It’s not the start Pats fans were hoping for 10 games into the 2019-2020 WHL season.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes left the Brandt Centre Sunday night with a 5-4 win over Regina, handing the Pats their ninth loss in a row.
The Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead into the first period after goals from Ty Prefontaine, Dylan Cozens and Oliver Okuliar. Logan Nijhoff found the back of the net first for the Pats while Austin Pratt scored Regina’s second on a man advantage.
Lethbridge padded their lead before the halfway point of the second period. Ty Nash scored at 9 minutes before an Oliver Okuliar shorthanded marker just 17 seconds later, making it 5-2 Hurricanes.
The Pats ended up scoring on that powerplay nearly 40 seconds after the Hurricanes shorthanded goal. Cole Dubinsky slotted a pass to Sloan Stanick to bring them back to within two goals.
Before the end of the period, the Pats found a third powerplay goal from Ty Kolle, making it 5-4 at the buzzer.
However it seemed as though they ran out of gas in the third period with only five shots on net. Unable to complete the comeback, Lethbridge held on for a 5-4 victory.
With their losing streak close to reaching double digits, Regina’s goaltending coach Rob Muntain said the biggest thing for the team right now is to keep positive.
“This weekend was really good in terms of the effort and attention to detail,” he explained. “If we can continue to do that, we will eventually get a win under our belt and hopefully some more come.”
The Pats went 3/7 on the man advantage to Lethbridge’s 0/4 effort, while outshooting the Hurricanes 26-24. Matthew Kieper and Danton Belluk combined to make 19 saves.
Now at 1-9-0-0 and dead last in the league standings, the Pats have a few days to prepare for a rematch with the Hurricanes on Friday in Lethbridge.
