‘Make it difficult’: Raucous crowd expected early in series as Pats roll into Medicine Hat for Game 1

Regina Pats goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk makes a save against the Medicine Hat Tigers in their matchup on March 6 (Source: Keith Hershmiller/Regina Pats)

The Regina Pats are ready for all oncomers as they roll into Medicine Hat, Alta. to begin the 2026 Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs against the number 2 seed Tigers.

Medicine Hat is well known for their passionate fans, which can create an intimidating atmosphere for visiting clubs come the postseason.

“The biggest thing is we can let the crowd dictate how [we’re] feeling about our game,” Pats’ head coach Brad Herauf told reporters earlier this week. “A lot of times they’re going to cheer about offsides, cheer about hits, cheer about passes made. And sometimes as a player, that can be intimidating because you’re like, ‘Oh, man, we get overwhelmed here?”

Regina last made the postseason in 2023, when now Chicago Blackhawks’ star Connor Bedard was leading the Pats. The Pats would go on to lose to the rival Saskatoon Blades in seven games.

Medicine Hat, the defending Ed Chynoweth Cup winners, are in search of becoming the first team to repeat as champions since the 1994-95 Kamloops Blazers.

With a 25-34-7-2 record, the Pats earned themselves the seven seed for this year’s playoffs.

The Tigers were one of just three WHL teams to reach 50 wins on the season, going 50-10-5-3 through the regular season.

Home ice is expected to be crucial for both sides in this series.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

“We’ve got to do our best to keep them off the scoreboard early,” added Herauf. “Then we can build our confidence and build some momentum internally for our group. Once we start doing that, maybe we start chipping away at them and build some frustration.”

“Maybe they’re thinking this might be an easy series, but for us we’ve got to make it difficult on them and make them come the hard way,” he said.

Just seven players on the Pats’ current roster have previous WHL playoff experience for a combined 84 games played

In comparison, Medicine Hat has 16 players with WHL postseason games played – including more than a dozen returning players from last year’s championship team.

“[Medicine Hat] is rowdy,” Pats’ captain Ephram McNutt, who has the most playoff experience of the group, pointed out. “They’re coming off a great season. It was going to be packed regardless of who they played in the first round and it’s going to be busy. We can’t really let it get to us.”

“We’ll stick to us and maybe embrace it. Certain guys come with different looks at the crowds and kind of rowdiness and some guys kind of let it play in and give us some motivation. Other are out there and just tune it out,” he added.

Regina and Medicine Hat matched up four times over the 2025-26 season.

The Tigers took all four matchups, outscoring Regina 23-7 over those games, with just one game going to overtime.

The Pats will lean on veterans like Keets Fawcett, who notched a team-best 30 goals, alternate captain Caden Brown, who put up 61 points (28G-33A) and 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Zachary Lansard, who has taken off with 15 points (7G-8A) in his last 17 games.

On the blueline, McNutt and Reese Hamilton will try to hold Medicine Hat at bay, with the captain coming off a career-best 53-point run (13G-40A) and Hamilton not far behind with 43 points (7G-36A).

Upcoming stars Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue dished plenty of highlight-reel plays in 34 regular-season appearances with the Pats under the Western Canadian Development Model, but will be busy battling with the Regina Pat Canadians in the SMAAAHL Championship this weekend.

Eight Tigers have surpassed 20 goals, headlined by Bob Clarke Trophy winner Markus Ruck, who led the league with a 108-point (21G-87A) campaign.

His twin brother, Liam, was just behind with 45 goals and 104 points.

The duo has garnered considerable attention with their stock climbing ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, but there’s star power to be found up and down the Cats’ lineup.

Puck drop for Game 1 is set for 7 p.m. at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. Fans not at the arena may watch the game for free on Victory+.