It was a special moment for Regina Pats Robbie Holmes, scoring the game-winner against the Prince Albert Raiders just 13 seconds into overtime.
Better yet, the 2-1 win came on New Year’s Day in front of a packed crowd inside the Brandt Centre.
“It was a good feeling. I never scored an OT goal before so it’s a pretty cool experience to do that,” Holmes said.
His teammates were just as excited.
“Three-on-three can be a little tiring, a little stressful at times so it was nice to have a one-and-done, one attack and have it over with,” said Zach Wytinck, Regina Pats defencemen.
“It was a nice goal, a nice finish for him and a big two points for us.”
A solid start to the New Year, the win is something they hope to build off of.
“We can see some of the numbers and the points the teams ahead of us have. We put the standings up every day – the guys get a good look at it – it’s almost a reality, but there’s lots of work ahead,” said Dave Struch, Regina Pats head coach.
Over their past eight games, the Pats have racked up 11 out of a possible 16 points.
“We’re working hard and out-working teams and getting good wins. We just have to keep building on that, taking it one day at a time and go from there,” Wytinck said.
Leading the way is goalie Max Paddock, who’s been hot of late.
During the eight game, stretch the 19-year-old has posted a 5-2-0-1 record with a .935 save percentage.
“Confidence is probably one of the biggest things. When you are rolling, you’re rolling,” Paddock said.
“He is playing some his best hockey of his career. It’s really helping us out, we can rely on him to make big stops for us and keep us in the game and he’s doing just that,” Holmes said.
Struch said Paddock’s success is a benefit from how hard he and his teammates work.
“Guys are playing hard for him, because he’s playing hard for the guys. It’s giving us a chance every night. We don’t have the puck a lot so we need to play hard without it and Max is a big part of that,” Struch said.
Riley Krane scored his ninth goal of the season and added an assist in the win – it was his 100th Western Hockey League (WHL) career game.
The Pats kick off a three-game weekend Friday night in Swift Current against the Broncos.