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nivek_wahs
02-06-2007, 05:01 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=0ff67416-d572-4f2a-927b-254ecbfdf378


Pats' play has them aiming for first

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, February 06, 2007

The Regina Pats are feeling so ambitious, it's almost as if they could climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

Or maybe just the East Division standings.

Although catching the first-place Brandon Wheat Kings remains a distant dream, the Pats' recent hot streak has them believing a 12-point deficit isn't as insurmountable as it seemed a few weeks ago.

"(First place) has not been ruled out for us," insisted defenceman Craig Schira, whose team meets the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight at the Civic Centre. "There's still 20 games left. We have (two) games in hand and we've been playing great. We play them four more times before the end of the season. Those are going to be huge games for us. We're just going to try to get every win we can and try to catch them in the end."

The Pats have been talking about first place since the beginning of the season, but it wasn't until recently that they started backing it up.

The team's optimism is based upon a recent surge in the standings -- from fourth place to second -- thanks to a record of 10-3-0-1 in the new year.

The only problem with Regina's first-place theory is the fact that Brandon has shown no signs of fading. While the Pats are unbeaten in their last six (5-0-0-1), the Wheat Kings are on a similar streak of 3-0-0-1. Both squads are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 outings.

In order to catch Brandon, the Pats would need to improve on their current pace -- going 15-5 over the final 20 games -- and hope Brandon slips back to .500 (9-9) over its final 18 contests. That would leave the teams deadlocked at 83 points apiece.

If Regina can find a way to close the gap to four points or less, first place could be decided on the final weekend of the regular season, when the Pats and Wheat Kings conclude their schedules with a home-and-home clash.

"Our situation is in our hands," head coach Curtis Hunt said after Saturday's 1-0 win over the Swift Current Broncos. "(Brandon) is a very good hockey club, but don't write us off."

Don't write anyone off, for that matter.

Despite being the hottest team in the East Division, Regina is still just one slump away from dropping all the way back to fourth place -- perhaps even further.

Swift Current and the Prince Albert Raiders are just two points behind the second-place Pats.

"We're definitely looking at the standings and thinking about how close those guys are to us, but we just have to stick to our game and do what we know how to do," added Schira. "Every night we have to worry about ourselves. If there's another game going on, we're not going to worry about that until after (taking care of their own business). We're going to worry about our game and keep doing what we're doing."

The Broncos and Raiders aren't Regina's only concern. The Saskatoon Blades and Warriors also remain within striking distance, trailing the Pats by just 10 and 12 points respectively.

After tonight's game at the Civic Centre, Regina plays host to the Blades on Wednesday.

"We're facing two teams that are still in the hunt for the final playoff spot," noted Pats centre Garrett Festerling. "Every game is a playoff game from here on out. If we don't bring our best (against every team), we won't get what we want."

And that's first place.

"There's no looking back (in the standings), just looking forward," offered newcomer Myles Stoesz. "We took P.A., we took Swift Current, now we're looking at taking Brandon. It's definitely realistic. We have four games in the next (six) nights. If we win them all, we should be in good shape. One of them is against Brandon (on Sunday) so that'll be a pretty good game."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

Some_Arrogant_Jerk
02-06-2007, 07:16 PM
According to the WHL.ca game summary, Rowat isnt dressed for the game VS the warriors tonight. Instead, Bosch is backing Tartaglione.

Did they give Rowat the healthy scratch, or is Rowat injured?

Fight Guy
02-06-2007, 07:33 PM
Yeah, I just noticed this as well. I don't know what the deal is. Very interesting.

Some_Arrogant_Jerk
02-06-2007, 08:01 PM
apparently is out with a back injury(dont know how long). He got it from "Gym class" according to Peedy.


:skeptical

patsfan33
02-07-2007, 12:31 AM
Rowsie's sittin out Wednesday's game as well...may actually not be back until Sunday, which means more Tartaglione in net

...and S'toon just beat the Wheaties in the Keystone

can i be scared...cuz i ain't gonna lie...i'm kinda scared

Dear Hockey Gods,
please allow our boys to sacrifice their bodies for shot blocking purposes without any serious injuries ...and no scrambles in front of out net...please no scrambles ...k thanks bye!