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nivek_wahs
03-18-2008, 10:34 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=fe4497df-9600-4dda-a0a0-6dd2f928c2f0


Rowat rolling right along at right time

Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Take the day off, you've earned it.

Goaltender Linden Rowat watched a game from the bench for the first time in a month on Saturday, when the Regina Pats closed out the regular season with a 3-2 loss to the host Brandon Wheat Kings.

Not only did it give backup Jeff Bosch some valuable minutes before the playoffs, it also rewarded Rowat for his stellar play of late.

"We get fried chicken on the way to the game and if I'm playing I don't eat it so I finally got to have some," Rowat said with a laugh as the Pats returned to practice Monday in anticipation of their first-round playoff series against the Swift Current Broncos. "It was good to have a night off. Boschy played a great game. He kept us in there. It was nice to sit back, relax and watch the game. I haven't done that in a little while."

No kidding.

Rowat had started each of Regina's previous 12 games and concluded the regular season with seven straight wins. He allowed just nine goals over the final five contests, playing some of his best hockey of the campaign.

"It's the best time right before the playoffs to get into a groove," noted Rowat, 18, a fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL entry draft. "We have a week off (before the playoffs start Friday) so I have to make sure I'm working hard and staying in my groove instead of getting too high on myself. I have to keep an even keel and do the same things I've been doing before games with my mental preparation so I go into the playoffs in top form."

Rowat finished third in the WHL with 33 wins this season, posting an overall record of 33-15-4-2. He also had a 2.68 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts.

That's an improvement over last season, his first as a starter, when he went 25-18-1-6 with a 2.87 GAA, an .897 save percentage and four shutouts. Rowat was particularly strong in last year's playoffs when he backstopped the Pats to a first-round win over Swift Current.

"It helps the confidence," he said. "We know what happened last year so they're going to want revenge. It's going to be a great battle. I'm glad we have home-ice advantage. They were up on us in the season series (winning four of six meetings), so that's going to be on their minds, thinking they're better than us. It's a whole new season. We were a whole new team after the trade deadline. We showed what we can do."

So has Rowat, who bounced back nicely after a rough patch in mid-February.

"It seemed like even when I was playing bad they kept starting me just to see if I could get out of my little bad groove I had there," he said. "It was great to keep playing, get lots of icetime, see lots of pucks. I got back in my groove. We got a few wins in a row and it just felt good. I thank the coaches for giving me that opportunity."

Rowat said the key to turning things around was to refocus and refine his mental game. Through repetition and going back to basics, he found what had been missing.

"We wanted to get Rosie on a run, get him playing a lot of games, get him back in the fire night after night, success or failure," explained head coach Curtis Hunt. "It turned out he had some great success. Based on how he has played up to this point -- and based on his performance a year ago -- obviously he's feeling very good about his game. Confidence is doing things right, nothing more really. He has that (playoff) experience and he has played very well for the last month-and-a-half. There's no better time."




© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008