Pats/Warriors Not What It Used To Be!
PATS/WARRIORS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE!
by: Rod Pedersen (LeaderPost)
It may be the mark of the new WHL, but the fiercest rivalry in junior hockey has become more of an amicable relationship than many fans would like!
As the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors enjoy turnaround seasons from last year, the worst in the history of each franchise, they still have a ways to go in terms of building up contempt for each other.
The stories are legendary. I was in the Agridome in the late 1980's when Warriors' super-pest Theoren Fleury got kicked out a game and wound up swinging his stick at unruly fans on his way underneath the stands.
We've certainly had dust-ups in the past that rival that heated night, not the least of which were the 2004 playoffs when Pats' goalie Dustin Slade allegedly speared a fan in the face after being kicked out of Game 1 of that eventual Warriors' sweep. Why did he not face further discipline?
The Civic Centre security guards admitted the fan had provoked Slade's attack and he was simply defending himself.
Back in the '80s, Pats broadcaster Kevin Gallant said on-air the Warriors were a "Mickey Mouse" organization for turning their scoreboard off right after a game and Kevin hadn't written down the final shots on goal in time. He was threatened physically by Warriors fans and brought a bodyguard to the next game. That bodyguard was former Canadian Welter-weight boxing champ Pat Fiacco. You may know him.
Who can forget the time Pats' forward Ryan Thomas had a group of buddies in the Crushed Can and they attacked the Warriors' mascot "Puckhead" and when its mask fell off, we were stunned to discover it was a woman!
That was the first of a home-and-home series, and the next day threats directed towards the Pats' K9 mascot were phoned into the office and for the first time in the history of sports, a team's mascot was a scratch for the game!
In this storied rivalry, there has always seemed to be a villain whether it be Fleury, Slade, or Warrior forward Sean O'Connor. One night at a ceremonial faceoff in Regina, O'Connor actually battled for, and won, the draw against Regina's Chris Schlenker. That didn't go over well with Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco who was dropping the puck, he was rumoured to have mentioned he wouldn't have minded taking a swing at the Warrior captain.
O'Connor was at the centre of it again in that same era when he hooked Pats' goalie Donald Choukalos around the neck and Chocko chased him all the way to centre ice.
Good times.
And of course on the last day of the 2003 regular season, the Pats and Warriors engaged in a full-scale line brawl instigated by Regina meathead Britt Dougherty, which wound up getting coaches Bob Lowes and Curtis Hunt suspended for the first two games of their respective playoff series.
Ah yes, the good old days.
But now it's a love-in. Pats GM Brent Parker is touting his Warrior counterpart Chad Lang as "Executive of the Year" in the WHL for his job in turning around that team. But can't the same be said for Brent?
But of course Parker is never immune from stirring it up and this week while he was extolling the virtues of Lang and coach Steve Young on my Sportsline program I pointed out that both men hailed from Regina.
"Maybe that's why they've turned it around," smiled Parker.
It's not exactly beating up their mascot, but these days it'll have to do!
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Originally Posted by patsfan33
