By Scott Fisher /

If revenge is a dish best served cold, there was no doubt as to how frozen this one was.

The Regina Pats had to wait more than seven months to get some payback against the Swift Current Broncos, who bounced the Pats from the playoffs last spring.

Some players on the Regina roster have long memories.

“They knocked us out of the playoffs, so you always have that bitter feeling towards them,” Pats left-winger Michael MacAngus told the Regina Leader-Post after the Pats’ 5-1 victory in early November.

“This is only one game against them — we have seven more — but you want to get some revenge.”

Goaltender Linden Rowat, a Los Angeles Kinsg prospect who had yet to lose a game in regulation time, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

“We all know what happened last year in the playoffs,” Rowat told the Leader-Post. “It was a little extra motivation for games like this.

“They’ve been the team to beat since the beginning of the season, so it’s a way to prove to ourselves that we can be up there and take first place.”

The victory accomplished just that — putting the Pats (13-6-1-3) on top of the tight East Division standings.

Not bad for a club that didn’t pick up its first win until the fifth game of the season.

But a recent 7-1-0-1 streak has everyone forgetting about that rather forgettable start.

Of course, the Pats were missing a large part of their nucleus in the early going with five players getting extended looks with their NHL clubs.

Everyone’s back now.

And things are looking good.

The Pats had scored exactly four goals per game through 23 tilts, which gives them the most potent offence in the Eastern Conference.

Edmonton Oilers first-rounder Jordan Eberle has surprised exactly no one by leading the club with 15 goals.

And he’s had plenty of help.

Blueliner Colton Teubert, also a Kings draft pick, was tied for the league lead among defenceman with eight goals.

But no one expected Jordan Weal to burst onto the scene with a team-high 30 points through 23 games, by far the best among 
WHL freshmen.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product had one point in seven games (including four playoff clashes) last year.

Centre Matt Strueby and Brett Leffler are also averaging better than a point per game for the resurgnet Pats.

PATS PIECES
Each of the Pats top 13 scorers have a plus/minus rating above zero ... D Colton Teubert led the WHL with 22 minor penalties after 20 games ... C Jordan Eberle’s four game winners tied for top spot through the first one-third of the season.