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Jace Egland’s second career WHL goal will be as memorable as his first.
The 17-year-old scored the 2024 Regina Pats Teddy Bear Toss goal just 2:25 into the game for the home team in a game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
That led to 3,043 stuffed toy animals hitting the ice at the Brandt Centre on Saturday night. A large portion of the stuffed animals will be donated to the Salvation Army as well as other local charities following the game.
That didn't take long — just 2:25 into the game, Jace Egland scores the Teddy Bear toss goal. pic.twitter.com/HufmulyOOD
— Britton Gray (@BrittonGray) December 15, 2024
Egland grabbed the loose puck in front of Moose Jaw Warriors goaltender Josh Banini and fired it past the goaltender.
Regina Pats forward Jace Egland’s second career WHL goal was the 2024 Teddy Bear toss goal. (Keith Hershmiller Photography/submitted)
“It was amazing. It was a great feeling for the whole community and the rink. Our team was so excited for this game and to get the goal, it was a huge opportunity,” Egland said.
“It was a weird feeling (being on the ice when the toys were tossed). I had never been on an ice surface with that many teddy bears. I thought it was going to be a five-minute clean-up but there was no way we were going to be able to clean that many up in five minutes.”
While the Pats got on the board first in the game, Regina would fall 4-3 in overtime to their interprovincial rivals.
Pats head coach Brad Herauf was unhappy with how his team played in the showdown.
“I thought we got exactly what we deserved. I thought we were lucky to get that single point. I did not like the mentality of our game,” Herauf said.
“Maybe it was that first goal we scored early — maybe we thought it was going to be easy — but we totally got away from what we have been doing this last week-and-a-half and reverted back into a lot of immature plays, immature mentality and we’re lucky we got a point.
“We had chances to score but it was snowballing before that and just guys feeling sorry for themself, guys being individualistic, us trying to overpass the puck. We had three odd-man rushes in the first five minutes, and we think we’re the Detroit Red Wings of the 1990s — we can make four or five passes, and there will be a backdoor tap-in.
“We’re not that hockey club and when we play our style of game we can very competitive and make it really hard for the other team to play against us. Tonight we didn’t do any of that.”
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After Egland’s goal, the Warriors answered back 3:28 later with Keaton Dowhaniuk scoring for Moose Jaw on a shot that got by Pats netminder Kelton Pyne.
In the second period, the Pats once again took the lead on a great backhand shot from Zach Pantelakis but once again Moose Jaw found the equalizer, with Lynden Lakovic scoring a short time later.
Rilen Kovacevic put Moose Jaw up with 15 seconds left in the second frame of the game.
The Pats did manage to answer late in regulation and Caden Brown scored with just 1:02 left in the third period with the Pats’ net empty.
But Kovacevic scored the game-winner in the extra frame.
“We just couldn’t capitalize. We started throwing pucks away when we should have been shooting them at them. A few more bounces, a few more shots and maybe it’s a different score,” Egland said.
Regina falls to 8-17-4-2 on the season. They are in second-last in the Eastern Conference — only above the Warriors, who improved to 7-19-3-1.
It has been a tough stretch for the Pats, who only have three wins since Nov. 1.
The game against the Warriors was Regina’s final game before the WHL Christmas break.
“I think we need a practice more than anything. We don’t deserve Christmas break with how we played tonight,” Herauf said.
But the players will head home, spend time away from the club and hit the reset button ahead of the second half of the season.
“It will probably be the most important part of the whole season I think,” Egland said.
“Give everyone a chance to get home, see their families and figure out their role on the team and when they come back, they can fully complete that role and we can start winning some games.”
The next time Regina will hit the ice is in Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings on Dec. 27.
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