Regina Pats drop home opener 4-3 in overtime

The Pats kept the Prince Albert Raiders on their toes all night, outshooting their opponents 45-30, but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal.

“Shots aren’t always indicative, but I think tonight that we had more opportunities than them,” head coach John Paddock said after the game. “We were on them more, pressured them more. Things didn’t go right at the end.”

Indeed, the Riley Woods, who got the Pats on the board first said that the goal of the team was to get as many shots on the net as possible – which they succeeded at doing.

“We came up with the shots that we needed but I guess the outcome wasn’t the best,” Woods said.

The game went back and forth throughout all three periods and into overtime. After Woods’ first goal, Prince Albert and Regina both scored in the second period, but it was the third when the Raiders really got going, notching two goals just over a minute a part to take the lead.

With less than five minutes to go Braydon Buziak scored the equalizer – and his first in a Pats uniform – sending the game into a chaotic and exciting three-on-three overtime.

After we scored that (goal) the guys were really fired up,” said defenseman Chase Harrison, who also scored the team’s second goal. “Obviously it gave us the chance to win the game there and we came close.”

But not quite close enough. The three-on-three, while exciting, leaves a lot of ice to cover and it can be exhausting after three full periods of hockey already in the books.

“It’s exciting but it definitely tires you out,” Harrison said. “I mean you go out there and you play 60 minutes and then you got to go out there and play high tempo three on three. It’s exciting to watch and play but it’s definitely really tiring.”

The Pats were also without some of the players that would normally play in a three-one three situation as they attend NHL camp. Head coach John Paddock said that was not an excuse for anything, but it did expose some players who aren’t used to playing in those situation for something new.

“I think that just contributes to the wildness out there,” Paddock said, but he added he didn’t think it was tough, “just different.”

When asked what he said to his players after the overtime loss, Paddock said he told them the schedule for Saturday, which is coincidentally when they can exact revenge for Friday’s loss.

The Pats get another crack at the Raiders at 7 p.m.