REGINA, Sask. - Dillon Johnstone scored a natural hat trick in the second period and Adam Ward shut the door between the pipes for the Cougars as the University of Regina's men's hockey team registered a 3-0 win over the Calgary Dinos on Saturday afternoon at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre.
BOX SCORE
Johnstone scored all three of his goals on the power play to record his first hat trick as a Cougar, and Adam Ward stopped all 29 shots sent his way to notch his first shutout of his CIS career.
“It's great to have Dillon (Johnstone) back,” Cougars head coach Blaine Sautner said, as the second-year forward missed 12 games earlier this season due to injury. “He's such an opportunist out there and he's able to finish with that shot of his. (Adam Ward) also stepped up big-time for us tonight. He battled hard back there and made four or five huge saves today.”
The win improves Regina's record to 7-12-2, while Calgary falls to 6-12-1. With 16 points, the Cougars are now three points up on the Dinos for fifth place in the conference, though Calgary does have two games in hand.
The Cougars had a couple of golden opportunities to open the scoring in the first half of the first period, one of which was on an unsuccessful 56-second two-man advantage two minutes in. Blair Stengler had a shorthanded breakway as the teams neared the midway point of the period, but Calgary goalie Jeff Weber knocked the puck away with a sprawling poke check. The Dinos outshot the Cougars by an 8-7 margin in the first.
Johnstone opened up the scoring on the power play just after the six-minute mark of the second, burying a goalmouth pass from Caine Pearpoint to put the Cougars up one. Johnstone scored his second of the period just 87 seconds later after pouncing on a rebound in the slot following a 2-on-1 by Pearpoint and Kyle Ross.
Johnstone finished off the natural hat trick with 1.1 seconds remaining in the second period, taking a pass from the corner in the high slot and wiring a snap shot to the top shelf to score his third power play goal of the period. Despite scoring three times, the Cougars were outshot 7-5 in the second by Calgary.
A total of 75 minutes in penalties were called in the third period, which saw the Cougars shorthanded for a large portion of the stanza. Again, the Dinos outshot the Cougars – this time by a 14-1 margin – but Ward stood tall between the pipes for Regina.
The Cougars were 3-for-10 on the power play, while Calgary ended up 0-for-8. The two teams combined for a total of 127 penalty minutes during the contest, with Calgary assessed 70 minutes and Regina 57. The Dinos ended up with a 29-13 edge in shots on goal.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
NOTES: Johnstone tied the Canada West record for most power play goals in a period (3) … Johnstone fell one goal short of tying the conference mark for most power play goals in a game, which stands at four.
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