A Cinderella run was not in the script for Dryden Hunt and the Regina Pats as they were ousted from the Western Hockey League post season on Friday night.
The Moose Jaw Warriors took out the Pats with a 5-2 victory at Moose Jaw’s Mosaic Place to clinch the series 4-1. The Pats won the first game of the series 3-2, but then went onto lose four straight including a heartbreaking double-overtime outcome in Game 4.
Hunt, a 16-year-old rookie, finished the regular season with five goals and five assists. The Nelson Minor Hockey grad appeared in 62 of the Pats’ 72 regular season games. He played in four of the five playoff games, but did not register a point.
The Warriors now move onto the Eastern Conference semi-finals where they will meet the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Two other Nelson connections are still alive in the WHL post season hunt. Former Nelson Junior Leafs forward Dylan Walchuk and the Spokane Chiefs lead their series 3-2 over the Vancouver Giants. Game six of that series is scheduled for tonight in Spokane.
Nelson Minor Hockey graduate Jim Hiller is behind the bench of the Tri City Americans who scored a 4-0 series sweep over the Everett Silvertips. They now await the winner of the Spokane series.