Quote:
Pats not taking it easy
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008
If you figure the Regina Pats have earned a weekend off to savour the view from atop the East Division standings, think again.
Despite having clinched the division pennant -- along with home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs -- head coach Curtis Hunt has no intention of taking his foot off the gas as long as the Pats still have a sniff of first place in the Eastern Conference.
With that in mind, Hunt confirmed that he'll dress his "best lineup" for tonight's regular-season home-ice finale against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
"We have a chance at the conference (title); I don't know if people realize that," said Hunt, noting that the No. 1 seed comes with home-ice advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs. "Our mandate is to play to win every game. We don't want to look beyond (this weekend). That's when you get injures and bad things happen. We'll just take care of business like normal."
Regina has a slim yet conceivable shot at catching the top-ranked Calgary Hitmen, who own a three-point lead with two games left. The Pats would need to win both of their remaining games versus the Wheat Kings -- tonight at the Brandt Centre and Saturday in Brandon -- while hoping that Calgary earns no more than a single point in its final two games against the Kootenay Ice.
Kootenay and the Lethbridge Hurricanes also have a chance to overtake the Hitmen. Kootenay is tied with the Pats while Lethbridge sits one point behind them -- four back of Calgary -- with three games left.
As long as the opening exists, Hunt wants to take a run at it.
"You have to," he said. "If you're going to be in this business and settle for second best, then maybe it's not for you. I wondered if we would have a chance at it (after losing four of six games on a mid-February road trip) but this is what's great about the game. You have to play them all. Hopefully we can take care of our games and get a little help."
The Pats have certainly taken care of their end so far by winning six straight games, capped off with Wednesday's 5-4 decision over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The victory clinched Regina's first pennant in 10 years.
"That was a goal of ours from the start of the year," captain Logan Pyett said after the game. "To come and get it against our rivals in their building makes it all the more special. We're gonna enjoy this right now and then set our sights on Brandon. There are two games left before we go into the postseason so we need to be sharp in those two and keep our confidence up."
Calgary and Kootenay don't conclude their schedules until Sunday night, so the Pats may not know their own fate until then. However, if Regina loses tonight's game, Hunt will have the option of resting some key veterans for the season finale in Brandon.
"That's something we'll probably discuss Friday night after the game when we have a look at how things have fallen into place or may fall into place," added Hunt, who dismissed the suggestion that the pressure is off now that his team has clinched the division. "There's always pressure to win. Our attitude is we want to apply pressure. I think that's when we're at our best as a team. Even if we didn't have a chance (at the conference lead) we have committed people that come to support our club. We owe it to them to put our best out there."
GET YOUR TICKETS: The Pats have confirmed that Games 1 and 2 of their first-round playoff series -- against a yet-to-be-determined opponent -- will be played next Friday and Saturday at the Brandt Centre. Tickets are available at the Brandt Centre box office and through Ticketmaster.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
