The Home Hardware Midget AAA Legionnaires surrendered the eventual game-winning goal 1:15 into the first period Thursday night in the provincial capital, as Game 1 of their SMAAAHL quarter-final series with the Regina Pat Canadians was a one-sided loss.

The top-seeded Pat Canadians took advantage of a pair of errors by the eighth-seeded Legionnaires in the first frame to carry a 2-0 lead after one. After that even-strength strike 75 seconds in, Regina then burying a powerplay tally with 6:55 to go in the first.

"I didn't mind our first period. We just made two mistakes - one in our own end and the other on the penalty-kill," said Legionnaires head coach Darren Evjen. "We're down two, but I didn't mind our game at that point at all. Regina's usually a first-period team when they separate from you."

The Pat Canadians didn't let up in the second, though a successful middle frame was met by a decently steady effort from Swift Current.

"I thought we played really good in the second," said Evjen. "We pushed back really hard, but again, we make some mistakes and they just capitalized."

The Legionnaires earned two cracks on the powerplay, but couldn't solve the opposition's netminder.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Regina rattled off three even-strength goals in the final six minutes (5:14, 3:36, 1:02) to carry a 5-0 lead with 20 minutes to play.

With a path to a comeback nothing short of steep, the Legionnaires spent the third period creating rhythm for Game 2 of the best-of-five as much as anything.

"Just get some momentum going the other way," Evjen said. "Let's get a goal, let's get playing the right way, let's get on our game, and keep pushing right to the end so that they know we're going to push back - every shift and every game - that's the important part."

Despite still being unable to find the back of the net, the Legionnaires killed off two third-period penalties, allowing another 5-on-5 strike with 6:44 to go, to fall 6-0 in the series opener.

Jacob Herman recorded 26 saves in net for Swift Current.

"I think the big thing is we've got to look in the mirror. Our older guys have to look in the mirror and go 'I've got to play better in every way - I've got to bring more', because tonight wasn't close enough," said Evjen, on the need for a more veteran-driven effort from here on out.

"Their 17-year-olds scored all six goals. They've got five 17-year-olds on the back end, so our 17-year-olds have to step up tomorrow."

It was a tough display of just how flawless a game needs to be to succeed in the always-narrow SMAAAHL playoff race. However, despite the Game 1 loss, the Legionnaires' bench boss expects big things from his team in a quick turnaround to Game 2.

"They know what's at stake. This is the big stage and everyone knows what's at stake in every way. They need to come out and have a better push tomorrow, play better, and push this series to a tie," Evjen noted. "There's no other way to look at it. That's the way we'll look at it and I'm sure our group will respond that way, and we'll be ready to go come puck drop tomorrow."

The series shifts back to Swift Current for the second game - the Innovation Credit Union iPlex plays host to the next scrap between the Legionnaires and Pat Canadians, coming Friday night at 8 p.m.