In a thrilling opener to the best-of-five league championship, the Regina Pat Canadians edged out the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors 3-2 in overtime, thanks to Mahlon Wiley's heroics just 12 seconds into the extra period. This matchup, held at the Co-Operators Centre, continued the nail-biting trend of their regular-season encounters, where each team claimed two victories, all decided by a single goal.
Wiley, reflecting on the game, noted the resilience and depth of his team: “We knew Moose Jaw was good and they were gonna come hard, but we have a lot of depth and we’re just gonna keep fighting. We’re never gonna get sick of them. We love playing against them.”
The rivalry between these two teams is intense, especially after Regina swept Moose Jaw in last year’s league championship on their way to capturing the Telus Cup national title. As Pat C’s head coach Ryan Hodgins put it, “If you talk to anybody in Regina, if you’re playing baseball or football or hockey, whatever, it’s gonna be our rivalry.”
Regina came into the playoffs as the top seed with an impressive 38-3-3 record, having swept the Saskatoon Contacts and Estevan Innovex Bears. Moose Jaw, not far behind with a 37-5-6 record, battled through a tough series against the Saskatoon Blazers before advancing.
Despite missing forward Tobin Schaefer due to suspension, Moose Jaw started strong, with Ryder Gilroy and Marek McIvor giving them a 2-0 lead early in the third period. However, Regina showed their championship pedigree with late goals from Maddox Schultz and Malaki Martin to push the game into overtime.
Coach Hodgins praised his team’s effort despite some missed opportunities: “I wasn’t mad at them. They were doing some good things.
We need a little puck-luck. We had some really good chances and their goalkeeper (Steven Wawryk) played really well.”
Schultz, a key player from last year’s championship team, emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum: “You wanna win everything. When you got that spot in the regionals, people might say we gotta take our foot off the gas. But for our team, we’ve got to keep our foot on the pedal.”
With the series just beginning, both teams will be looking to capitalize on the momentum from this electrifying opener. Fans can expect more high-stakes drama as these rivals continue to battle it out on the ice.