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10-23-2008, 10:09 PM
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008
The sun did indeed come up Wednesday morning, but the forecast still called for partly cloudy skies inside the Regina Pats' dressing room.
That much was clear as some gloomy faces arrived at the Brandt Centre for an afternoon practice, with Tuesday's 8-1 fiasco against the Saskatoon Blades still festering like an open wound.
"Yesterday was yesterday, but we're not going to forget about it," promised captain Victor Bartley. "Any time you get stomped 8-1 in your own building it's embarrassing. No Regina Pat should ever go through that. We need to wake up. We know what we have to do. We know how we have to get better: Our penalty kill, our (line) changes, our ways of taking penalties. Overall, our team has to improve. We know that and it starts with the leadership, starting with me."
Count Brett Leffler in, too.
"Us older guys have to take it upon ourselves to lead the way," said the veteran assistant captain. "We can't expect the younger guys to produce and do all the work. They're going to follow our lead and our lead has to be that we're ready to go from the start and we definitely weren't (on Tuesday). It's a learning process. I guess if you're going to have one of those games it's good to get it out of the way early, but there's no excuses for that to happen."
In search of a rare bright spot, Leffler singled out rookie forward Cody Hanson for dropping his gloves twice with veteran enforcer Mike Reich. Although Reich prevailed in both bouts, Hanson made a statement in his own way.
"If everyone showed the heart that Hanson showed out there, we wouldn't have this problem," said Leffler, who believes the Pats need to improve the "detail" in their game as well as the effort. "Unfortunately some guys still have to step up. I don't think everyone is on board yet. Until that happens, it's going to be like this."
The Pats don't have long to lick their wounds before the club's next game, Friday night against the visiting Portland Winter Hawks. After that, the Prince Albert Raiders are in town Sunday.
"Hockey is a great game," noted Pats sniper Jordan Eberle. "You can get killed one day but you get your next chance a couple days later. I think we need to learn from this. We need to change some things around, whether we practise harder or guys stop taking things for granted and start working harder. We just have to learn from this."
Friday's contest is a crucial test for the Pats, who might be tempted under ordinary circumstances to take Portland lightly. The Winter Hawks owned the WHL's worst record in each of the past two campaigns and posted just one victory in their first 11 games this season.
"We have to be focused on a 60-minute game," added Leffler. "We know it's not going to be easy. I think we're going to be pretty hungry on Friday and that's the way we have to play. I think some guys have to get a little dirtier, take pucks to the net and draw some penalties. That's how we're going to be successful. We're not doing that right now."
Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008
The sun did indeed come up Wednesday morning, but the forecast still called for partly cloudy skies inside the Regina Pats' dressing room.
That much was clear as some gloomy faces arrived at the Brandt Centre for an afternoon practice, with Tuesday's 8-1 fiasco against the Saskatoon Blades still festering like an open wound.
"Yesterday was yesterday, but we're not going to forget about it," promised captain Victor Bartley. "Any time you get stomped 8-1 in your own building it's embarrassing. No Regina Pat should ever go through that. We need to wake up. We know what we have to do. We know how we have to get better: Our penalty kill, our (line) changes, our ways of taking penalties. Overall, our team has to improve. We know that and it starts with the leadership, starting with me."
Count Brett Leffler in, too.
"Us older guys have to take it upon ourselves to lead the way," said the veteran assistant captain. "We can't expect the younger guys to produce and do all the work. They're going to follow our lead and our lead has to be that we're ready to go from the start and we definitely weren't (on Tuesday). It's a learning process. I guess if you're going to have one of those games it's good to get it out of the way early, but there's no excuses for that to happen."
In search of a rare bright spot, Leffler singled out rookie forward Cody Hanson for dropping his gloves twice with veteran enforcer Mike Reich. Although Reich prevailed in both bouts, Hanson made a statement in his own way.
"If everyone showed the heart that Hanson showed out there, we wouldn't have this problem," said Leffler, who believes the Pats need to improve the "detail" in their game as well as the effort. "Unfortunately some guys still have to step up. I don't think everyone is on board yet. Until that happens, it's going to be like this."
The Pats don't have long to lick their wounds before the club's next game, Friday night against the visiting Portland Winter Hawks. After that, the Prince Albert Raiders are in town Sunday.
"Hockey is a great game," noted Pats sniper Jordan Eberle. "You can get killed one day but you get your next chance a couple days later. I think we need to learn from this. We need to change some things around, whether we practise harder or guys stop taking things for granted and start working harder. We just have to learn from this."
Friday's contest is a crucial test for the Pats, who might be tempted under ordinary circumstances to take Portland lightly. The Winter Hawks owned the WHL's worst record in each of the past two campaigns and posted just one victory in their first 11 games this season.
"We have to be focused on a 60-minute game," added Leffler. "We know it's not going to be easy. I think we're going to be pretty hungry on Friday and that's the way we have to play. I think some guys have to get a little dirtier, take pucks to the net and draw some penalties. That's how we're going to be successful. We're not doing that right now."