nivek_wahs
03-10-2008, 12:50 PM
Pats one victory away from pennant (http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=d99eb60d-29fe-4223-a12a-64a274c40e61)
Pats one victory away from pennant
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Win and you're in. It's that simple for the Regina Pats, who can clinch their first East Division pennant in 10 years with a victory on Wednesday night over the host Moose Jaw Warriors.
Regina earned the opportunity by running the table on a five-game homestand which concluded on Saturday night with a businesslike 4-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in front of 5,326 WHL patrons at the Brandt Centre.
"After every game, everybody says, 'One game closer to the pennant,' " offered Pats left-winger Michael MacAngus, who led the charge with a goal and two assists. "We want to get first place. It hasn't happened here for quite some time. It's real important to everybody."
The Pats have been clinging to top spot in the East Division for almost the entire season, but their grip has loosened on a few occasions. They nearly lost it altogether by dropping four of six games on a mid-February road trip before regrouping with five straight wins at the Brandt Centre.
As a result, Regina needs just one victory in its final three regular-season games to wrap up first place -- and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
"Ever since the start of the season, one of our goals was to bring a banner to the roof," said Pats sniper Jordan Eberle, who potted the game's first two goals on Saturday night.
"Now that we can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel, it brings motivation and excitement to the whole team. You can't always be perfect, but we just want to come out every game and play our best. The last five games, five wins, that's pretty close to perfect."
The Pats weren't flawless on Saturday night, but they were methodical in achieving their objective. Regina set the tone against the pesky Raiders, who didn't go down without a fight although they bowed out of the playoff race several weeks ago.
"Regina is obviously a team on a little bit of a mission," noted Prince Albert head coach/GM Bruno Campese. "They want to clinch first place and they came out in the first (part) of that game and they were very determined. I was proud of the way we hung in there. Even though we're not playing for playoff positioning, guys are still having a lot of pride in what they're doing. If we would have buried some of our chances early on ... it could have been a little bit different story."
Pats No. 1 centre Tim Kraus was forced to sit out due to illness, but linemates Eberle and MacAngus picked up the slack with a dominant performance that wasn't completely reflected on the scoresheet. If not for Raiders goalie Dustin Butler, the deficit could have been much worse.
"I thought they worked their tails off," said Pats head coach Curtis Hunt. "Those guys have to be our best players and certainly they were tonight."
Eberle and MacAngus did all their damage in the first period, pacing Regina to a 3-1 lead. Kirt Hill added the only goal of the second frame on a setup from J.D. Watt, who finished with two assists. Matt Robertson notched a first-period goal for the Raiders and ex-Pat Justin Bernhardt rounded out the scoring in the final frame.
Pats goalie Linden Rowat was rock-solid for the third straight game, making 31 saves. Butler stopped 25.
"We should be a confident group heading into Moose Jaw," added Hunt, whose team improved to 42-21-4-2. "It's exciting to come to the rink. It's exciting to follow the other teams and see where you're at. The greatest thing about it is we've maintained that position in the driver's seat. We're in control of our own fate. Let's take advantage of that."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
Pats one victory away from pennant
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Win and you're in. It's that simple for the Regina Pats, who can clinch their first East Division pennant in 10 years with a victory on Wednesday night over the host Moose Jaw Warriors.
Regina earned the opportunity by running the table on a five-game homestand which concluded on Saturday night with a businesslike 4-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in front of 5,326 WHL patrons at the Brandt Centre.
"After every game, everybody says, 'One game closer to the pennant,' " offered Pats left-winger Michael MacAngus, who led the charge with a goal and two assists. "We want to get first place. It hasn't happened here for quite some time. It's real important to everybody."
The Pats have been clinging to top spot in the East Division for almost the entire season, but their grip has loosened on a few occasions. They nearly lost it altogether by dropping four of six games on a mid-February road trip before regrouping with five straight wins at the Brandt Centre.
As a result, Regina needs just one victory in its final three regular-season games to wrap up first place -- and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
"Ever since the start of the season, one of our goals was to bring a banner to the roof," said Pats sniper Jordan Eberle, who potted the game's first two goals on Saturday night.
"Now that we can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel, it brings motivation and excitement to the whole team. You can't always be perfect, but we just want to come out every game and play our best. The last five games, five wins, that's pretty close to perfect."
The Pats weren't flawless on Saturday night, but they were methodical in achieving their objective. Regina set the tone against the pesky Raiders, who didn't go down without a fight although they bowed out of the playoff race several weeks ago.
"Regina is obviously a team on a little bit of a mission," noted Prince Albert head coach/GM Bruno Campese. "They want to clinch first place and they came out in the first (part) of that game and they were very determined. I was proud of the way we hung in there. Even though we're not playing for playoff positioning, guys are still having a lot of pride in what they're doing. If we would have buried some of our chances early on ... it could have been a little bit different story."
Pats No. 1 centre Tim Kraus was forced to sit out due to illness, but linemates Eberle and MacAngus picked up the slack with a dominant performance that wasn't completely reflected on the scoresheet. If not for Raiders goalie Dustin Butler, the deficit could have been much worse.
"I thought they worked their tails off," said Pats head coach Curtis Hunt. "Those guys have to be our best players and certainly they were tonight."
Eberle and MacAngus did all their damage in the first period, pacing Regina to a 3-1 lead. Kirt Hill added the only goal of the second frame on a setup from J.D. Watt, who finished with two assists. Matt Robertson notched a first-period goal for the Raiders and ex-Pat Justin Bernhardt rounded out the scoring in the final frame.
Pats goalie Linden Rowat was rock-solid for the third straight game, making 31 saves. Butler stopped 25.
"We should be a confident group heading into Moose Jaw," added Hunt, whose team improved to 42-21-4-2. "It's exciting to come to the rink. It's exciting to follow the other teams and see where you're at. The greatest thing about it is we've maintained that position in the driver's seat. We're in control of our own fate. Let's take advantage of that."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008