Pats prepared to play in the great outdoors

The Regina Pats all think it’s going to be cool to play an outdoor hockey game — even if it’s cold.

The Pats plan to be ready to battle Mother Nature as well as the Calgary Hitmen when the WHL’s Prairie Classic goes Sunday, 2 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium.

“The rink that I grew up playing in Montmartre, it’s inside but I classify it as an outdoor rink because it gets pretty cold there,” Pats rookie Drew Englot said when asked about playing in frostier-than-normal conditions.

“You have the warm mitts under your gloves and in your skates and you’ve got to tape up your helmet so your ears don’t get cold.”

Environment Canada’s forecast for Sunday calls for a cloudy day with a high of -4 C. That’s kid’s play for Pats goalie Max Paddock.

“I played in one rink (in minor hockey) where my water bottle froze on the back of my net, so I don’t think -4 is close to that,” Paddock said.

The WHL has staged outdoor games before, including a game between the Pats and Hitmen at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium in 2011. Regina won that game 3-2.

There was to be a game played at Mosaic Stadium last season between the Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors, but slow ticket sales and a questionable weather forecast forced the game to be moved inside the Brandt Centre.

“With the outdoor games, everyone wants to do one in their lifetime,” Pats captain Austin Pratt said when asked about missing the opportunity to play outdoors last season. “It’s every kid’s dream, from going out on the pond when they’re younger to imagining yourself out there.

“When they took that away, it was tough. But there were rumbles last year that this (game Sunday) could be a possibility so everybody kind of got their hopes up.”

And now that game is the next one on the Pats’ schedule.

“It’s awesome,” Pratt said. “The first period might be a little different than usual hockey in the WHL just because everyone’s going to be excited, obviously, and looking around because they’re not used to it.”

“I can’t even imagine what it’s going to feel like when we first step out on the ice,” Englot added, “but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Regina enters the game with a 2-10-0-0 record, but it snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 6-5 shootout victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. Calgary takes a 6-2-1-0 record into Friday’s game against the host Warriors.

But Sunday’s contest won’t be like any other regular-season game. The crowd should be larger than any the Pats usually see — as of Friday morning, 14,311 tickets had been sold — and the game is being played outdoors.

“Obviously there are a few more challenges,” Paddock said. “Probably the biggest one will be the sun. I’m not sure where it will be at that time, but (with) the glare off the ice, we’ll be wearing eyeblack to try to block some of the glare out.

“Maybe the wind (will be an issue). If it rains or it snows, that’ll be another added factor.”

Then again, playing in the great outdoors won’t be anything new to the players on both sides.

“The biggest memories I have is being out on the rink that my dad would build for me and my brother, and skate around and play against each other all the time,” recalled Pratt, who spent his early years in Iowa.

“Moving to Minnesota, we’ve got a pond out back so our neighbours … would pitch in and shovel it all (and) make it a nice rink.”

Paddock’s dad also built an outdoor rink for his son. Years later, the younger Paddock is to return to his roots.

“When I was four, the first team I played on was an outdoor league team,” he said. “Obviously we’re all grown up now, but it’ll be similar to playing in that environment.”

For more on the Pats and the Prairie Classic, listen to Between the Lines on Sunday at 10 a.m.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray