Pats ready to resume rivalry
Regina keen to settle score after last year’s season-ending loss to Red Deer
Make no mistake, the Regina Pats haven’t forgotten their last encounter with the Red Deer Rebels.
Although more than five months have passed since Red Deer ended the Pats’ season by a razor-thin margin, the wounds from that second-round WHL playoff clash didn’t exactly heal with time. If anything, they festered. Regina’s 2-1 loss in Game 7 wasn’t just a tough pill to swallow, it evolved into a source of motivation for the players over a long hot summer. It’s also expected to add some fuel to the fire when they renew acquaintances with Red Deer on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.) at the Brandt Centre.
“When a team knocks you out of the playoffs, you always have a little bit of hate for them,” admitted Pats centre Luc Smith. “It was a tough loss for us in Game 7 but, at the same time, it’s a new year. I think we’re going to come with a little bit of an edge.”
The Rebels have lost a huge chunk of the team that played host to last season’s Memorial Cup, saying goodbye to star players like Haydn Fleury, Jake DeBrusk, Ivan Nikolishin, Luke Philp and Adam Helewka — to name a few.
Although some of the Pats’ faces have changed as well, their roster is still dominated by players who had a front-row seat for Red Deer’s Game 7 celebration.
Those memories are still available on instant replay.
“Nobody totally forgets about what happened last year,” said Pats forward Rykr Cole, who’s looking forward to Sunday’s rematch. “We need to go out there and push them to the limit and show them we’re a different team this year.”
Although the WHL’s new pecking order is still very much undetermined, the Pats (1-0-1) believe their roster is superior to the one that came within an eyelash of upsetting Red Deer.
Sunday’s rematch with the Rebels (0-0-1-1) won’t make or break that argument, but it’s not a bad place to start.
“It’s kind of a little rivalry so it’ll be exciting,” said Pats defenceman James Hilsendager. “They’re going to come hard. We have to play our best every night because every team is going to be giving us their best.”
As the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup, Red Deer was one of the league’s top dogs last season. The Pats — despite a promising young lineup — were clear underdogs when they knocked off the Central Division-champion Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs, then proceeded to take Red Deer to the limit.
After sneaking past Regina, the Rebels advanced to the Eastern Conference final against the Brandon Wheat Kings, who dispatched Red Deer in five games en route to winning the league title.
“I really would have liked to move on and take a run at Brandon just to see what could happen,” noted Smith. “But this year is looking promising for us.”
The Rebels and Wheat Kings met again in the Memorial Cup, joined by the OHL’s London Knights and QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. London eventually claimed the title while the Pats sat back and lamented their loss to the Rebels, who posted a 2-2 record in the tournament and were knocked out in the semifinals.
“I was just sitting there and thinking, ‘Wow, these guys are playing with the top teams in Canada right now and we were only one goal off,’ ” added Cole. “That’s a big boost to us but this year is a lot different. I think we have a better team (than last season).” Note: Details from Friday’s game between the Pats and Edmonton Oil Kings can be found on leaderpost.com.