It stuck out as a bad omen right from the start.
Just 16 seconds into the game Brennan Menell scored on the Pats and goaltender Tyler Brown and for the rest of the game, they were trying to play catch up.
The Pats did bring a lot of pressure in the first period, but as has been the story of this series Hurricanes net minder Stuart Skinner slammed the door on the Pats 13 chances, 10 of which came back-to-back.
It wasn’t until the second period that the Pats were able to even up the score. Josh Mahura fired a shot in towards the net, and Dawson Leedahl tipped it in for his ninth goal of the playoffs.
It seemed as though the Pats may have had some room to breathe, but the Hurricanes took the lead again just three minutes later with a goal from Jadon Joseph to put the Canes back up 2-1.
To make matters worse, the Pats’ top playoff scorer, Austin Wagner, left the game after a dive forward and did not return to the game.
The Canes continued to pressure the Pats through the third period and four minutes in Egor Babenko gave his team a comfortable two-goal lead, assisted by Tyler Wong.
An obviously frustrated Regina team took two penalties late in the game and weren’t able to respond to the Hurricanes offence.
The final score was 3-1, putting Lethbridge up 2-1 in the series.
The Pats will have to shake off Tuesday night’s loss quickly, they’re back in action in Lethbridge for game four on Wednesday night.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on Access 7 and Shaw TV.