‘Slap in the face’: Pats’ hot start deflated by disallowed goal, Tigers roll to 8-2 victory in Game 3

Medicine Hat Tigers' forward Kade Stengrim slides it past Regina Pats' goalie Marek Schlenker in Game 3 action of the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs (Source: Keith Hershmiller Photography/Regina Pats)

The Regina Pats are once again trailing in their first round series against the Medicine Hat Tigers, losing 8-2 at home in Game 3.

Regina came out of the gates Tuesday night firing and thought they had an early lead on a goal by Zach Moore.

Instead, Moore’s goal was wiped off the board and he was given a penalty for playing with a broken stick.

“Because he made another play on the puck, the play should automatically be dead and we’re getting a penalty,” Pats head coach Brad Herauf said about the explanation he was given from officials.

“[The referees] are pretty much put in a position to make that call because of the goal being scored. But yeah, I think that’s bang-bang … when you look back at the video, I think his explanation to me makes sense.”

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Pats’ captain Ephram McNutt believes the ruling was deflating.

“That was a really tough to start for sure, you’re so hot after a goal – an early goal, especially against [Medicine Hat],” he explained, “For it to be taken away, and then we end up with a penalty out of it also, definitely a slap in the face there.”

Early penalty trouble, bad breaks and a really good opponent in Medicine Hat the difference as Regina falls behind in the best-of-7 series 2-1.

“The scoreboard is what we’re all playing for but when we really dissect the game, the scoreboard wasn’t really indicative of us playing bad,” Herauf told reporters following the loss. “I should say, did we make mistakes? 100 per cent. Do we need to be better? 100 per cent. But there are some good things we can take from it.”

“It’s the best [Regina’s] played all year, for sure,” Tigers’ head coach Willie Desjardins responded. “Tonight was close early, we scored some and then it got away a little bit. But it was a tight game early.”

Tiger take over

Medicine Hat took over the game with goals from Yaroslav Bryzgalov, Kade Stengrim and Bryce Pickford to lead 3-0 at the first intermission.

Calgary Flames’ prospect Andrew Basha added two goals for the Tigers in the second period as the defending champion Tigers flexed their prowess midway through the series.

“We need everybody rolling,” Desjardins said. “It’s shift after shift for us, but it is key with [Basha]. He’s a good player for sure and it’s big he got a couple.”

Carter Cunningham and Noah Davidson each added their first goals of the series and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll notched his second to round out the scoring for Medicine Hat.

Pats’ starting netminder Marek Schlenker pulled after giving up five goals on 19 shots.

Taylor Tabashniuk, who started Game 1 of the series, gave up three goals against on 17 shots in relief.

At the other end, Jordan Switzer faced 26 shots, making 24 saves in the win – a series best for the Tigers’ 19-year-old goalie.

Pue gets on the board, Schultz adds assist

Despite the loss, Liam Pue and Maddox Schultz were bright spots as they each played their first Western Hockey League (WHL) playoff game Tuesday.

The 15-year-olds missed the first two games of the series to play with the U18 AAA Regina Pat Canadians enroute to a provincial championship.

Pue tallied his first career postseason goal on a wrister over the shoulder of Tigers’ goalie Jordan Switzer.

“He was cheating to the one side and I found the far side of the net,” Pue said about his goal. “It feels pretty good getting the first playoff out of the way fast, but you wish it was a better outcome.”

Herauf compared his rookie sniper to some of the stars on the Tigers.

“Same thing I see on Medicine Hat: really good players making really good shots,” he said. “Unfortunately, their Liam Pue’s are 18, 19, ours is 15.”

“A good player in a good scoring position with time and space, you’re going to make a good play and that’s what he did tonight,” Herauf added.

Schultz also earned his first WHL playoff point with an assist on Ruslan Kamirov’s second period powerplay goal.

Pue says the style of play in the postseason is different.

“It’s harder hockey than the regular season,” he admitted. “Guys are finishing every check so it’s hard.”

Forward Keets Fawcett also returned to the Regina lineup after missing some time due to injury.

McNutt was complimentary of the three players who all made their series’ debuts.

“They handled themselves very well against a real physical team,” the captain said. “They were in it and didn’t shy away.”

Regina’s powerplay finally found the back of the net after not scoring on their first 10 opportunities of the series.

However, Regina finished the game 1/4 on the powerplay.

‘Rebound’

Regina has little time to flush Tuesday’s performance as Game 4 gets underway in under 24 hours.

The message from Herauf is simple.

“Rebound,” he said bluntly. “This is a seven game series. In the end, there’s going to be times when Medicine Hat’s going to out-play us and we can win hockey games. And even when we win the hockey game, we should expect to be outplayed through times.”

“We need to feel comfortable in those moments so we’re not being overwhelmed,” Herauf added.

Desjardins also expects a big push from the Pats in Game 4.

“We know it’s going to be a hard game tomorrow. We’re going to have to play well,” he said.

“That’s the beauty of it. Just jump back into it and not have to dwell,” Herauf added.

Puck drop for Game 4 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre.