The Regina Pat Canadians' bid for a second consecutive Telus Cup championship came to an end on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 semifinal loss to the Halifax Macs in Peterborough, Ontario. The Pat Canadians were aiming to win back-to-back national under-18 male hockey titles and set a record with a sixth championship overall.
Round-Robin Success
Regina finished atop the six-team standings after the round-robin portion of the week-long tournament, posting four wins and one overtime loss. That placed them in a semifinal matchup against the fourth-place Halifax Macs, whom the Pat Canadians had defeated 4-3 earlier in the event. Halifax entered the semifinal with only one regulation victory during the round-robin.
Game Summary
Brodie Bowen opened the scoring for Regina with the only goal of the first period, 12 minutes in. River Welsh tied the game for Halifax in the final minute of the second period. In the third period, Carter Sullivan scored to put Halifax ahead, and Will Shearer added an empty-net goal to seal the victory. Regina goaltender Ben Meyer made 26 saves, while Halifax netminder Chandler Bell stopped 31 shots.
Bronze Medal Game
The Pat Canadians are scheduled to play for the bronze medal on Sunday at noon against the Okanagan Rockets, who lost their semifinal 2-1 to the Lévis Chevaliers on Saturday evening. The gold medal game between Lévis and Halifax will take place at 4 p.m. and will be live-streamed on TSN+.
Historical Context
Regina won the Telus Cup last year with a 3-2 overtime victory over Lévis in Chilliwack, British Columbia. That win marked Regina's fifth Canadian championship, tying them with the Notre Dame Hounds (from Wilcox) and a Quebec franchise formerly known as Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François for the most titles. Only four franchises have won back-to-back championships, including Notre Dame, with the most recent being the Red Deer Chiefs in 2012-13.
The Pat Canadians will look to bounce back and secure a bronze medal to cap off a strong season.
