By Scott Roblin

WHL Hockey

Regina homecoming sees Sillinger net three points in first game back

Feb 28, 2020 | 9:13 PM

REGINA, SK – Medicine Hat Tigers assistant coach Ryan Smith told media on Thursday they weren’t going to rush Cole Sillinger in his return to the lineup on Friday.

The 16-year-old star had other plans however, as he netted three points against his hometown Regina Pats in an 8-2 Tigers victory at the Brandt Centre.

Sillinger scored the eventual game-winning goal 11 and a half minutes into the second while also assisting on two of Brett Kemp’s goals, who himself finished the night with a four-goal performance.

It was Kemp who opened the scoring for Medicine Hat on the power play late in the first period, however Regina’s Zack Smith answered within the first two minutes of the second period to tie it at 1-1.

Kemp was able to add his second power play goal of the night just a few minutes later, which was followed up by goals from Sillinger and Parker Gavlas to close out the period.

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Lukas Svejkovsky was able to keep the goals coming 47 seconds into the third period to make it 5-1 for the visitors.

Regina’s Logan Nijhoff cut into Medicine Hat’s lead with his 14th of the season one minute after Svejkovsky’s marker, but the Tigers would take the game over late.

Kemp needed just 72 seconds to net back-to-back goals to bring him up to four on the night, including his third goal on the man advantage before Baxter Anderson beat the final buzzer for Medicine Hat’s eighth goal of the evening.

Svejkovsky and Gavlas each had a goal and assist in the win, while captain James Hamblin and Dylan Plouffe also had multi-point nights with a pair of helpers each.

Between the pipes, Mads Søgaard’s night was a relatively quiet one with 18 saves on 20 shots to pick up the two points.

As for Regina’s Donovan Buskey, he allowed eight goals on 40 shots against in the Pats crease.

Kicking off the home-and-home series with a victory, the 36-19-2-1 Tigers have crept within two points of the Lethbridge Hurricanes for second place in the Central Division.

The mini-series shifts back to Medicine Hat on Saturday night for a weekend tilt between the Tigers and Pats, getting underway at 7:30 pm at the Canalta Centre.