Pats look to continue to build momentum on road trip

While Regina Pats head coach Dave Struch says there’s nothing different about the team’s play of late, the results are beginning to take a turn.

After starting the WHL season with a 1-10-0-0 record, the Pats have gone 3-4-1-0 over their past eight games and have earned at least a point in four of those games. They now have a 5-14-2-0 record.

“The guys are still getting 30 to 50 shots every night, creating the same offence the same way we’ve been doing it from the start of the season,” Struch said on Monday. “Guys are bearing down a little bit more, the extra one per cent (effort) needed to score a goal in the paint.”

The Pats have also won back-to-back games for the first time in the 2019-20 season, posting a 6-0 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Friday followed by a 5-4 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings the following night. Both wins came on the road.

“We’re finally getting some wins, we’re playing great hockey – we have been for the past month or so,” said Pats captain Austin Pratt, who has 19 points in 21 games this season. “It’s going to be a big road trip if we can string together a few wins.”

The Pats are heading out west for an Alberta road trip, with games against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Calgary Hitmen, Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings in a five-day span beginning on Wednesday.

“I think the road trip’s coming at a good time; we’re finally starting to click as a unit,” goaltender Max Paddock said. “It couldn’t have happened at a better time to go out on the road and bond a little more.”

Struch agreed that the road trip can be a great team-builder.

“When you get on the road it’s 24/7 hockey so coming to the rink every day wanting to win and feeling like you can is really important,” Struch said.

“We always have our team suppers and breakfasts, play cards on the bus all for hours on end,” Pratt said when asked to describe what the team does outside of the rink. “Just kind of talk and hang out and tell stories.”

Struch said the main focus of the team during the road trip is to continue to play the same kind of hockey that has started to create some success.

“We’re probably at 10, 11 or 12 games of playing the exact same way. We’ve got some goaltending that has helped with some big saves at important times when the opposition has some momentum,” Struch said.

“With our guys, I think it’s a matter of being resilient and relentless and a good leadership group and the guys have earned it; they’ve earned the wins. We believe that we’ve probably earned six or seven more wins the way we’ve played along the way.”