Connor Bedard shines at Calgary WHL game, leads Regina to shootout win
Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome was packed to the rafters with fans eager to take a look at Canadian phenom Connor Bedard and the 17-year-old did not fail to impress.
The Regina Pats faced the Calgary Hitmen in the latter team's third of five straight games on Wednesday night.
Blake Heward opened up scoring for Calgary, but that was soon matched by an unassisted goal from Bedard.
The second period, however, was dominated by the Hitmen, following a late first period power play goal from Carter Yaremchuk.
Tomis Marinkovic made it 3-1 for the Hitmen going into the third period, with the home team outshooting Regina 39-24.
But that's when Regina began its comeback, with Tanner Brown and Alexander Suzdalev helping tie the game. The Hitmen's Sean Tschigerl regained the lead with his 16th goal of the season, but Braxton Whitehead evened the score again for Regina.
The third period wrapped up with two more goals – one for each team – from London Hoilett for Calgary and another from Whitehead for Regina.
The game's overtime was scoreless, making both teams settle the game with a shootout, where Bedard scored the only goal, winning it for the Pats 6-5.
The Saddledome was a packed house for the game, with the Hitmen saying 16,700 tickets had been sold by the afternoon.
Usually with Hitmen games, just the lower bowl of the arena is open to fans, but this time it opened up seats all the way to the press level.
The Western Hockey League game, also televised on TSN, offered the largest in-house audience of Bedard's career.
"I'm pretty sure that would be the most," Bedard said in a pre-game meeting with media at a downtown Calgary hotel.
"It's a lot, so it's exciting for all of us to have that and I think that's something you don't really get tired of."
The Hitmen's next game will be on Saturday against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
The event will be the team's Every Child Matters game, held in partnership with Siksika Health Services.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.