Pats earn rare home win during teddy bear toss night at Brandt Centre

While only one will count on the score sheet, Austin Pratt had fans throwing teddy bears onto the ice twice.

It was the annual teddy bear toss night for the Regina Pats and fans had thought the captain had scored the first goal to send the bears flying – but the puck hit crossbar instead of twine.

“I thought it was in right away from my angle – I saw it at the last second and it went bar down but not the good way,” the left-winger said following Regina’s 3-2 win over the Red Deer Rebels at the Brand Centre on Saturday.

With the goal horn blasting and smoke fuming, fans began to chuck the stuffed animals onto the ice despite the fact it was ruled no-goal.

The game came to a stop as the ice needed to be cleared of the toys. Some of those efforts came from a few Pats players including centre Ty Kolle, who tried to toss the bears off the ice and back into the arms of the fans.

“We got in a little bit of trouble from the ref for that,” Kolle said. “They just wanted us to help take them off and I was just thinking to throw them back over so (the fans) could have them again.”

“It was more funny than anything,” Pratt said. “Everyone just wanted to throw (the teddy bears) out there. It’s why most of the young kids come to the game – to see the goal and throw them out there. I think they were just so excited that they didn’t even listen to anyone and they just started hucking them.”

But after the ice was cleared of the prematurely-tossed toys, Pratt tipped in a shot from defenceman Zach Wytinck for the team’s first goal of the evening at the 14:41 mark of the first period – just seconds after coming so close.

Just seconds after play restarted, Pats captain Austin Pratt tips in the goal and the teddy bears can start flying for real. #JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/efTWtjoIy9

— Britton Gray (@BrittonGray) December 8, 2019

“It was something that I’ve wanted to do since I came into this league,” said Pratt, who was playing in his fifth WHL teddy bear toss game. “It was long overdue I think.”

In total, 2,014 teddy bears were collected as a result of Pratt’s goal. The plushies will be donated to local hospitals and other organizations so they can find a home.

While it was a nice moment for the players to take part in the fun event, the Pats also earned a rare home win this season. Goals from Pratt, centre Drew Englot and a power-play one from Kolle propelled the Pats to just their third home win this season. Red Deer got goals from centre Josh Tarzwell and Brett Davis.

It was the first home game for the Pats since Nov. 20 as the team went on a seven-game road trip, compiling a 3-3-1 record during that time.

“We were away for a long time,” head coach Dave Struch said. “(The win) is well deserved for our players. We played really well on the road … but for the most part they were road warriors. The guys played every game like it meant a lot to us.”

“We looked at our record on the road while on the road and you could see that it’s disappointing at home but we’re hoping this can help us build some momentum.”

Goaltender Max Paddock stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the game, including a flurry in the final two minutes once Red Deer pulled goaltender Byron Fancy for the extra attacker.

“At the end there Max came out when we needed him. He’s been a brick wall for us and that’s a major reason why we’re winning and trying to catch team’s right now,” Pratt said.

The Pats (7-17-3-0) will get a chance to enjoy the confines of the Brandt Centre with three home games before the team gets their Christmas break. The Pats will host the Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and Winnipeg Ice, with the first one against the Blazers on Dec. 11.

“This will be a really good test for us,” Pratt said. “If we can grind out a few wins, it’s huge going into the Christmas break happy and just makes you want to come back that much faster.”