Pats poised for rivals

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=02fbea85-a9da-4bd4-97a3-a0e6636cbf0c&k=21079


Pats poised for rivals

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, January 26, 2007

The Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors don't usually require formal introductions, but this time it's different.

Each club has undergone a major shakeup since their last meeting on Nov. 11, thus adding an extra dose of intrigue to an already combustible scenario. The fireworks begin tonight, 7 o'clock, at the Brandt Centre.

"There are new guys on each team who haven't been in (the rivalry) yet," said Pats captain Kyle Deck. "We'll let them know how it's going to be but I'm sure by the first shift they'll already know."

The Pats-Warriors feud hasn't exactly sizzled of late, but there remains an element of unpredictability every time the teams get together. Volatile tendencies are even more likely to emerge when they clash in a home-and-home series, which is the case this weekend.

The teams also meet Saturday night at the Civic Centre.

"I've definitely heard big things," offered enforcer Myles Stoesz, one of the Pats' newest additions. "I've heard that it's pretty crazy when you go into Moose Jaw. Those fans get pretty nuts. I'm looking forward to it."

If things do get interesting this weekend, the Pats feel they're prepared for almost anything. With the addition of some size and grit in the form of Stoesz, Michael MacAngus and Troy Ofukany, Regina is better equipped to deal with the rough stuff than it has been in the past.

"With the rules, it has kind of taken away from that kind of game, but you never know what's going to happen," said Deck. "We're not going to go looking for anything but it's a rivalry and it's going to be (intense) no matter what. It's always exciting for the fans. Hopefully it's a sold-out barn (tonight). That'll make it that much better."

The Pats' lineup includes five forwards who weren't part of the equation the last time the teams met: Stoesz, MacAngus, Ofukany, Kirt Hill and Kaspars Saulietis. Moose Jaw's new additions include forwards Brady Calla, Jordan Knackstedt and Jason Reese and blueliners Michael Hengen and Cody Thoring.

Stoesz last encountered the Warriors on Jan. 2 when he was still playing for the Chilliwack Bruins. MacAngus saw them on Dec. 13 as a member of the Saskatoon Blades.

"I haven't been part of this rivalry between Regina and Moose Jaw," said MacAngus. "I've heard that it's fairly rough and that's where they get most of their fights and sometimes line brawls. I live with Levi (Lind) and we kind of talked about it over dinner, how (Saskatoon) had a rivalry with P.A. and they had it here (with Moose Jaw). We were kind of comparing but obviously I have to go out there and experience it for myself."

The same goes for Stoesz, who is already becoming a fan favourite at the Brandt Centre. If history holds true, he can expect the opposite welcome at the Civic Centre.

"I feed off that stuff," Stoesz said with a smile. "It's like in Tri-Cities. They hated me too (when he played for Spokane) but when I came back there this year with Chilliwack they chant my name and they chanted, 'One more fight!' They would love to have me on their team, I'm sure, but they hated me when I played against them."

The Pats are hoping to create some ill will of their own this weekend -- with a sweep of the Warriors. Regina is within striking distance of both the third-place Prince Albert Raiders and the second-place Swift Current Broncos.

"This is the urgency time of year," said head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team is two wins shy of the .500 mark. "(Moose Jaw's record) reflects the bottom of the standings yet they've played extremely well (of late). Our division is extremely close. We're all jostling for position. I expect these (games) to show a lot of different dimensions."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=fe0fc726-b96a-486e-a494-ca09bc25e2ec


Pats moving forward following incident

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, January 26, 2007
Curtis Hunt's lineup for tonight's clash with the Moose Jaw Warriors will remain a mystery until game time.

His philosophy on discipline will not.

The Regina Pats' head coach has publicly acknowledged that "internal issues" led to three of his regulars being left at home for Wednesday's 7-2 win over the host Swift Current Broncos.

It was reported in Thursday's Leader-Post that Mike Reich, Jared Jagow and Kirt Hill were punished for their off-ice conduct while attending Monday's Snoop Dogg/Ice Cube concert at the Brandt Centre. Josh Elder is also facing discipline for the incident, but he wouldn't have dressed in Wednesday's game anyway because he was already injured.

All four players are 18-year-old forwards.

Reich, Jagow and Hill are available for tonight's game at the Brandt Centre, assuming Hunt chooses to use them. Their continued absence would leave the team one player short of a full lineup for a key divisional contest.

"We're going to sit down and assess where we're at as a coaching staff and make that decision," explained Hunt, who remained guarded on the subject -- but did say the players' indiscretions are now a dead issue. "It's over. We're moving forward. We're talking about today's business, which is preparing for the Moose Jaw Warriors."

The Pats are indeed trying to put the incident behind them, but that's not to say it wasn't treated seriously. The issue was addressed again behind closed doors on Thursday -- by the coaches, the guilty party and the team as a whole.

"There are consequences for actions," added the head coach. "When you're part of a group, you need to be accountable. Our players were accountable, they've taken responsibility and we've had a reconciliation. Now it's onward and upward."

- - -

SCOUTING REPORT

MOOSE JAW (17-26-3-0)

at REGINA (21-23-1-3)

Today, 7 p.m., Brandt Centre

Radio: 620 CKRM

Key injuries: REGINA -- LW Josh Elder (wrist, indefinite), RW Niko Snellman (shoulder, week-to-week); MOOSE JAW -- None to report.

Overview: The Pats and Warriors have held just two of their nine scheduled meetings so far this season. Moose Jaw posted a 5-3 home-ice win on Oct. 15 while Regina followed up with a 5-2 decision on Nov. 11 at the Brandt Centre . . . Since then, Moose Jaw has traded away five regulars: LW Kenndal McArdle, RW Carter Smith, C Brennen Wray, LW Andre Herman and D Jesse Zetariuk . . . Regina native Riley Holzapfel has taken over for McArdle as the Warriors' go-to guy. He is their runaway scoring leader with 28 goals and 52 points in 46 games . . . G Joey Perricone (3.33 GAA, .894 SP) is a potential game-stealer for Moose Jaw. Regina counters with the improving Linden Rowat (3.10 GAA, .885 SP) . . . Don't let their records fool you; both teams are on a roll of late. The Pats are 7-3 in the New Year. The Warriors are 6-3-1 in their last 10. Each side has won two in a row . . . Both teams have played well at home this season and struggled on the road. Moose Jaw is 5-17-2-0 in away games and 12-9-1-0 at the Civic Centre. Regina is 13-6-1-2 at the Brandt Centre and 8-17-0-1 in away games.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

[Bran]

I'm excited for tonight! Hopefully they sell out and we'll get to see a great game. For a good laugh, check out Rod's blog (www.rodpedersen.com)...he's got some great Pats/Warriors stories on there. I have hope for this weekend, there are a few good local boys on both teams who would likely remember some of these guys from the past. Maybe they should all read Rod's blog to refresh their memories and remind them why they hate eachother! Good luck tonight, boys!

[Bran]

I just took a look at Ticketmaster...looks like the game will probably be sold out tonight. They only have single seats left in the stands and if you want 2 or more tickets, best available is standing room. I'm guessing that those will pretty much be gone by tonight.

[Dwight Schrute]

It was reported in Thursday's Leader-Post that Mike Reich, Jared Jagow and Kirt Hill were punished for their off-ice conduct while attending Monday's Snoop Dogg/Ice Cube concert at the Brandt Centre. Josh Elder is also facing discipline for the incident, but he wouldn't have dressed in Wednesday's game anyway because he was already injured.

All four players are 18-year-old forwards.

hmm could it just be simply breaking curfew ?

[Fight Guy]

All four players are 18-year-old forwards.

hmm could it just be simply breaking curfew ?Im thinking that maybe they were drinking. All 18...all cant drink.

As for the weekend...I'm hoping for a good ole blood bath :burningma ...but Im not gonna count on it. Rough would be nice htough.:)

[Dwight Schrute]

Im thinking that maybe they were drinking. All 18...all cant drink.
or maybe they were taking part in one of snoops favorite pastimes :laugh:

[Fight Guy]

or maybe they were taking part in one of snoops favorite pastimes :laugh:That also crossed my mind...lol.

[raider guy]

if it is smoking marijuana or any other drug, it could be bad for these guys because there bringing in drug testing now, what were they thinking, once again only speculation, but it was a snoop dogg concert

[Andy Rooney]

is way off the mark. Mostly pretty harmless stuff. Just coaches and Mgmt making them be accountable and good citizens. Move on.....

[Bran]

Was a good game, for the most part. They kinda let off the gas a bit in the third, but meh. Someone in section 118 loves Pyett after his 3rd goal made the guy some money off a Warrior fan! 5 seconds left and he scores. And what's this?? Deck and Stoesz again?? That's 2 in 2 games for Kyle and 3 in 2 games for Myles...Interesting! Who knew Stoesz could score like that? Hopefully they can keep it up! Good luck in MJ tonight! For those of you making the trip, have fun and cheer twice as much for me!

[Fight Guy]

Was a good game, for the most part. They kinda let off the gas a bit in the third, but meh. Someone in section 118 loves Pyett after his 3rd goal made the guy some money off a Warrior fan! 5 seconds left and he scores. And what's this?? Deck and Stoesz again?? That's 2 in 2 games for Kyle and 3 in 2 games for Myles...Interesting! Who knew Stoesz could score like that? Hopefully they can keep it up! Good luck in MJ tonight! For those of you making the trip, have fun and cheer twice as much for me!STOESZ 4 CAPTAIN!!! Haha...good to see he is making a great impact. He has turned out to be much more of a player than I first thought. Haha...and the MJ guy who lost $20...that was great! Good for Pyett. Showed some of his puck hogging skills a bit, but it sure did the trick. :) His second goal was quit impressive end to end. It unfortunet the game ended up being a lot closer in the end than it could have been, but we still got alot of pucks in the net and another win! And MJ's first two goals were VERY nice. Hope the Pats can do it again tonight. I will probably find out tomorrow.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Very important game tonight. We can jump into second if we win this game(of course swift will also be second). Great game last night for the most part. Impressed by most of the players, though rowat let some softies in the 2nd half of the game. The first period was amazing, second was great too, third....not so much. It is finally good to see this teams hard work pay off.

I was surprised Stoez didnt take part in the fights, too bad, I would have like to see him knock that grantham kid out.

We cant let this win go to our head, and come out too comfortable. We just need to keep it going for tonight.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=b009daaa-0f36-4d2d-94db-78dfd1a89120&k=96008


Pats dressed for success in battle with Warriors

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007

The Regina Pats showed up dressed for battle on Friday night -- then they proceeded to win the war.

Defenceman Logan Pyett notched his first career hat trick, leading the Pats to a convincing 6-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors before a standing-room only crowd of 6,190 at the Brandt Centre.

The rematch goes tonight at the Civic Centre, with Regina looking to win its fourth in a row and climb back to the .500 mark for the first time in over two months. If it happens to come at the expense of the Warriors, so much the better.

"I like to stick it to Moose Jaw a bit, they are our rivals," offered Pyett, whose team donned special camouflage jerseys in support of the Canadian troops. "It was nice to be able to contribute (to a big win). It's a little unexpected, but (the puck) went in tonight and I'll take it."

Pyett's big night included one for the highlight reel -- a spectacular end-to-end rush which ended with him splitting the defence and wiring a shot inside the post on goaltender Kurt Jory.

That goal made it 4-0 midway through the second period, chasing Jory from the net. The Warriors, meanwhile, continued to have trouble matching the home team's physical intensity.

"The game offered a lot of intensity early," noted Pats head coach Curtis Hunt. "We wanted to be physical. We have a club that can. That being said we took ourselves out of position trying to be physical at times as well. You have to be smart. We want to be a team that's aggressive, we want to get in on the forecheck and we want to take the body."

Kyle Ross, Myles Stoesz and Kyle Deck also scored for the Pats, who led by as much as 5-0.

"We knew we had to come out strong," added Pyett. "We wanted to get an early jump on them and it's a good thing we did because we kind of let up a little bit at the end."

The Warriors looked like they might make it interesting when Riley Holzapfel and Keith Voytechek (short-handed) scored just 2:23 apart late in the middle frame. But Pyett completed his hat trick with five seconds remaining in the second period to suck the life out of the visitors.

Jason Reese and Matt Isbister added third-period goals for the Warriors, who sit last in the East Division (17-27-3-0) and 11 points behind Regina. Linden Rowat made 32 saves for the Pats (22-23-1-3), who went 4-for-10 on the power play.

Jory and Joey Perricone combined to stop 23 shots for Moose Jaw, which finished 1-for-5 on the power play.

"The power play situation for them wore us down and I thought we just didn't have that extra effort in their zone," said Warriors head coach Steve Young. "They were allowed to come (hard) into our zone pretty easy tonight and we fell behind. In the third we finally did the things we had to do, but that's late in the game. I'm disappointed we didn't execute the things we had planned to."

The Pats, meanwhile, believe they'll need a better 60-minute effort tonight at the Crushed Can.

"It's important that our guys understand that we're going to have to be better in that building," added Hunt. "It's a hostile environment and they're a team that comes in their own rink. We have to be ready to match that intensity but moreso we just have to play a smarter hockey game."

EXTRAS: The Pats are auctioning off the camouflage jerseys, with proceeds going to the Military Police Blind Children's Fund . . . . Pats forwards Mike Reich and Kirt Hill returned to the lineup after missing one game for disciplinary reasons. F Jared Jagow and D Spencer Fraipont were healthy scratches . . . The game featured two memorable scraps, the first of which saw Regina's Troy Ofukany pound out a close decision over Ryan Stanton just 57 seconds into the game. In the second period, Moose Jaw's Ryley Grantham scored the win over Brett Leffler . . . The Pats introduced the members of their alumni team, in full gear, during the first intermission. The Trans-Canada Clash between the Pats and Warriors alumni teams is slated for today (2 p.m.) at the Civic Centre.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007