking), 1:05; Wilson Reg (interference), 8:42.
3rd Period-6, Saskatoon, Melnyk 3 (Saunderson, Molendyk), 4:11. 7, Saskatoon, Molendyk 6 6:12. Penalties-Moore Reg (high sticking), 1:38; served by Temple Reg (too many men), 15:17; Volotovskii Sas (slashing), 18:00.
Shots on Goal-Regina 7-5-8-20. Saskatoon 15-12-11-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Regina 0 / 3; Saskatoon 1 / 5.
Goalies-Regina, Huet 6-11-0-1 (38 shots-32 saves). Saskatoon, Elliott 19-4-2-1 (20 shots-19 saves).
A-4,955
Referees-Tarrington Wyonzek (137), Brayden Glynn (96).
Linesmen-Ridge Brooks (161), Aiden Penner (109).
