Pats continue winning ways: Scouting Report
Regina hopes to win a fifth home game in a row tonight vs. Prince Albert
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Saturday, March 08, 2008
The Regina Pats are picking a good time to mark their territory.
With the club's first East Division pennant since 1998 hanging in the balance, Regina posted its fourth straight win -- all at home -- on Friday night with a 3-0 decision over the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings before 5,454 fans at the Brandt Centre.
The Pats will be looking to complete a perfect five-game homestand tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders. Regina has just four games left in the regular season.
"If we want that pennant we're going to need to win every game," offered Pats goalie Linden Rowat, who made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season and his 30th win of the campaign. "There's a lot of pressure on us. Even though Edmonton is out of the playoff run, they're a team that competes and works hard every night. They outshot us and at times they outworked us but I thought we persevered."
Edmonton set the pace off the opening faceoff, but the ice quickly tilted in favour of the Pats, who came on strong but were hard-pressed to turn their territorial advantage into concrete scoring chances. Defenceman Colten Teubert eventually found a clear path through Edmonton's diligent shot blockers at 5:32, blasting a shot from the point that went off the inside of the far post and behind goalie Dalyn Flette.
Edmonton continued to repel one wave after another until the home team made good on a power play at 12:41 of the second period. Once again, Teubert was the facilitator as he fired a shot towards the net that was deftly redirected by Scott Doucet.
Rowat proceeded to weather a late push by the Oil Kings, who recorded 12 of their 27 shots in the third period. Brett Leffler rewarded his goalie with an insurance goal midway through the frame, wiring a shot under the cross-bar on Flette.
"We know we've struggled with teams below us and we knew it wasn't going to be easy," noted Leffler. "We just had to play our game and keep it simple. We had a few defensive lapses but in the end we got the win."
Oil Kings head coach Steven Pleau was reluctant to credit his club for a moral victory against the top team in the East Division. However, he did give credit where it was due.
"I thought we played a good hockey game," said Pleau, whose team dropped to 20-36-4-7. "We outshot them (27-22) and I thought we outchanced them. They're a good team, a real good team. I thought we did some real good things. They made us pay on the power play with a beautiful goal. That was the difference."
Rowat threw in his two cents as well.
"We were backstopped tonight by tremendous goaltending," offered Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team maintained its three-point edge over the second-place Swift Current Broncos. "You have to play your best hockey at this time of year. There as a business sense in the room (before Friday's game). We expect that again (tonight)."
EXTRAS: Regina finished with a 4-0 record against Edmonton this season ... Pats C Tim Kraus was helped off the ice in the first period favouring his right leg after falling awkwardly into the boards. He returned later in the period ... Regina's scratches were D Dallas Jackson (healthy) and LW Josh Elder (knee) ... Oil Kings RW Robin Figren, who turned down a trade to Regina at the Jan. 10 deadline, was scratched with a wrist injury.
PRINCE ALBERT (25-38-3-2) at REGINA (41-21-4-2)
Today, 7 p.m., Brandt Centre
Radio: 620 CKRM
Key injuries: REGINA -- LW Josh Elder (knee, indefinite); PRINCE ALBERT -- D Blaine Tendler (concussion, day-to-day), LW Jordan Trach (concussion, week-to-week).
Overview: It's the eighth and final meeting of the season between the Pats and Raiders. Regina leads the season series with a 5-2 record. The Pats won the first five meetings but have lost two in a row . . . The Raiders did Regina a favour on Friday with a 5-3 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Saskatoon Blades also helped out with a 6-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings. As a result, the Pats are five points up on Moose Jaw and Brandon in the East Division standings. The Swift Current Broncos are alone in second place. They beat Lethbridge 5-3 to remain three points back of Regina . . . Two ex-Pats are having career years with Prince Albert: C Ryan McDonald (26-31--57) and RW Justin Bernhardt (24-31--55) . . . Another former Pat, LW Jared Jagow, has five goals and five assists in 25 games since he was acquired on Jan. 9 for RW Ryan DePape. Prince Albert also received a third-round bantam pick in the deal. DePape has three goals and three assists in 23 games with Regina.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008