Episode #169 of Pats Cast is out!

In this episode, we discuss the weekend that was with the games against the Raiders and Warriors.

We then had a chance to reveal our season awards live on the air with Dante De Caria and Drew Postey during the second intermission of Sunday's game. 

Pats' captain Tanner Howe joined us for our Pats Cast Player Profile. Another awesome chat with a great young man.

Hope that you enjoy it! Please like, share, subscribe, and all that good stuff. 

Don't forget to tell your friends!

You can find us on any podcast platform: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts: Tune-In Radio, and Podbean.

Tanner Howe - Keith Hershmiller Photography


2023-24 Pats Cast Award Winners

The Pats Cast was lucky enough to have 15 people from the pressbox help us out in this year's voting so we had 17 total voters. 

Pats' play-by-play announcer Dante De Caria asked us to join him and Drew Postey in the second intermission to announce the awards live on CKRM radio.

The audio will be available during our next podcast which is Episode #169 (the awards segment starts just past the 22-minute mark).

Players received 3 pts for a first-place vote, 2 points for a second-place vote, and 1 point for a third-place vote.

Here are the awards:

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER


Pats' captain Tanner Howe was the unanimous selection for the team's Most Outstanding Player receiving all 17 first-place votes. The 18-year-old leads the Pats in all offensive categories.

Full voting:

TOP FORWARD


Tanner Howe with yet another unanimous choice as the Pats’ Top Forward as he received all 17 first-place votes.

Full voting:

TOP DEFENCEMAN


This year’s winner was 17-year-old defenceman Corbin Vaughan as he received 8 first-place votes and 34 points overall to take home the honour. Kolten Bridgeman grabbed 5 first-place votes while coming in second.

Full voting:

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER


This one came down to the wire with Jaxsin Vaughan taking home the honour picking up 26 points on 2-9-2. Sam Oremba came in at second place with 25 points (4-3-5) and Kolten Bridgeman also nabbed four first-place votes. 12 different players received votes for this award.

Full voting:

MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER


This was the most widespread player vote we had, and it ended up in a tie for first place with Braxton Whitehead (4-0-2) and Anthony Wilson (3-2-1) having 14 points. 17 different players picked up votes including 10 different players picking up first-place votes.

Full voting:

BIGGEST SURPRISE


Another award with a lot of players receiving recognition as 14 players got votes. Kolten Bridgeman came out on top with 17 points (4-1-3). Newly acquired Zach Moore came in second with 16 points (3-3-1).

Full voting:

MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER


Another close one with 12 players getting votes. Tye Spencer racked up 22 points (3-5-3) to pick up the award. Ty Gibson (4-3-1), Braxton Whitehead (5-1-0), and Sam Oremba (2-4-3) also got lots of love from the voters.

Full voting:

TOP ROOKIE


In a three-horse race, Cole Temple came out on top with 28 points (5-4-5). Kolten Bridgeman (6-3-1) and Ewan Huet (5-3-2) were within three and five points of first place.

Full voting:


Third Annual Pats Cast Awards

The 2023-24 Pats Cast Awards will be announced soon. Our third annual awards ballots will be distributed shortly and we will announce the winners this weekend.


In case you were wondering here are the previous winners:

Most Outstanding Player

Connor Bedard | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Connor Bedard

2022-23

Connor Bedard

2023-24

??

Top Forward

Connor Bedard | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Connor Bedard

2022-23

Connor Bedard

2023-24

??

Top Defenceman

Stanislav Svozil | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Ryker Evans

2022-23

Stanislav Svozil

2023-24

??

Most Improved Player

Stanislav Svozil | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Tanner Howe/Braxton Whitehead

2022-23

Stanislav Svozil

2023-24

??

Most Underrated Player

Luke Bateman | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Braxton Whitehead

2022-23

Luke Bateman

2023-24

??

Biggest Surprise

Alexander Suzdalev | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Tanner Howe

2022-23

Alexander Suzdalev

2023-24

??

Top Rookie

Alexander Suzdalev | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Tanner Howe

2022-23

Alexander Suzdalev

2023-24

??

Sportsmanlike Player

Sam Oremba | Photo: Keith Hershmiller

SEASON

WINNER

2021-22

Borya Valis

2022-23

Sam Oremba

2023-24

??

 

The 2023-24 Pats: A tale of two teams

With the season getting closer and closer to the end, the 2023-24 edition of the Pats has really been something.

As I mentioned in an earlier post the Pats were at or above the .500 mark until November 15th when they fell to 10-10-1-1. The Pats are now officially eliminated from the playoffs and are in danger of finishing last overall in the WHL. They have five games to figure things out, either to play for next year or just play out the string. The Tri-City Americans sit one point behind the Pats with a pair of games at hand and the Kamloops Blazers are just two points back and they have one game at hand.

Finishing near the bottom amid a rebuild is good, right? Right? Please tell me that that's good. 

Unfortunately, for the 2023-24 version of the Pats, that is not the case as many of you know the team dealt away their first-round pick in the 2024 Prospects Draft. Ugh.

Since the 22nd game of the season, the Pats have won just 11 times in 41 outings as they have gone 11-26-3-1. What happened? That will be something to expand on in the offseason.

Friday's Game

As for the game on Friday in Moose Jaw, the undermanned Pats fell 6-3 to the hometown Warriors. Ewan Huet faced 50 shots in the loss, while Zackary Shantz had his first career two-goal game and Braxton Whitehead notched his 15th of the season. Matthew Savoie (2), Denton Mateychuk, Brayden Schuurman, Atley Calvert, and Lynden Lakovic scored for the Warriors who picked up their 41st win of the season, with Jackson Unger collecting his 33rd win in goal.

A tale of two teams (2)

It is almost unbelievable how different the Pats' home and road records are. At home, the club is a respectable four games over .500 with a 16-12-2-1 record. However, the road has not been kind to the Queen City Kids as they have gone 5-24-2-1 in 32 games.

They are dead last on the road with just 13 points.

Historically speaking, the road record this season has really been something.

...Did you know that the 1976-77 Pats didn't win a game on the road? The club went an astonishing 0-31-6 while away from the Exhibition Stadium.

This is where things get interesting, it's been said the 2023-24 version of the Pats has just five (5) road wins... which has tied the Pats record for second-fewest wins on the road in a WHL season all-time.

The 1970-71 (33 games), 1975-76 (36), and 2004-05 (36) teams also each won just five games away from the home confines.

...13 points on the road are the third-fewest points that the Pats have attained on the road in WHL version history.

Only the 1976-77 (five points) and 1970-71 (11) have fewer on the road.

Enough ragging on the team for today.

Kuzma gets on the board

Cameron Kuzma - Keith Hershmiller Photography
Pats 15-year-old forward Cameron Kuzma picked up his first career WHL point with an assist on Friday in Moose Jaw, congratulations. 

Pats Cast #168 is out

Join Chris and me as we chat about the lone game of the week at Moose Jaw, the games ahead, and some alumni news. Oh, and we sat down with Pats' Assistant Coach Ken Schneider and we got to know a little bit more about him and his hockey career.
 
Pats Assistant Coach Ken Schneider - Keith Hershmiller Photography
   

Remember that you can always find Pats Cast on any podcast platform.

PatsTV & the end is near

It was just a short 6-game trek, but it must have felt like an eternity for everyone involved. The Pats concluded their U.S. trip with a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Everett Silvertips and finishing 0-6-0-0 on their excursion south of the border.

With the loss, the Pats have been officially eliminated from the playoffs. With just six games remaining on the schedule, all that is left for the club is to play for next year.

Since falling to .500 at 10-10-1-1 on November 15th the club has gone 11-25-3-1 in the 40 games since.

Now that it is official, here is hoping that they can play a little looser and maybe pick up a win or two and play spoiler. It’s not like they have an easy schedule to close out the season… Moose Jaw (3x), Prince Albert (2x), and Brandon are the Pats’ opponents for the last half dozen contests. It will be a huge task.

PatsTV

My PatsTV debut - screenshot courtesy AccessNowSports

A huge thanks to Spencer Burridge who invited me to make my PatsTV debut on AccessNow this week. Another huge thanks to Michael Ball and Kelly Remple for making it such an easy time for me.

My PatsTV debut with Michael Ball (left) & Kelly Remple (centre) - screenshot courtesy AccessNowSports

AccessNow Pats Games

Pats broadcast on Wednesday, February 28th at Wenatchee - screenshot courtesy AccessNowSports

I continued my TV gig and made two more appearances (three times in four days) as a panelist on the Pats’ road broadcasts in Wenatchee and Portland. My Pats Cast co-host Chris Clark and I were once again asked to be panelists for the broadcasts, and it went so smoothly. Another thanks to Michael Ball for hosting the panel and making us feel like we belong, especially the first night where it was just the three of us. Drew Postey joined us for the second broadcast and I would have to say that both broadcasts went well. At least I hope things went well, we got through the first broadcast and were welcomed back for the second haha.

Other Stuff

The nights were late and I didn't have time to worry about writing recaps or any of that kind of stuff this week (TV and late nights working on notes, etc.)... A huge congratulations to Pats Captain Tanner Howe who played in his 200th career WHL game during the trip.

Upcoming

I'll have more Pats stuff this week, not sure what though. We will record our Pats Cast podcast sometime tonight. I don't think we'll have a profile tonight, we'll save that for next week as the Pats only have one game. We shall see.

Pats lose both to start US Trip

Game 1 at Spokane

The Pats opened their six games in a nine-day United States road trip at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena as they visited the Chiefs for the first time since a 6-2 loss on January 18, 2020. This time the Queen City Kids fell by a score of 5-2 in front of 10,149 loud and boisterous fans.

Tye Spencer - Keith Hershmiller Photography

Tye Spencer and Braxton Whitehead gave the Pats a 2-0 lead before the halfway point of the opening period before Hayden Paupanekis replied to pull the Chief to within one as the first ended.

Tye Cheveldayoff would knot the game at 2-2 midway through the middle frame and it seemed like the ice tilted in favour of the hometown Chiefs as the first 40 minutes would down.

Unfortunately for the Pats, Jaxsin Vaughan took a five-minute major for kneeing just 14 seconds into the third and it was something that the Pats could not overcome. As the major was winding down the Conner Roulette scored a powerplay marker to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game and the Pats had no pushback. Ben Bonni scored the insurance marker with less than three minutes left and Berkly Catton added an empty netter with just over a minute left to give the Chiefs a 5-2 win.

The Chiefs outshot the Pats 36-21 overall and 15-4 in the third period.

The Goalies

Ewan Huet took the loss and fell to 12-17-0-1 as he stopped 31-of-35 shots directed his way. Dawson Cowan kicked out 19-of-21 as he picked up his 15th win of the season.

The Special Teams

The Pats powerplay scored for the seventh straight contest (1/5) and were 11-for-32 (34.38%) through that stretch while killing 4-of-6 Chief man advantages.

Keith Hershmiller Photography
Game 2 at Tri-City

On Saturday, the Pats traveled to Kennewick, Washington to face the Tri-City Americans. 5,637 fans watched as their hometown club beat the Pats 5-3.

The Americans were wearing pink jerseys with white numbers (which were really hard to read by the way) and pink ice for their Cancer Awareness Night.

The opposite of Friday happened as the Tri-City Americans took a 2-0 lead late in the first period on goals by Carter MacAdams and Brandon Whynott before Tye Spencer ripped home a powerplay marker with 45 seconds left in the first period to pull the Pats to within one as the first intermission began.

Jake Sloan and Brayden Barnett exchanged goals in the middle period as the Americans took a 3-2 lead heading into the crucial third period.

With just under five minutes left, Kelton Pyne made a big glove save, but the puck popped into the air to Andrew Fan and he put it past the Pats netminder to give the Americans a 4-2 lead. Just over two minutes later Sam Oremba pulled the Pats back to within one at 4-3. With Pyne on the Pats’ bench, the Americans won a defensive zone face-off and the puck ended up on Parker Bell’s stick and he sealed the Americans' win at 5-3.

The teams ended up tied on the shot counter at 33-33.

The Goalies

Pyne played well for the Pats as he stopped 28-of-32 in the loss. Draft prospect Lukas Matecha was strong for the Americans as he kicked out 30-of-33 including some big-time stops that kept the Pats from tying the game.

The Special Teams

The Pats' powerplay clicked once (1/4) again increasing their streak with a powerplay goal to eight games going 12-for-36 (33.33%). The Pats killed all three American man advantages.

Of Note

Barnett was playing in his 100th career WHL game. Tanner Howe has seven points (1G-6A) in a three-game point streak. Spencer has goals in three straight contests.

Pats Cast episode #166 is out

Huet's 38-Save Shutout Impressive

Every shutout that I can find with 35 or more saves. Ewan Huet is just the ninth goalie in Pats history to make 38 or more saves in a shutout.

Ewan Huet - Keith Hershmiller Photography

Saves

Goalie

Opponent

Date

Score

47

Damien Ketlo

Swift Current Broncos

Jan. 21, 2011

4-0

47

Drew Sim

Vancouver Giants

Nov. 25, 2023

3-0

45

Ken Walters

Prince Albert Mintos

Dec. 1, 1956

2-0

44

Shaun Fleming

Swift Current Broncos

Feb. 27, 1999

1-0

42

Chad Mercier

Swift Current Broncos

Jan. 25, 1995

4-0

41

Donald Choukalos

Seattle Thunderbirds

Nov. 25, 2000

5-0

40

Dustin Slade

Moose Jaw Warriors

Jan. 31, 2004

1-0 (OT)

38

Ryan Hoople

Seattle Thunderbirds

Feb. 17, 1998

3-0

38

Ewan Huet

Calgary Hitmen

Feb. 19, 2024

6-0

37

Gary Bromley

Brandon Wheat Kings

Mar. 4, 1917

5-0

36

Todd Lumbard

Brandon Wheat Kings

Mar. 2, 1983

5-0

36

Dawson MacAuley

Moose Jaw Warriors

Oct. 30, 2013

3-0

35

Bart Hunter

Saskatoon Blades

Jan. 18, 1980

5-0

35

Linden Rowat

Calgary Hitmen

Feb. 24, 2006

4-0


Note: There are numerous shutouts (close to 40%, I would say), especially early in Pats history do not mention the shots or save totals.