Pats hoping to end losing streak on home ice
This weekend could be a win-win situation for the Regina Pats, but it’s mostly about getting the first one.
The WHL club will look to put a home-ice ‘W’ on the board Saturday night when the Moose Jaw Warriors visit Regina, followed by a meeting on Sunday afternoon with the Everett Silvertips.
The Pats have yet to taste victory at the Brandt Centre this season, compiling an 0-5-0 record. Their current homestand presents an opportunity to end that streak before it takes on a life of its own.
“We have to get the first one out of the way and then we can build off it,” said alternate captain Nick Henry. “If we show up and play hard every night, we’re going to have a chance. You can’t really do much else.”
Despite losing all five home games to date, the Pats (3-7-0 overall) have won two straight away from the Brandt Centre and sport a road record of 3-2-0. It’s one of those anomalies that can leave a team scratching its head.
“I don’t really know how to explain that one,” said Henry. “We have to sometimes dumb our game down a little bit (at home) and just go for it. When we do things right and we get into their zone and get a cycle game going, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”
The Pats hope to prove it this weekend after being outscored 24-9 in their first five home games of the season.
It all began on Sept. 22 with a 3-1 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders, followed by an 8-4 rout at the hands of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Regina then dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Moose Jaw before suffering another lopsided defeat — 7-3 to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The latest setback came Wednesday night in a 4-0 loss to the Spokane Chiefs.
“We’ve played some good teams here at home,” noted goalie Max Paddock, whose was named the third star in Wednesday’s defeat. “We just have to bear down and work as hard as we can in practice and try to bring our A game on Saturday.”
Although the results may not show it, the Pats believe they’ve done some good things on home ice this season. It just hasn’t happened on a consistent enough basis.
“There were some games we could have won,” Henry said. “We just have to stick to the process, stick to what our coaches preach every single day, and it’s going to come one way or another. It might be a greasy one but we’ll take them as you get them.”
The Pats are slated to play eight of their next nine games on home ice, so conventional wisdom suggests it’ll be an opportunity to make some hay. That stretch is followed by the team’s longest road trip of the season — a six-game jaunt through B.C.
“You want to win as much as you can at home before you go on the road,” said Paddock. “We’ve got our West Coast trip coming up right away. It would be nice to get a few wins at home to build off that.” It all starts with the first one. “We need to get it; there’s no question about it,” said head coach Dave Struch. “A lot of it is going to be individual focus. For the most part we have done a good job as a group. The players deserve a lot of credit (for staying positive), especially when you look at our record. The attitude and energy when we come to the rink is important. We need our guys to continue to do that, especially on this homestand.”