Pats set to enjoy comforts of home
Despite a few missing ingredients, the Regina Pats believe it’s a good time for some home cooking.
The WHL club is back in action Friday night against the Edmonton Oil Kings, commencing a string of five straight home games. The timing of the homestand could be fortuitous since Regina is still without first-line forwards Adam Brooks and Austin Wagner due to NHL camps.
“With those guys being gone it’s important for us to step up and get some wins early,” offered forward Rykr Cole, whose team got a huge boost Thursday when centre Sam Steel and defenceman Connor Hobbs were reassigned by their respective NHL clubs.
“It’s going to be important that we establish ourselves at home and how hard we’re going to play — that it’s going to be a tough building to come into. If we can get some wins under our belt, it’ll really boost our confidence and set us off on the right foot.”
Although a home-heavy schedule doesn’t come with any guarantees, the Pats will take it.
The team plays 12 of its first 17 games at the Brandt Centre prior to heading west for the longest road trip of the season.
Regina opened its schedule last weekend by earning three of four available points against the Prince Albert Raiders, who prevailed 4-3 in overtime at the Brandt Centre before dropping a 4-2 decision in P.A.
Since then, the Pats have had five days to prepare for the Oil Kings, who are coming off two weekend victories over the Red Deer Rebels.
Regina doesn’t play a mid-week game until Oct. 12, allowing the club to take advantage of extra practice time.
“It’s good (because) the coaches can work you pretty hard the first couple days of the week, get your legs under you,” noted centre Luc Smith.
“Then for the next couple days we can work on our systems and really refine the things that the young guys don’t know as well.
“It also gives our NHL guys some time (to get back).”
With or without a full lineup, the Pats are hoping to take advantage of a friendly schedule, perhaps setting the tone for the rest of the season.
“We want to let everybody know that when you come into our barn it’s going to take a toll on you,” said Smith, whose team compiled a home-ice record of 3824-5-5 over the past two seasons under head coach and GM John Paddock.
Like his players, Paddock wants to up the ante in 2016-17. But he also knows talk is cheap. “You have to go out and do it,” he said. “It goes hand in hand with when you’re an older team. We expect to be a good team at home and we expect to be a good team on the road. But there’s something to having the right kind of confidence or swagger at home.”
For the Pats, it’s all about setting a pace that opposing teams can’t match.
That’s their best form of intimidation.
“For many years a hard place to play was thought of as a physical thing but that doesn’t hold water anymore,” said Paddock, noting that today’s game discourages big hits and fighting in favour of speed and skill.
“For us it’s about pushing the pace. Is it always outshooting a team? Sort of but it’s having the puck more and making them try and keep up with us rather than us keep up with them. We have the ability to do that.”