Pats claim first with win over Warriors

The Moose Jaw Warriors won most of the physical battles Wednesday night, but the rival Regina Pats skated away with the win - and first place in the East Division.
Moose Jaw lost 5-4 to a Regina team who looked much more composed through most of the game and were able to hold on for the win. Although Regina took a 4-1 lead after the first period, Moose Jaw carried a significant shots on goal advantage, misfired on other chances, and were stoned a couple of times by Regina goaltender Linden Rowat.
"I thought we did play a pretty good first period," said Warriors coach Dave Hunchak. "To find yourself down 4-1 is quite a big hole to dig yourself out of."
The Warriors opened the scoring with a Joel Broda shorthanded marker, but got into penalty trouble and found themselves in a hole on the scoreboard. Scott Doucet's second goal of the game, with six seconds left in the first, staked the Pats to their three-goal edge.
"All it was was a matter of us winning a foot race, and instead of winning the foot race we decide to physically punish him, and they put it in the back of the net," said Hunchak. "That's a mistake from a veteran player and that needs to be learned from."
The Warriors came out with a bit less bite and a lot more grit in the second period, as Jason Bast bulged the twine twice in the second stanza.
"We had a lot of chances in the first and we knew if we buried as many as they did, it would have been an equal game," said Bast. "But we didn't bury our chances at the start and it hurt us."
Regina took home the first place banner and were justifiably proud of the way they hung on.
"I'm so proud of the kids and the way they played," said Pats coach Curtis Hunt, former bench boss of the Warriors. "To clinch it here is really special, just because of the rivalry and my own career path. It's nice, but we've got work ahead of us. We can put this one on the shelf, and start working towards our next goal."
With first place out of the question, the Warriors now look to playoff positioning - and their play Wednesday - as inspiration for their weekend series against the Swift Current Broncos.
"We played good hockey in that last 40, and if we play that way against Swift, we should have good results," Bast said.
"We'll come back Friday night with the same intensity, hopefully, and the big thing for us to make sure we're playing well come next Friday," said Hunchak.

Corey Atkinson can be reached at 691-1260