The Regina Pat Canadians swept the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors to win the team’s first Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League title since 2017.
"It’s awesome," Pat Canadians' star Maddox Schultz told SportsCage host Barney Shynkaruk after the game. “Ever since the start of the year, we made this our goal and to accomplish it feels real good."
This season, the Pat Canadians finished first place in the regular season with 35 wins and seven losses. During the postseason, Regina only lost once. Schultz finished the regular season with 93 points, leading the league in scoring with 43 goals and 50 assists.
"Trying to get the job done and stepping into the playoffs, we know we had a good first round and, coming into the second round we knew we were matching up against a good team,” Schultz recalled about the playoff run. “Even in this series, we thought we were the better team throughout the series, but to win, it feels real special.”
According to Pat Canadians' head coach Ryan Hodgins, his team learned a lot from past experiences going into this season.
"You’re always learning, learning every day," Hodgins said." We learned from last year and did we do some things differently? Probably, but like I said, we're learning every day.”
Last season, the Pat Canadians finished second in the league with 32 wins and 11 losses.
The WHL Draft lottery takes place on , and Schultz is widely considered to be the favourite to go first overall.
During the game, the Pat Canadians were on the power play twice, scoring once with Eli Johnson in the third period. Schultz contributed with an assist and he would also record an assist in the first period.
"I won that draw back and then Johnny stepped in with a missile," Schultz recalled. "For that to go in is really cool and got the crowd into it."
Schultz received major media attention for his performance in the Circle K hockey tournament, where he won the MVP as a 14-year-old and also earned first-team all-star. The Pat Canadians reached the quarterfinals then lost to the Northen Alberta Xtreme 3-2 in overtime on December 31, 2024.
"I think going into the Circle K tournament, we were hoping to do something special, and I think we did that there," Schultz said. "Coming off that, we felt real confident and going into the playoffs, we were super confident."
The Pat Canadians now go to Kenora, Ont. alongside three other teams: Kenora Thistles, Thunder Bay Kings and Winnipeg Wild. The winner from that competition will have the opportunity to compete in the Telus Cup tournament from April 21-27.
