nivek_wahs
03-21-2007, 04:15 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=61fa4bf8-bcad-4004-9869-df9a975e2d9a
Playoff hopes hinge on experience
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
In terms of playoff seasoning, the Regina Pats have added plenty of spice to their lineup.
The WHL club doubled its collective postseason experience this season by acquiring playoff-tested veterans like Troy Ofukany, Kirt Hill, Mike Reich, Michael MacAngus and Justin Scott, each of whom has broken the first-round barrier with previous teams.
The Pats are hoping to benefit from that experience against the Swift Current Broncos, who visit the Brandt Centre on Friday night for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Although Regina hasn't been past the first round since 1998, this year's lineup has a total of 166 postseason games under its belt. The Broncos have just 74.
"It definitely helps a lot," offered Reich, who made it to the second round last season with the Calgary Hitmen -- beating out the Lethbridge Hurricanes before suffering an upset at the hands of the Moose Jaw Warriors. "That part is going to help, not taking any team lightly. I'm not going to be thinking we're going to cake walk over Swift Current. I don't think anyone expected Moose Jaw to beat Calgary last year and they did. There are no favourites in the playoffs. It's a new season for everyone."
With that comes hope for the ultimate goal -- a WHL championship.
Hill and Ofukany are the only members of the Pats who've won a WHL title, doing so in 2004-05 with the Kelowna Rockets. Although Hill, a 16-year-old rookie at the time, only played three games during Kelowna's championship run, he still gained a wealth of experience.
"Most of all I remember how intense the guys were; they became different players in the playoffs," recalled the 18-year-old centre. "I'm hungry to go back to the Memorial Cup. We have a good group of guys in the dressing room and everybody is buying into the system so I think we could definitely get there."
Hill said he has been consciously working himself into playoff mode for the past month. He believes the entire team has the mentality to do whatever it takes to win.
"The biggest thing is guys just accepting their roles," he added. "We can't take shifts off. You have to play like you want your season to continue. Every night is going to be a dog fight. With the group of guys we have right now, we've proven we can be a successful team. To take that into the playoffs, guys just have to come prepared."
That goes for everyone -- from veterans to rookies.
"We can't worry about who has been in the playoffs and who hasn't," noted captain Kyle Deck. "It's just another game. It's the start of another season. We have to take it one game at a time and not look too far into the future."
The Pats don't have to look far into their past to recall what it was like to taste playoff disappointment. Regina was eliminated by the Saskatoon Blades in six games during last year's postseason, a setback that may be beneficial this year.
"We went into Saskatoon and they had 51 shots on us in Game 1," recalled head coach Curtis Hunt. "Even though it was an overtime game (3-2 for Saskatoon), the score certainly didn't reflect the difference in intensity level that they had versus what we had. That was a big lesson. We've talked about that (in preparation for the Broncos) We have a tremendous amount of respect for our opponent. We're excited to take our game (to the next level) and see what happens."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Playoff hopes hinge on experience
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
In terms of playoff seasoning, the Regina Pats have added plenty of spice to their lineup.
The WHL club doubled its collective postseason experience this season by acquiring playoff-tested veterans like Troy Ofukany, Kirt Hill, Mike Reich, Michael MacAngus and Justin Scott, each of whom has broken the first-round barrier with previous teams.
The Pats are hoping to benefit from that experience against the Swift Current Broncos, who visit the Brandt Centre on Friday night for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Although Regina hasn't been past the first round since 1998, this year's lineup has a total of 166 postseason games under its belt. The Broncos have just 74.
"It definitely helps a lot," offered Reich, who made it to the second round last season with the Calgary Hitmen -- beating out the Lethbridge Hurricanes before suffering an upset at the hands of the Moose Jaw Warriors. "That part is going to help, not taking any team lightly. I'm not going to be thinking we're going to cake walk over Swift Current. I don't think anyone expected Moose Jaw to beat Calgary last year and they did. There are no favourites in the playoffs. It's a new season for everyone."
With that comes hope for the ultimate goal -- a WHL championship.
Hill and Ofukany are the only members of the Pats who've won a WHL title, doing so in 2004-05 with the Kelowna Rockets. Although Hill, a 16-year-old rookie at the time, only played three games during Kelowna's championship run, he still gained a wealth of experience.
"Most of all I remember how intense the guys were; they became different players in the playoffs," recalled the 18-year-old centre. "I'm hungry to go back to the Memorial Cup. We have a good group of guys in the dressing room and everybody is buying into the system so I think we could definitely get there."
Hill said he has been consciously working himself into playoff mode for the past month. He believes the entire team has the mentality to do whatever it takes to win.
"The biggest thing is guys just accepting their roles," he added. "We can't take shifts off. You have to play like you want your season to continue. Every night is going to be a dog fight. With the group of guys we have right now, we've proven we can be a successful team. To take that into the playoffs, guys just have to come prepared."
That goes for everyone -- from veterans to rookies.
"We can't worry about who has been in the playoffs and who hasn't," noted captain Kyle Deck. "It's just another game. It's the start of another season. We have to take it one game at a time and not look too far into the future."
The Pats don't have to look far into their past to recall what it was like to taste playoff disappointment. Regina was eliminated by the Saskatoon Blades in six games during last year's postseason, a setback that may be beneficial this year.
"We went into Saskatoon and they had 51 shots on us in Game 1," recalled head coach Curtis Hunt. "Even though it was an overtime game (3-2 for Saskatoon), the score certainly didn't reflect the difference in intensity level that they had versus what we had. That was a big lesson. We've talked about that (in preparation for the Broncos) We have a tremendous amount of respect for our opponent. We're excited to take our game (to the next level) and see what happens."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007