Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
As the Regina Pat Canadians celebrate a second straight league title, they know the job isn’t done.
While it’s an accomplishment in itself winning a Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League title in back-to-back seasons, the Pat Canadians — who beat the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors 5-2 on Saturday in Game 5 of the league championship — are looking to defend their national title after claiming the Telus Cup last season.
The next step in that journey is defending their Western Regional championship, which will be played Thursday to Sunday inside Regina’s Co-operators Arena.
The Pat Canadians — who went undefeated at regionals last year to advance to nationals — will serve as the host team this year while Moose Jaw will represent the SMAAAHL. The Winnipeg Bruins, who finished with a 42-3-3 regular season record before going 9-0 in the playoffs, will represent Manitoba while the Thunder Bay Kings will represent Northeastern Ontario for a fifth straight year after beating the Kenora Thistles in playdowns.
The regional tournament begins Thursday at the Co-operators Arena with Winnipeg facing Moose Jaw at 4:30 p.m. before Regina takes on Thunder Bay at 7:40 p.m.
On Friday, Thunder Bay faces Winnipeg at 4:30 p.m. before a rematch of the Saskatchewan provincial final between Regina and Moose Jaw at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s schedule will see Moose Jaw take on Thunder Bay at 11:15 a.m. before Regina battles Winnipeg at 2:15 p.m.
The top two teams in the three-game round robin will then faceoff in Sunday’s final, which is set for 2:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Telus Cup in Peterborough, Ont. from Apr. 20-26 where they will face the host Peterborough Jr. Petes and four other regional champions from Quebec, Central (Ontario), Atlantic (New Brunswick/Newfoundland/Nova Scotia) and Pacific (B.C./Alberta).
Despite losing eight of their nine scoring leaders from last year’s national championship squad, the Pat Canadians — who also beat the Saskatoon Contacts and Estevan Bears in this year’s playoff run — have given themselves a strong chance at defending their title by earning their way into regionals, where they will need to get through Moose Jaw once again after a gruelling five-game league final series, which saw three of the games go to overtime.
The regular season between the two teams was no different as Regina (38-3-3) finished just three points ahead of the Warriors (37-5-2) in the standings, with each of the four games between the two teams decided by just one goal with Regina winning two, including one in overtime, and Moose Jaw winning two, both in overtime.
“I don’t see it been any different than the other ones,” said Pat Canadians head coach Ryan Hodgins. “From the first game of the regular season right till now, it’s just two teams going head-to-head, and it’s a pretty special matchup.
“It’s a good time but it’s a battle.”
“They’ve got a lot of boys that I know personally and it’s just so much fun playing against them, because it’s a great game every time,” added Pat C’s defenceman Ethan Young. “You’re going to want to win every game that you can and it’ll be just that much more competitive.”
Young, Maddox Schultz, Nathan Gardiner, Cooper Bratton, Brodie Bowen, Dan Mansuy and Adam Muntain are the seven returning players from last year’s championship squad while there are 13 newcomers on the roster this year including Liam Pue, Malaki Martin, Ryker Doka, Grady Hodgins, Kysen Rogoza, Eli Heroux, Brady Vipond, Kai Lanigan, Xavier Doane, Mahlon Wiley, Alan Han, Logan Dosenberger and Ben Meyer.
“I couldn’t be happier and more proud of the guys around me,” said Martin, who led all playoff scorers with 17 points in 11 games after tying Gardiner for the team lead with 78 regular season points. “(We’re) ready to take it to regionals.”
For Schultz, Young and Muntain, it’s also a third straight league championship as the trip won the Saskatchewan under-15 AA title with the Regina Pat Blues in 2023-24.
“This feels unreal,” said Young. “Three in a row for some of the boys on the team; it’s just amazing.”
Last year, the Pat Canadians outscored their opponents 27-2 at regionals before a 4-1 round robin record at the Telus Cup. Regina then beat the Elgin Middlesex Canucks 5-0 in the semifinal before beating the previously undefeated Chevaliers de Lévis 3-2 in overtime of the gold medal game with Schultz scoring the winner to secure Regina’s fifth national championship and first since 1999.
