The Regina Pats will have a tough test when they kick off their four-game homestand tonight against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Regina has stumbled to a 1-3 record to begin the second half of the season after a four-game stretch against the Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert Raiders.

The Pats have been without a couple of key players in their lineup with Connor Bedard and Stanislav Svozil representing their respective countries at the World Juniors in Halifax during the holiday season.

A positive note for the Pats in their 6-2 loss on Wednesday against the Wheat Kings was Zack Stringer scoring his first goal of the season. It was only the sixth game of the season for Stringer after he was recovering from an offseason injury.

Following last season’s appearance in the WHL Finals, the Thunderbirds have enjoyed another strong start to their season as they sit on top of the U.S. Division. Seattle is currently on a 13-game point streak with their last regulation loss on November 27 against Tri-Cities.

Tonight’s matchup at the Brandt Centre will begin a six-game eastern road trip for the T-Birds. They will be without a couple of key players, Canadian goalie Thomas Milic and defenceman Kevin Korchinski recently taking part in the World Juniors.

Coverage for tonight’s game on 620 CKRM begins at 6:35 Dante De Caria will have the play-by-play call at 7:00.