‘In survival mode’: Pats looking for spark on the brink of elimination after Game 4 loss to Tigers

Regina Pats' forward Zachary Lansard gets taken down by Medicine Hat Tigers' Niilopekka Muhonen in Game 4 action of the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs (Source: Keith Hershmiller Photography/Regina Pats)

The Regina Pats now face a 3-1 series deficit and are at risk of being The Regina Pats now face a 3-1 series deficit and are at risk of being eliminated in the first round of the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs after a 4-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 4.

“We’re in survival mode,” Pats’ head coach Brad Herauf said. “[I’ve] talked about us being like that in Game 2 in Medicine Hat, even for three-quarters of the game [tonight]. We keep that mentality, which needs to be our mentality.”

Zachary Lansard opened the scoring eight minutes into the hockey game with his second goal of the series to put the Pats out in front 1-0.

Medicine Hat responded quickly with four unanswered goals from Kade Stengrim, Gavin Kor, Liam Ruck and Noah Davidson to pull ahead 4-1.

Regina added a goal late in the second period on Ruslan Karimov’s third goal of the playoffs to round out the scoring.

“I really don’t think they really outplayed us, in any sense tonight,” Pats’ captain Ephram McNutt told reporters after the loss. “They bounced back after we scored – that’s one of their major, major strengths. But I think we’re real happy with how we played tonight.”

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The Tigers’ came to the Brandt Centre after splitting the first two games of the series in their home rink.

They leave Regina with a chance to clinch the series back at Co-Op Place in front of a home crowd.

“It’s huge. Obviously great response from our group and they played great hockey,” Andrew Basha told CTV News Wednesday night. “But we just focused on trying to get back to our game after Game 2. They played really well and we didn’t think we had our best in Game 1 or 2, so really important to get these two.”

Medicine Hat has outscored Regina 20-10 in the first four games of the series.

The Pats have struggled to string goals together, scoring back-to-back goals just twice in the series.

Despite the drought, the team believes they are still getting chances but are looking for a spark.

“We certainly are doing the right things,” said McNutt. “There’s nothing really you can do. Sometimes the sticks hot and the pucks bouncing for you and sometimes it’s not.”

“They’re a good team. They’ve got experience over there and that’s what good teams do,” Pats’ forward Keets Fawcett said. “We have to learn to weather the storm and push back … we’re hungry. We want to go down swinging, so that’s what our plan is.”

Going to school

As the seven seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pats were a clear underdog against the defending champion Tigers in the two seed.

In all of the four games to this point in the series, Regina has had great success at the start of games. Keeping the momentum going throughout the 60 minutes of hockey however, easier said than done.

“We can play with them,” Fawcett said. “They’re a top team with a lot of high-end guys. We can stick it to them and can work them and stuff. It’s just we’ve got to work on consistency and details.”

“[Medicine Hat] understands what it takes,” said Herauf. “What matters to that team is two points and they know once their backs are against the wall, they’re going to come back swinging.”

Medicine Hat has been more than complimentary of Regina’s young core.

Basha compared this Pats’ team to the 2022-23 Tigers – when he was just 17 – a team which that year surpassed expectations to make the playoffs as the eight seed.

The Tigers were eliminated that season in the first round by a juggernaut Winnipeg Ice team.

“When we played that team, we saw how much you have to learn and how hard you have to work to get to that level,” Basha explained. “And we are all very grateful we got to play Winnipeg that year … you just take so many lessons away from it and it teaches you to be more professional about it.”

“[Regina’s] young, lots of speed and they’re a really great team. And you can see they’ve got a great future ahead of them,” he added.

Herauf believes the Tigers were a great matchup for both his young group, and himself personally, to learn from.

“This last two weeks has taught me as a coach, its teaching our players and we want to be Medicine Hat; in two years, it’s going to be our time,” he said. “But the intention is to be winning. The intention is to be playing meaningful games and have the expectation of winning. Medicine Hat came in with [that] expectation from the group.”

Up against the wall

With the win, Medicine Hat takes a stranglehold on the series, leading 3-1 in the best-of-7.

The Tigers have an opportunity to end Regina’s playoff run in Game 5 Saturday night in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Basha says ending the series the first opportunity available is crucial.

“It’s everything. We don’t want to come back [to Regina],” he said bluntly. “That’s the thing with playoffs, if you have a chance to finish it, you’ve got to do it. We don’t want to give their team any life because they’re a great team.”

Meanwhile, Regina is hoping to drag the series back to the Brandt Centre for a potential Game 6.

“A huge motivator is bringing it back to Regina,” McNutt said. “We’d love to bring it back to Regina and have, at least at the very minimum, one more game here.”

“We know what we’re up against. We don’t need a scoreboard to tell us what needs to happen next,” Herauf added. “This team has always played its best hockey when our backs play against the wall and I don’t expect anything else come Saturday.”

Puck drop for Game 5 is 7 p.m. Saturday at Co-Op Place and is available for stream on Victory+.