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
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.