Pats earn 5-0 win over Warriors, rise in standings

The first weekend back from the WHL’s Christmas break has been circled on Carson Denomie’s calendar for quite some time.

The right-winger was traded from the Moose Jaw Warriors to the Regina Pats on Nov. 19. The back-to-back games against the Warriors were his first opportunities to face his former team.

“It’s obviously exciting to play your former team and see all the boys again and see what it’s like to play against them so it was something I was looking forward to for sure,” Denomie said.

Denomie’s power-play goal in the second period was the first goal of the game as the Pats ended up routing their rivals 5-0 at the Brandt Centre.

“(Scoring against my old team) rubs it in their face a little bit so it was nice. I think (Friday) night I had a couple chances and it didn’t come but tonight I got it done,” Denomie said.

It was the second straight night the Pats scored five goals in a game, doing so in a 5-2 win in Moose Jaw on Friday. The two games were the first for the team since a Dec. 17 loss to the Winnipeg Ice.

Despite the five-goal victory for Regina, it was a one-goal affair until the third period. The Pats found an extra gear in the final frame with goals coming from defenceman Zach Wytinck, left-winger Logan Nijhoff, centre Ty Kolle and defenceman Ryker Evans. The Wytinck, Nijhoff and Kolle goals all came within a 2:56 span.

Evans, who also had an assist in the game, set a new career-high for points in a season with 12.

“I’m not really thinking about (the milestone) but it’s nice to kind of know that I did better than last season,” the 18-year-old said.

Evans, captain Austin Pratt and left-winger Robbie Holmes all found their way onto the score sheet to increase their point streaks to four games apiece.

Evans said it felt great to get the two wins over their inter-provincial rivals.

“It’s a nice close battle between two cities that have had a little beef in years past and it’s always good to get a win against (the Warriors),” Evans said.

The Pats now improve to 3-2-0-0 over the Warriors in the 2019-20 season. The two most recent wins have also pushed the Pats above the Warriors in the WHL’s eastern conference.

“That’s been on our minds for the past month – it’s just been trying to get ahead of some of the guys in our division with Moose Jaw being right there,” said goaltender Max Paddock, who stopped all 30 shots he faced.

The Pats started the season 1-10-0-0 but have been rounding into form since the disastrous start to the season. The team is 9-8-3-1 since then, including going 7-4-1-1 in their last 13 games.

“The past few games we’ve been playing with a lot more confidence, guys aren’t afraid to step up into the play and into the rush. I think that’s bug, just playing with that confidence and trusting your teammates that they’re going to make the right play,” Paddock said.

Paddock has gone 6-3-1-1 in his last 11 games.

Head coach Dave Struch was concerned the Christmas break could end up putting a damper on their recent momentum, but the team has eased his mind that that won’t be the case.

“Mostly because of the work ethic, the grit. They’re relentless and especially at Christmas time. The way we played at the end was great, those Christmas games are real tough to play in and our guys really did a good job,” Struch said.

Struch said the team is focused on continuing their play to try and make a push for the playoffs.

“We had a goal and we’re achieving it step-by-step and day-by-day. It’s not always going to be this good for our group, it’s how we react to the difficult times,” Struch said.

The Pats are next in action on Dec. 30 in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. Regina’s next home game is on New Year’s Day against the Prince Albert Raiders.