While they downplayed the notion going into Wednesday night’s game, there was no doubt the Regina Pats enjoyed turning the tables on the Swift Current Broncos.
It was Swifty who defeated the Queen City Kids in seven games in their opening round playoff series. But, Wednesday’s 6-5 Pats’ victory ended Swift Current’s season.
“Most definitely,” said sophomore Regina forward Nick Henry on whether it meant a lot to the Regina players to get revenge on the Broncos.
The 18-year-old Colorado draft pick scored three times, one of a select few to ever record a hat-trick in a single game at the Memorial Cup.
“That’s exciting,” said Henry about his hat-trick. “It’s been kind of a whirlwind this whole tournament. It’s flying by, but it’s been a heck of an experience.”
The Pats never trailed in the final game of the four-team round-robin, in front of the largest crowd of the tournament thus far…6,484. But, Swift Current turned a 5-2 deficit early in the third period into a pair of one-goal situations at 5-4 and 6-5 as the W-H-L champions never quit, despite playing in their 101st game of the 2017-18 season…regular-season and playoffs combined. In addition to Henry’s three goals, Bryce Platt and former Saskatoon Blades Cam Hebig and Libor Hajek found the back of the net behind Stuart Skinner. Hajek’s tally proved to be the game-winner.
Playing in the final game of his five-year Broncos career, Glenn Gawdin tallied twice with singles from Beck Malenstyn, Aleksi Heponiemi and Giorgio Estephan.
Besides Swift Current being eliminated, Wednesday night’s result boosted the Acadie-Bathurst Titan directly into Sunday’s final where they will play the winner of Friday’s Regina-Hamilton Bulldogs semi-final.