Bedard Bedazzles Sold Out Crowd
By Twitter - @MJWarriorsFun Instagram - @moosejawwarriors_history
The big day arrived.
Connor Bedard and his Regina Pats were at the Moose Jaw Events Centre and the building was completely sold out.
An extremely rare occurrence at that rink.
It’s not as if this was Bedard’s first time playing there though.
The kid had been playing for the Pats since the 2020-21 season, he’d played Moose Jaw on plenty of occasions.
But this one felt different.
Bedard really only evolved into a National Treasure when he led Team Canada to World Junior Gold and the entirety of the country discovered what hockey-heads already knew: Connor Bedard is a freakishly unusual talent, whose ceiling in the game is limitless.
The way people speak of Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid could one day be bestowed on the young Bedard.
This was very likely the last chance Warriors fans would have to watch the kid play before he carried on to the world of professional hockey.
The night before he had scored three goals and added two assists but still lost badly to the tribe.
On this night his scoring line was exactly the same only the outcome was different.
The Pats got off to a rocky start with two early penalties but still managed to score on one of them.
Bedard was on the ice but played zero role in the goal.
Parker Berge scooped up a loose puck and zipped one past Jackson Unger.
Berge’s goal came on his team’s first shot of the game.
That’s a bad omen.
On another note, Parker Berge’s brother Owen is a product of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Their mom’s a fan.
Parker Berge scored the opening goal. Here he is with Brother Owen - via Tammy Berge
The Pats scored again a few minutes later, on only the team’s third shot.
Not a great start for poor Unger.
This time Bedard recorded an assist, banking the puck off Unger’s pad into a waiting Riley Ginnell’s stick.
Ginnell played 14 games as a Warrior earlier this season.
Riley Ginnell scored for the second consecutive - photo credit Twitter
Unger then allowed a third goal on the exact next shot; one that probably should have been saved.
It seemed only a matter of time before the coaches pulled him.
People in the stands were certainly acknowledging the possibility.
The goal was scored by Braxton Whitehead.
Thankfully the Warriors offence started working and scored one for the home team.
Martin Rysavy scored the goal.
Martin Rysavy scored - photo credit Twitter
That’s how the first period ended.
Four minutes into the second period the Pats’ Braxton Whitehead made an odd mistake and shot the puck off of Tate Schofer’s knee and into his own net.
Through no hard work of his own Schofer was credited with his fifth of the season.
Halfway through the frame Bedard scored a goal, his first of the game 17,738th of the year.
The Pats were back in control.
He then scored again, shortly after that, taking advantage of an Atley Calvert Tripping Penalty.
Bedard was Bedazzling the sold out crowd.
Connor Bedard scored another Hat-Trick - photo credit Twitter
A jumble of penalties led to a Warriors 4-on-3 Power Play.
That was just enough space for Jagger Firkus to snipe his 37th of the season.
The goal came in the dying second of the period, meaning the Warriors would trail by a pair to start the third.
Jagger Firkus scored again - photo credit Twitter
Halfway through the third period Whitehead made up for his earlier blunder by setting up Zack Stringer.
Bedard also got an assist on that goal.
The game was getting further and further out of reach.
Aside from an unfortunate blunder, Braxton Whitehead was fantastic - photo credit Twitter
The Warriors just didn’t have that final push necessary for a big comeback.
Pats goalie Drew Sim was razor sharp, squashing the little resistance they had.
Then Bedard scored a flukey one into an empty net to cap off his second Hat-Trick and second five point game in consecutive nights.
The Warriors outshot them 48-22, just couldn’t score nearly enough and couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net.
Just three games left in the regular season; the tribe will be in Winnipeg on Wednesday.