http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpo...c-8cf0ff7dc070

The Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers won't hit the ice until tonight, but Brent Sutter has already dished out the first assist.

The Red Deer Rebels' boss nearly orchestrated a monumental upset in the first round of the playoffs when his team took Medicine Hat to the brink of elimination. The Rebels put their size advantage to good use by physically punishing Medicine Hat's smaller skilled players, especially star defenceman Kris Russell and sniper Darren Helm.

Red Deer's approach could benefit the Pats, assuming they're successful in taking a page out of Sutter's playbook.
The Regina Pats were in good spirits Friday morning on the team bus before leaving for Medicine Hat, where they are to meet the Tigers in tonight's opener of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal. The Pats also play in Medicine Hat on Monday before returning home for games Wednesday and Friday.

"If you look at Kris Russell and Darren Helm, those two kids are as good as anybody in our league," offered Sutter. "Those are players you have to focus on and you have to play a certain way against them."

That philosophy proved to be an effective equalizer for the Rebels, but it didn't win Sutter many friends in Medicine Hat.

"I know in the papers there were some people upset because we played a certain way against them, but we didn't care," he said. "That's playoff hockey. You play for keeps. If those players don't like it, that's just too bad. Get used to it because if you're going to move on to the next level you're not going to have 18, 19-year-olds bearing down on you. You're going to have 25- to 35-year-old men who are playing for their jobs.

"We played the game hard and competed very hard and we didn't get distracted with what the media was saying and what people on the outside were saying. We focused on what we needed to do as a hockey team and how we had to play."

Like Red Deer, the Pats can't match the Tigers' experience or playoff savvy. However, Regina does have a few other things to offer, including an edge in the size department.

"I like Regina's team," noted Sutter.

The biggest reason he likes the Pats is their mobile defence, led by rushing blueliner Logan Pyett. Pyett finished fourth among WHL D-men this season with 62 points and has taken his game to another level in the playoffs while partnered with captain Kyle Deck.

Regina's other top duo comprises Craig Schira and Nick Ross, who have emerged as a dominant shut-down pairing. The Tigers counter with an impressive blueline corps of their own, led by Russell and David Schlemko, who combine to quarterback one of the league's most lethal power-play units.

Veterans Gord Baldwin and Michael Sauer supply a formidable wall in front of goaltender Matt Keetley, whom Sutter called "the key" to Medicine Hat's victory in Game 7.

"Obviously they're a very, very good hockey team," he said of the Tigers. "They have great speed, they compete pretty damn hard, they have good goaltending and their back end is very experienced. When I look at Regina, they're on similar ground to some degree. Their defence is very good too, they've been getting very good goaltending for the most part this year and their forwards can skate and make plays. It's going to be a really interesting series."

That said, if Sutter were to tip the scales in one direction, the key factor would likely be experience.

'(The Tigers) have some 19- and 20-year-olds who've been in the league for a while and they're very experienced players who know how to play the game," he noted. "That's the one thing as far as an outsider looking in that you might give Medicine Hat the advantage. In saying that, experience is an advantage but it doesn't guarantee you anything. No one gave us a chance when we started that series. Once the playoffs start, it's a whole new game."