Pats drop 4th straight heading into Christmas break

Make it four straight for the Regina Pats.

Four straight losses, that is.

After falling 6-2 Saturday night to the Lethbridge Hurricanes and 4-3 in overtime to the Blades on Friday, the Pats were hoping to bounce back against their provincial rivals and head into the Christmas break with a win.

The Blades, however, wanted a win of their own and outworked the Pats for a 3-2 victory.

Saskatoon put two goals up in the first period courtesy of Braylon Shmyr and Chase Wouters before Matt Bradley responded with his team-leading 22nd goal of the season early in the second.

The Blades’ Josh Paterson gave his team a little wiggle room at 15:42, getting past Tyler Brown for the third and final Saskatoon goal of the night.

The third period saw Pats forward Jake Leschyshyn breathe some life into the team and bring the score within one, but even with the extra attacker late in the frame, Regina didn’t have enough to win.

The Pats now enter a 10-day Christmas break at 16 wins, 17 losses and three losses in overtime. The Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades sit two points back of Regina and the first wild-card spot.

The Pats return to action on Dec. 27 in Brandon.

The trade deadline is also looming on Jan. 10 and Pats head coach John Paddock said Saturday there will be changes coming.

“We know the roster isn’t going to be the same,” he said. “I don’t what those pieces are, who those pieces are.”

But Paddock admitted that new players won’t entirely solve the Pats problems, which he attributes to his team not trying.

“It has to get a lot better from within and when I say within I mean inside the dressing room.”