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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors and Broncos Meet for Weekend Home-And-Home

February 24, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Moose Jaw, SK - It's been a little over three months since the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos locked horns.

The two Trans-Canada rivals will go toe-to-toe this weekend for a home-and-home set, starting on Friday night at the Hangar in downtown Moose Jaw.

"It's going to be good," Warriors forward Jagger Firkus said. "I like playing against their team, I like playing in their rink, it's a good place to play. Obviously get to play them back-to-back nights, so there's going to be a lot of chirping and momentum going back-and-forth."

The Warriors are riding a wave of momentum after snapping a three-game losing streak on Tuesday night with an 8-4 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

That win moved Moose Jaw five points in front of Lethbridge for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said getting back into the win column injected some more confidence into the locker room.

"The biggest thing was we looked like us," he said. "There's a certain way that we want to play, at the end of the day, we don't want to give up four goals, but overall, 60 minutes, we looked like the Moose Jaw Warriors and that's important moving forward."

This was the third time this season that the Warriors have scored eight or more goals in a game, but the first since beating Calgary 9-2 on Dec. 9.

Firkus said the Warriors didn't let up in their attack, which is a positive sign.

"A lot of our chances came off second chances," he said. "We didn't give up after the first one, we just kept going at the puck and eventually they kept going in."

After being held to just one point in the previous three games, Firkus was able to shake off a mini slump to post a goal and four points in Tuesday's win.

He said he found his groove again.

"I was kind of going through a slump as well as the team, but that game was big, was a breakout game for a lot of us and should help us moving forward," Firkus said.

The Warriors are 2-0 against the Broncos in their season series, but the two rivals will face-off four times in the next three weeks, meeting in two home-and-home sets.

Swift Current is currently battling for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, sitting two points behind Calgary and Medicine Hat.

"They're having a tough stretch in terms of results right now, but they still play good hockey," O'Leary said. "They create a lot scoring chances, they have depth throughout their lineup and they're hard to matchup against."

The Warriors and Broncos meet on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre before the home-and-home shifts to the InnovationPlex on Saturday night.

Tune into Friday night's action on WHL Live and Country 100, starting with the IKS Media Warriors Live Pre-Game Show on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube at 6:45 p.m.

Check out the Moose Jaw Warriors Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2023


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