nivek_wahs
04-09-2007, 04:03 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=0cf30b0c-45e9-407a-af31-7664f971f7a4
Pats 'need to get better'
The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, April 09, 2007
The Medicine Hat Tigers overcame a slow start and outlasted the Regina Pats 4-1 in the opening game of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal on Saturday night.
Game 2 of the best-of-best series is slated for tonight in Medicine Hat.
"Overall I don't think our effort was good enough to beat a team of that calibre, especially in their rink," offered Pats GM Brent Parker, whose team gave up four unanswered goals after taking a 1-0 lead. "We did some things well. Our penalty kill was good and (goaltender) Linden (Rowat) was very good. We got some good efforts from some people, but we need to be better on Monday."
Regina's task was even tougher in the absence of rookie Jordan Eberle, who scored a team-high 28 goals during the regular season. He was forced to remain at home due to a virus and remains questionable for tonight's rematch.
Eberle was replaced in the lineup by veteran Mike Reich, who saw his first action of the postseason.
"You sit here and think a 16-year-old can't make that much of a difference but obviously he's an important part of our team," noted Parker. "You take a guy like that out of your lineup, it changes your team a little bit. But we believe we've got some depth and some guys who can assume different roles. Until he's feeling better, those guys are going to have to do those things."
Tyler Ennis scored two goals and added one assist for the Tigers, who got one goal apiece from Kevin Undershute and Brennan Bosch in front of 4,006 fans -- the 184th straight sellout at The Arena.
"Regina, they have a good team," Ennis told the Medicine Hat News. "They are like us. They have lots of speed and lots of skill. They battle too, and they battle hard."
Michael MacAngus scored the lone goal for the Pats, snapping the home-ice shutout streak of goaltender Matt Keetley at 187 minutes 46 seconds.
Medicine Hat was coming off a first-round series against the Red Deer Rebels which went the full seven games, wrapping up Tuesday. The Pats had five days off after beating the Swift Current Broncos in six games.
"It's certainly a different pace of game than our last series," noted Parker. "We need to be more physical. If you give them ice to skate, they're going to be difficult to handle. We might not be as quick as they are but we're a pretty good skating team in our own right. So we have to get our feet moving and finish our checks and be physical on them right from the get-go."
MacAngus opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at the 6:06 mark of the first period. It was his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs.
Bosch replied 1:53 into the second period, followed by Ennis's first of the night just 2:35 later.
Undershute made it 3-1 at 5:54 of the third period. Ennis added his second of the night with 1:46 left in regulation.
The Pats held Medicine Hat's vaunted power play to an 0-for-8 effort. Regina went 0-for-3.
"We didn't have a lot of power plays but it is what it is," said Parker. "You can't do anything about it."
The Pats are now putting Game 1 behind them.
"You have to learn from every game as you go along," added Parker. "They're one of the top teams in the country for a reason and we're going to have to do a lot of things well to beat them. We see some areas where we were deficient and some areas where we know we can be better. I think we're a better hockey club than we showed. But they'll be better, I'm sure, too. We have to be willing to pay the price and do the same things to be successful that they did."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Pats 'need to get better'
The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, April 09, 2007
The Medicine Hat Tigers overcame a slow start and outlasted the Regina Pats 4-1 in the opening game of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal on Saturday night.
Game 2 of the best-of-best series is slated for tonight in Medicine Hat.
"Overall I don't think our effort was good enough to beat a team of that calibre, especially in their rink," offered Pats GM Brent Parker, whose team gave up four unanswered goals after taking a 1-0 lead. "We did some things well. Our penalty kill was good and (goaltender) Linden (Rowat) was very good. We got some good efforts from some people, but we need to be better on Monday."
Regina's task was even tougher in the absence of rookie Jordan Eberle, who scored a team-high 28 goals during the regular season. He was forced to remain at home due to a virus and remains questionable for tonight's rematch.
Eberle was replaced in the lineup by veteran Mike Reich, who saw his first action of the postseason.
"You sit here and think a 16-year-old can't make that much of a difference but obviously he's an important part of our team," noted Parker. "You take a guy like that out of your lineup, it changes your team a little bit. But we believe we've got some depth and some guys who can assume different roles. Until he's feeling better, those guys are going to have to do those things."
Tyler Ennis scored two goals and added one assist for the Tigers, who got one goal apiece from Kevin Undershute and Brennan Bosch in front of 4,006 fans -- the 184th straight sellout at The Arena.
"Regina, they have a good team," Ennis told the Medicine Hat News. "They are like us. They have lots of speed and lots of skill. They battle too, and they battle hard."
Michael MacAngus scored the lone goal for the Pats, snapping the home-ice shutout streak of goaltender Matt Keetley at 187 minutes 46 seconds.
Medicine Hat was coming off a first-round series against the Red Deer Rebels which went the full seven games, wrapping up Tuesday. The Pats had five days off after beating the Swift Current Broncos in six games.
"It's certainly a different pace of game than our last series," noted Parker. "We need to be more physical. If you give them ice to skate, they're going to be difficult to handle. We might not be as quick as they are but we're a pretty good skating team in our own right. So we have to get our feet moving and finish our checks and be physical on them right from the get-go."
MacAngus opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at the 6:06 mark of the first period. It was his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs.
Bosch replied 1:53 into the second period, followed by Ennis's first of the night just 2:35 later.
Undershute made it 3-1 at 5:54 of the third period. Ennis added his second of the night with 1:46 left in regulation.
The Pats held Medicine Hat's vaunted power play to an 0-for-8 effort. Regina went 0-for-3.
"We didn't have a lot of power plays but it is what it is," said Parker. "You can't do anything about it."
The Pats are now putting Game 1 behind them.
"You have to learn from every game as you go along," added Parker. "They're one of the top teams in the country for a reason and we're going to have to do a lot of things well to beat them. We see some areas where we were deficient and some areas where we know we can be better. I think we're a better hockey club than we showed. But they'll be better, I'm sure, too. We have to be willing to pay the price and do the same things to be successful that they did."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007