The Regina Pats traveled home with a critical victory, defeating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-2 in Game 2 of their first-round series. This win allows the Pats, seeded No. 7, to even the series against the defending WHL Champions, who are the No. 2 seed, at one game apiece.
Regina”s head coach, Brad Herauf, expressed satisfaction with the team”s performance, emphasizing their goal to secure a split in the series while on the road. “We had a little bit more finish than we had last night on some of our momentum opportunities and we just stuck with it,” Herauf remarked. He commended the players for their resilience, particularly after losing forward Connor Bear early in the first period.
In the opening game of the series, the Pats had a 2-1 lead before the Tigers surged back with five unanswered goals, ultimately winning 6-2. Willie Desjardins, the head coach for Medicine Hat, acknowledged that Regina”s players appeared more determined in both games. “They played good last night and they played good again tonight; their forwards have lots of speed, they got on our D,” Desjardins stated. “They”re hungrier than us right now. They won a lot of battles, they won more battles than us last night and they were able to find a way, and tonight, we just didn”t find a way.”
The contest began with a series of penalties as both teams navigated early infractions. Regina struck first when Zach Lansard redirected a shot from Aiden Wagner past Tigers goalie Jordan Switzer, putting the Pats up 1-0 late in the first period. However, the Tigers quickly countered, with Ethan Neutens finding the back of the net to tie the game just over a minute later, assisted by Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and Carter Cunningham.
Discipline has been a concern for Medicine Hat, as captain Bryce Pickford noted. “The discipline is the first thing we wrote on the board that we wanted this round,” he said, stressing the need to remain focused as they head into Regina, where the atmosphere can be intense due to the vocal home crowd.
In the second period, the Pats regained the lead as Ephram McNutt scored, circling behind the Tigers” net and beating Switzer for a 2-1 advantage. Regina”s goaltender, Marek Schlenker, played a crucial role, making a spectacular diving save late in the period to deny a clear chance from Jonas Woo. Schlenker, who had 21 saves in the game, praised his team”s performance, highlighting their commitment to blocking shots and allowing him visibility on the puck.
As the third period commenced, the Pats extended their lead to 3-1 when Ruslan Karimov managed to score after fighting off an icing call. The Tigers responded quickly, with Markus Ruck finding the net less than a minute later, narrowing the score to 3-2. Although Medicine Hat ramped up their offense, Regina”s defense held firm, especially with Schlenker”s steady presence in goal.
With just under four minutes remaining, the Tigers found themselves on the power play after a late hooking penalty on Woo. However, Regina managed to hold off the pressure, and Jace Egland sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute. Herauf acknowledged Schlenker”s vital contributions in goal, remarking on the challenge posed by one of the top teams in the league.
The Tigers were without forwards Cam Parr and Luke Cozens for the second consecutive game. The series now shifts to Regina for Games 3 and 4, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with Game 5 set for April 4.
