Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats’ playoff run ended Monday night in the Western Junior Hockey League.
The young prodigy’s team lost 4-1 in Game 7 of the first-round series against the Saskatoon Blades.
The fact that this confrontation went to the limit is a surprise, since the winners had finished the regular season with 29 points more in the standings than their rivals.
Bedard played a predominant role in the success of his team, amassing 10 goals and as many assists for 20 points in seven playoff games.
However, he came up against goaltender Austin Elliott and the Blades defense in the final duel. During this one, the Pats captain fired three of his 16 shots. Bedard was unable to score, but he provided an assist on Stanislav Svozil’s pass.
At the other end of the rink, goaltender Drew Sim yielded three times on 40 shots. He was foiled by Spencer Shugrue, Jake Chiasson and Vaughn Watterodt. Trevor Wong completed the scoring in an empty net.
This setback for the Pats ends a fabulous season for the one who should logically be selected with the very first pick of the next National Hockey League draft. During the regular season, Bedard scored 71 goals and provided 72 assists for 143 points in 57 games. He also amassed 23 points in seven games during Canada’s conquest at the last World Junior Hockey Championship.
