Focusing on home games

Focusing on home games

Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

All bets are off for the Regina Pats, who've come up lame heading into the home stretch of a tightly contested playoff race.

The enigmatic WHL club is preparing to play its next five games at the Brandt Centre, beginning tonight against the Kamloops Blazers. Overall, six of the Pats' final eight regular-season games will be played in their own backyard.

It's the kind of home-friendly schedule that should help Regina solidify its tenuous hold on first place in the East Division.

Then again, who knows? The same theory applied to a six-game road swing which concluded last weekend with games against three of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Regina lost two of those contests to finish the trip with 2-3-1 record.

Surprisingly, it was still good enough to hang onto top spot in the division -- for now.

"Our guys should be playing a lot more desperate," offered Pats right-winger J.D. Watt. "As much as you want to just turn on a switch for the playoffs, it doesn't happen like that. We need to start playing like we want to play in the playoffs. We know this team is capable of doing that. We have to focus on doing it consistently every night and outworking teams. If we don't outwork a team we're going to get beat. It's as simple as that."

With eight games left in the regular season, there's immediate pressure for Regina to get its house in order. That said, head coach Curtis Hunt is quick to emphasize the need for his players to "focus, not panic."

"From our perspective I think it's still very positive," he said. "I think the guys know ... the sky is the limit for us. There's a lot of other things that need to happen in the right order for you to get that opportunity, but in the end all you want is a chance and we control our fate. We still have a chance for that (East Division) pennant, which would be great. We're excited to work (for it)."

The Pats' recent struggles have opened the door to the Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings, both of whom looked to be out of the pennant race at this time last month. The Moose Jaw Warriors aren't out of the equation, either, despite a recent slide.

"It might be a good thing to be that close," noted Watt. "It'll maybe wake us up a bit."

Regina would already have the division locked up if not for a mind-boggling string of losses to non-playoff teams -- a number that swelled to 11 on the weekend with setbacks in Prince Albert and Saskatoon. However, it's a problem the team believes can be remedied by targeting smaller symptoms, in particular a penalty killing unit that has allowed 10 goals on 26 chances over the four games.

"We have to stay out of the box," said defenceman Colten Teubert. "I think that has been our Achilles heel lately."

Hence the hitch in their stride.

The Pats, you may recall, hit the ground running after the Jan. 10 trade deadline, when an injection of six new players helped the team post seven straight wins. Since then, Regina has been all over the map, going 5-6-1-1.

"If you look at our record as of late it all comes back to special teams," concluded Hunt. "That's one of our focuses, with discipline obviously as part of that, and building (confidence) as a group. We had a great little run when we first got together. We've had a little bit of adversity right now. I think it's healthy for our group. We're focused on each other and we're focused on getting that win column back in order."

NOTE: Pats captain Logan Pyett may be suspended for tonight's game. The WHL is reviewing the game misconduct he received at the end of Saturday's 4-2 loss in Saskatoon.

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SCOUTING REPORT

KAMLOOPS (26-32-2-2)

at REGINA (37-21-4-2)

Today, 7 p.m., Brandt Centre

Radio: 620 CKRM

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

(Statistics do not include Tuesday's games.)

Key injuries: REGINA -- G Jeff Bosch (groin, day-to-day); KAMLOOPS -- RW Tyler Shattock (fractured tibia, day-to-day).

Overview: The Blazers are one win away from clinching the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference . . . Kamloops hit the midway point of its six-game East Division road swing on Tuesday against the Swift Current Broncos. The visitors entered the game having lost five straight, including setbacks against the Brandon Wheat Kings (5-2) and Moose Jaw Warriors (4-2) . . . Regina's struggling penalty kill has slipped to 14th in the league (81 per cent). Kamloops is 20th (77.3 per cent) . . . The Pats have also fallen to No. 4 on the power play (20.5 per cent) while the Blazers are 11th (18.6 per cent) . . . RW Jordan Eberle (37-27--64) is Regina's top scorer, followed by C Tim Kraus (13-44--57). Eberle's 37 goals tie him for second in the WHL. Captain Logan Pyett (18-31--49) is tied for first among D-men in goals and tied for third in points . . . Kamloops is led by former Pats D Nick Ross (8-38--46) and RW Juuso Puustinen (22-21--43) . . . The Blazers' roster also includes Regina product Kenton Dulle (16-14--30) . . . Former Pats play-by-play man Peter Loubardias is scheduled to call tonight's action on Sportsnet.




© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008