Jessica Dempsey
The Kootenay Ice started their three-game weekend with a loss to the Regina Pats.
Friday night the Ice tried to make a third-period comeback at Western Financial Place but lost 3-2.
“We played a very desperate, hardworking, physical team that forechecks well and is really heavy on the puck,” said head coach James Patrick after the game.
The Pats were 1-6 coming into Friday’s game as they looked for a needed win.
After a back and forth first period the Ice went down 1-0 early in the game.
With less than three minutes in the first, the Ice went on the power play, but couldn’t convert. The first also saw some four on four action, but it wasn’t until 1:40 left in the period that Pat’s forward Robbie Holmes got one past goalie Duncan McGovern.
“We had a bad start,” said Ice defenceman Dallas Hines. “We didn’t come out how we wanted to, and we showed up too late as we did in Spokane, and we need to fix that.”
The Pats went up 2-0 in the second after Sergei Alkhimov got taken down into McGovern and easily converted on the penalty shot. With the Pats making it 3-0 in the third, the Ice got a late power play and Ice forward Cam Hausinger was able to tip one in from Jaeger White to get the Ice on the board.
“We weren’t getting a lot of shots, this team was good at blocking shots so I just got open, and I know me and [White] was watching some NHL clips the other day and we saw a backdoor play, so just made a good play and it was easy for me I just tipped it in,” Hausinger said as he described his goal.
The Ice came out better in the third and Jaegar White was able to cut their lead by one to make it 3-2 halfway through the third. Late in the third, the Ice just couldn’t convert on a three on five advantage.
“I liked our desperation in the third, but I didn’t like our first period at all. I thought we were real perimeter,” said Patrick.
The Ice will look to tomorrow night’s game against in Medicine Hat against the Tigers for their second game in three nights.
“I think both teams will be still familiar with each other, I expect a real tough game in their building. They have a big crowd there and they play with a ton of pace. They throw every puck possible at the net and they forecheck real hard, so we will have to be ready to start right off the bat,” said Patrick.