Hitmen head coach praises Pats’ tenacity
The Calgary Hitmen are 2-for-2 in visits to the Saskatchewan capital this season, but the Regina Pats have certainly made them work for it.
That was the case again on Wednesday night when Calgary erased a 2-1 deficit and beat the pesky Pats 4-2 before 3,638 fans at the Brandt Centre.
It was a similar script on Oct. 27 when the Hitmen needed overtime to come back and beat Regina 5-4 in the Prairie Classic outdoor game at Mosaic Stadium.
“I have all kinds of respect for (head coach) Dave (Struch) and his staff and how their team plays,” said Hitmen bench boss Steve Hamilton, whose club improved to 11-6-2-1 while Regina fell to 3-14-2-0.
“You know exactly what’s coming out of the gate when the puck drops (versus the Pats). I would rank them amongst the hardest-working teams we’ve seen, consistently. They’re always so well prepared and are always in the fight. That’s a testament to that group and that leadership.”
Hamilton’s appraisal is consistent with that of a lot of teams.
Although the opposition has walked out of Brandt Centre with two points most times, the Pats are generally a handful despite being outclassed in terms of talent.
Wednesday’s contest was no different.
“We played five-on-five with a pretty good hockey team tonight,” Pats forward Robbie Holmes said. “It has all been one- or two-goal games (lately). It’s getting frustrating but we have to stick with it and hopefully it turns around.”
The difference Wednesday was special teams. Calgary went 2-for3 on the power play and added a back-breaking short-handed goal.
The Pats finished 0-for-5 with the man advantage, succumbing to the pressure applied by Calgary’s penalty killers.
“Our power play got outworked,” Struch said. “That’s where our fault was tonight. Other than that, the penalty kill was really good. Fiveon-five — against a top-end team like this — was again (a positive). I talk about commending our players for sticking with it. It’s a broken record.”
Hitmen captain Mark Kastelic also played a familiar tune, contributing two goals and two assists in a robust first-star effort. Kastelic’s two goals — one on the power play and another while short-handed — came just 61 seconds apart in the second period as the Hitmen turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
The 20-year-old power forward also had two goals in his team’s previous visit to Regina. He scored 47 times last season and currently sits fourth in the WHL with 15 goals despite playing in only 16 games.
“He’s one of my favourite players in this league,” Struch noted. “He plays like a pro. For our guys to play (against him), they have to be ready for him because he’s a gamer — 100 per cent all the time, with and without the puck.
“When you have a leader like that it puts you in a position every night to win hockey games.”
Kastelic also set up goals by Jett Woo and Riley Stotts. Austin Pratt and Ty Kolle replied for Regina, which tested Calgary goalie Jack Mcnaughton 33 times. Regina’s Max Paddock faced 36 shots.
“We got a great effort by Max Paddock; he worked his butt off,” Struch said. “Offensively, we worked (hard). When the momentum changed, we worked hard defensively. (But) we had a hard time scoring goals. We got second, third opportunities and we couldn’t put it away. So we’re going to give Mcnaughton some credit.”
The Pats begin a stretch of seven consecutive road games on Friday in Swift Current. Their next home contest isn’t until Dec. 7 against the Red Deer Rebels.
It’s getting frustrating but we have to stick with it.