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WHL Red Deer Rebels

Rebels Preparing for Upstart Pats

April 4, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


That the Regina Pats were able to rebound from a series-opening setback and defeat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1 in their WHL Eastern Conference quarter-final was not just an upset of mild proportions.

The Pats' ability to shut down the 'Canes, the top club in the Central Division in the regular season, for four consecutive contests - outscoring Lethbridge 12-4 in the process - was a downright eye-opener.

The Red Deer Rebels will certainly have their eyes wide open when they face the Pats in the opening game of a best-of-seven conference semifinal Saturday at the Centrium.

"They certainly have a lot of skill," Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter said Monday when asked what challenges the Regina squad will present to his team.

"They have a pretty good defence and their goaltender is playing well. They're a good hockey team and they are well-coached."

League regular-season scoring leader Adam Brooks carried his hot play into the post-season and has put up a team-best 14 points (5g,9a) to date. Skilled sophomore Sam Steel (4-5-9), Cole Sanford (3-5-8), a trade-deadline acquisition from Medicine Hat, and Austin Wagner (2-4-6) have also been effective up front, while Colby Williams and Connor Hobbs anchor the Regina blueline.

Pats No. 1 netminder Tyler Brown, as Sutter noted, has excelled, posting a 2.00 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage and two shutouts in the opening series.

But the Pats' biggest difference-makers could well be the men on the bench, namely head coach John Paddock and assistant Dave Struch. Paddock, who is also the Pats GM and senior vice-president of hockey operations, has been coaching since 1983 - starting in the American League - and has NHL head coaching experience with Ottawa and Winnipeg, while Struch, who also serves as the assistant GM, was the Saskatoon Blades' head coach for one season after five years as an assistant.

"He (Paddock) has done an awesome job with them (Pats). With he and Struch . . . they have a very good, very experienced coaching staff," said Sutter. "They've done a good job, no question about it."

Sutter, of course, is more concerned with the manner in which his team performs than any problems the Pats will present.

"At the end of the day, the Red Deer Rebels play a certain way and we have to play that way," he said.

"We're just kidding ourselves if we think we can have success playing a different style of game. Any time our players got off track on that during the season, we got the (bleep) kicked out of us. It's pretty simple."

Indeed, the preparation leading into the series and then the execution during the games has nothing in common with rocket science.

"It's not a complicated game to play," said Sutter. "You have to be responsible in all three zones and you have to play a smart game . . . you have to make sure that you're smart with pucks."

Another effective component to the Rebels' game is their ability and tendency - when they're having success - to bang bodies on a regular basis.

"We're a big team and we have to play that way," said Sutter.

Brooks told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he expects a more physical series than was the case versus the 'Canes.

"Lethbridge was a high-scoring team that wanted to play a highly skilled game," he said. "Red Deer is a Brent Sutter hockey team. They're obviously a skilled team but they're going to be a hard team to play. They're going to be in your face, hard-hitting, stuff like that."

At the same time, he and his teammates are confident they can knock off the Memorial Cup hosts.

"We're excited for the challenge," said Brooks. "Last series people were kind of counting us out but we're a resilient bunch and we knew we could play with (Lethbridge). We're thinking the same thing in this series. People are probably writing us off again but the playoffs is a new season and anything can happen."

That Pats finished 13 points behind Red Deer this season but were impressive down the stretch.

"It presents a new challenge," Paddock told Harder. "It presents a bigger challenge. Lethbridge has a good team. They had a really good year. But Brent did a great job (upgrading his roster via trades). If he had that team all year he would have finished ahead of Lethbridge. We know where (the Rebels) are going. They're going to be playing the last 10 days in May regardless. We're facing a good team."

At the same time, Paddock isn't conceding anything to the Rebels.

"That's why you have to play the games," added the coach, whose club went 2-2-0 against Red Deer in the regular season. "We know we're the underdogs. I think we can embrace that some but ... we're playing at the top of our game. We're the healthiest we've been all year. We have things going at the right time for us. That's why we had success against Lethbridge. We're going to go out and play the same. As long as we give it our best shot we'll let the chips fall where they may."

- The Rebels won't have regular-season top scorer Ivan Nikolishin (lower body injury) back in gear any time soon and fellow forward Conner Bleackley is almost certainly done for the season after undergoing wrist surgery . . . Sutter has no time frame regarding Nikolishin's return and the same goes for netminder Rylan Toth, who has been out of commission for six weeks with a lower-body injury . . . Game 2 of the series is slated for Sunday at the Centrium, with the start time to be determined.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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