Wins a thrill for Reekie

from reginapats.com via The Leader-Post

Wins a thrill for Reekie

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Regina Pats goaltender David Reekie is dedicating his latest accolade to the letter W.

The 18-year-old Saskatoon native picked up four of them last week en route to being named the WHL's player of the week. Reekie stopped 110 of 117 shots, posting a goals-against average of 1.75 and a save percentage of .940, with one shutout.

It's the first time a member of the Pats has received player-of-the-week honours this season.

"It's pretty cool," Reekie said of the award. "I wasn't thinking at all about (winning) that, but it's nice to get those wins.

"Winning is the biggest thing for us right now. That's what I'm working for."

The Pats have won a season-high five straight games -- all on the road -- and Reekie has been the goalie of record in each decision. He'll look to make it six in a row on Wednesday against the host Prince Albert Raiders.

"Starting to win on the road is a big confidence boost for all of us," said Reekie, whose team has three games left in its season-ending eight-game road swing.

"(The Pats' recent success) is kind of tough to imagine with the way we played on the road all year. We've shown promise (in the past), but right now we're starting to get it together and get our confidence, which is a big thing on the road. It's showing with a few wins."

Are you detecting a theme?

Although Reekie's overall numbers aren't staggering (3.18 GAA, .895 SP), he is among the league leaders in one main category -- wins.

Reekie's 30 victories are tied for fifth place in the WHL.

"I play to win," he said. "At the end of the night, that's what I want to do. Whether it's a 4-3 game or a 1-0 game, I'm playing to win. I'm not as much for the stats as some other goalies are. Winning is the big thing, especially after a year like last year."

Reekie was perhaps the most obvious victim of Regina's woeful 12-win season in 2004-05, when he was thrust into the starting role midway through the campaign after the team severed ties with Dustin Slade.

Reekie finished his rookie campaign with just three wins, but he has worked hard this season to put that memory behind him.

Mission accomplished.

The Pats have already clinched their first playoff berth since 2003-04 and sit just two wins short of the 40 mark.

"Anybody feels good about rebounding from a year like last year," said Reekie, one of the key figures in Regina's turnaround. "I know in my mind that I've had a lot better year. I've shown on the ice that I can play and be a No. 1 goalie. Hopefully the guys on my team think I can be. That's the main thing: If we have confidence in each other we're going to go farther. Right now we all have confidence in each other and I think that's a big part of our success."

And they're not done yet.

"You always have to keep proving yourself," added Reekie.

"Especially with us, being a young team, there's always going to different people thinking we can't do it. For us, our goal is just to go as far as we can in the playoffs and get to the Memorial Cup. That has been our goal from the start of the year. As realistic or unrealistic as it seems to other people, it's our goal and its what we're pushing for."