Even though the Regina Pat Canadians didn’t come home with a medal, the Telus Cup midget AAA hockey tournament was still a great experience for Estevan’s Preston Brodziak.
Brodziak’s Pat Canadians dropped a 4-1 decision to Ontario’s Mississauga Rebels in the bronze medal game at the Telus Cup, leaving Regina in fourth place. The defeat came less than 24 hours after the Pat Canadians lost 4-3 in overtime to Quebec’s Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-Francois in the semifinal.
But Brodziak was a standout during the tournament. He finished fourth in tournament scoring with two goals and eight points in seven games, and saved some of his best hockey for the final games.
“It was an unreal experience,” said Brodziak. “It was the biggest tournament I’ve ever been in in my life. We were all treated well, and while it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, it was still a good experience.”
The Pat Canadians opened the tournament with a 5-2 loss to the Rebels. Then they tied the host Cariboo Cougars 3-3, and dropped a 3-2 decision to the Blizzard, leaving them with an 0-2-1 record to start the tournament.
Regina responded a 6-4 win over the Leduc Oil Kings from Alberta. Brodziak had a helper in the game.
Then came a 5-2 victory over the eventual national champions, the Cape Breton Islanders. Brodziak assisted on two of the goals.
“The first three games we came out slow,” said Brodziak. “We weren’t playing our game. And then we knew we had to win to make it to the semifinals, and we did that. Once we got to the semifinals, I thought we played well, and it was anybody’s game going into overtime.”
The back-to-back wins helped the Pat Canadians finish third in the round-robin, and they faced the Blizzard. The Blizzard led 2-0 with six minutes to play in the second, but Brodziak scored late in the frame and earned a helper on the tying goal 7:16 into the third.
The Pat Canadians took a 3-2 lead 2:42 later, but the Blizzard tied the game with 2:53 to play in regulation, and scored the winner 3:41 into overtime.
Brodziak had the Pat Canadians lone goal in the bronze medal game.
“The loss on Saturday (in the semifinal) hurt us a lot,” said Brodziak. “I feel like that’s why we didn’t come prepared to play on Sunday, because we were still dwelling on our loss from Saturday.”
He expects the tournament will have a big impact on his development as a hockey player.
Brodziak played his developmental hockey in Estevan until this season, when he joined the Pat Canadians. He said he knew this was the team to play for, and he could tell early on they had a team that could win a championship.
“I figured we had a good chance at winning the league, and we did that,” said Brodziak. “Then we won regionals, and that put us at Telus.”
This was his final year of minor hockey eligibility. He’ll be playing junior hockey next year. Brodziak played a couple of games for the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins as a callup this past season, but he’s weighing his options for next season.
