NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Victoria Royals forward Teague Patton admires his pass in front of Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Bogdans Hodass in the first period of the Royals 4-3 overtime win Saturday night at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Last Saturday night was a return to the only WHL rink former Medicine Hat Tigers Teague Patton had known before this summer.
The 19-year-old Kelowna product made his return to Medicine Hat and Co-op Place last Saturday when his Victoria Royals beat the Tigers 4-3 in comeback, overtime fashion. Victoria trailed Medicine Hat 3-1 heading into the third period before they tied it up and won it in the extra frame.
Patton had an assist on the tying goal and was happy to get the win against his former club.
“It was huge for the group and huge for myself as well,” Patton said. “It’s going to give us some confidence and I’m just pretty pumped.”
He says it was good to be back in the rink where he started his WHL career and made a lot close friends.
“Getting here with two days (ahead of the game), it was a little weird coming in here, met with Mikki (Lanuk) the trainer and everyone,” Patton said. “It was a weird feeling, bittersweet, but it’s exciting.
“It was a lot of fun, it was a pretty gritty game and it was a blast… I really enjoyed it, had a couple laughs couple, a couple of cross checks given out there it was great.”
Patton played 78 games in orange and black, notching 12 goals and 25 points. He was traded to the Royals on June 7 for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2025 WHL prospects draft.
That Royals and Tigers contest marked the first time a Western Conference team had played in Medicine Hat since the 2019-20 WHL season. Victoria started their Eastern conference road trip on Oct. 26 with a 6-2 loss against the undefeated Red Deer Rebels before they went to Swift Current on Oct. 28 to face the Broncos.
Patton says he was able to meet up with his former billet family while the Royals were in Swift Current. Wearing the blue and white, Patton has had a strong start to his season, putting up four goals and 12 points in 16 games.
“I’m just going out there and playing my hardest every shift, that’s all I want to do,” Patton said. “Just try to play my game and play a good game to try to help other players be better as well.”
That game was also the return of two other former Tigers, forward Caleb Willms and defenceman Luke Rybinski made their returns to Co-op Place with Victoria.
The 20-year-old Willms played 52 games for Medicine Hat with five goals and 15 points. Rybinski suited up for seven games with the Tigers and the 19-year-old had one assist.
Patton says the Royals have a different culture and has enjoyed the different game style of the Western Conference and also playing closer to his hometown.
“I had to get used to it a bit for a couple of games there but I think it suits my game pretty well. I like playing against those teams. I grew up watching those teams,” Patton said. “We’ve had a couple hometown games in Kelowna, Vancouver’s close and Kamloops isn’t too far away. It’s nice to have a family around but I just focus on the game and kind of get to chat with them after a bit. But it’s nice to have them around.”
