2017 TELUS Cup

KAZYMYRA LEADS PAT CANADIANS TO COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN

JASON LA ROSE

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Jordan Kazymyra had a goal and two assists in the decisive third period, and the Regina Pat Canadians closed their preliminary-round schedule at the 2017 TELUS Cup with a 5-2 win over the Cape Breton Islanders on Friday morning.

The win all but assures the Pat Canadians of a spot in the semifinals on Saturday, but they will wait for the final two round-robin games to finish to confirm their place in the standings.

Matthew Chekay scored twice for Regina, while Lukas Sillinger and Preston Brodziak had two assists each. Nathan Moore made 19 saves to record his second win of the tournament.

The Pat Canadians found the scoreboard first on the power play midway through the first period; Sillinger gathered in the puck behind the net and fed Carson Denomie, who caught Cape Breton West goaltender Colten Ellis looking the wrong way.

Logan Timmons answered less than four minutes later for the Islanders, streaking down the right wing and beating Moore to the far side to make it a 1-1 game after one period.

Timmons struck again 4:19 into the second with the Atlantic champions enjoying a man advantage, sneaking a backhand under Moore, but Chekay poked a loose puck past Ellis for another Regina power-play marker, tying the game through 40 minutes.

With teams in search of the full two points, it was the Pat Canadians who broke through for the winner midway through the third period; Adam Herold got his wrist shot from the point through traffic to make it 3-2.

Kazymyra added insurance six minutes later, racing away after a turnover at the Regina blue-line and roofing a shot over Ellis’ glove for a shorthanded goal.

He sprung Chekay – the lone Regina skater who was with the team at the 2015 TELUS Cup – for an empty-net goal in the final 90 seconds to provide the final margin of victory.

The Islanders, who dropped their final three games after starting 2-0, are still very much alive in the playoff race, and, like the Pat Canadians, will wait for the results of the last two prelim games to find out their fate.