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The Regina Pats will look to knock off the Medicine Hat Tigers as the WHL playoffs get underway.
But despite Regina finishing with 59 points this season, while the Tigers had 108, head coach Brad Herauf said they can’t view themselves as underdogs or a potential Cinderella story.
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“We have to go in there believing we are as good as them, and believing that we are able to stick with them. If we’re going to sit here and talk about them being overpowering and can’t hang with them, that’s your mentality going into it,” Herauf said.
“If we bring our A-game, we know we will make it difficult on them. For us right now, we just want to make sure we are playing our best.”
Medicine Hat has won all four contests against the Pats during the regular season, outscoring Regina 26-7.
Pats captain Ephram McNutt said the Tigers are bringing a lot of skill and experience to the playoffs.
“I think every guy on that team has playoff experience from their run last year,” McNutt said. “An older team as well and a lot of firepower.”
McNutt said he believes the best play for the Pats is to keep things simple, focusing on speed and capitalizing on opportunities.
“We’re not going to outscore them or out-skill them. That’s just not our game,” McNutt said.
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The first-round WHL playoff series gets underway in Medicine Hat on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Regina hasn’t been in the league’s postseason since 2023.
“It’s huge,” McNutt said. “We’re real excited after a few years off. It’s a great feeling, especially for the young guys coming up.”
Herauf, who has been the team’s head coach since July of 2023, said he’s seen this team develop into a playoff-calibre team once again.
“It’s very rewarding. It has been really difficult the last two-and-a-half years with the rebuild. We pretty much have traded away anybody that was worth anything in the league,” Herauf said.
“It has been really difficult, not just on myself, but the players, lots of guys within the organization, other coaches and office staff members. I think for all of us it’s just a big relief, and a real good step in the right direction.”
Regina did qualify for a playoff spot but it came down to the second game of the regular season as the Pats struggled, going 2-6-1-1 over their final 10 games.
McNutt said you need to toss out memories of how the regular season ended ahead of the playoffs.
“We have to look back at the good we have done to put us in a position to be able to lose those games. I think we’re focused on the playoffs, and Medicine Hat and the task at hand,” McNutt said.
