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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Continue Busy Week against Portland on Friday

January 13, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


After two losses in Alberta, the Moose Jaw Warriors return to home ice looking for a bounce back performance.

The Warriors will play host to the Portland Winterhawks on Friday night as Portland makes its first trip to Moose Jaw in four years.

Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said they expect the Winterhawks to push the pace.

"They're dynamic, they're fast off transition and they have a lot of skill," he said.

After starting their East Division road trip with a pair of losses, the Winterhawks, who sit second in the U.S. Division, have picked up back-to-back wins this week in Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

Warriors forward Jagger Firkus said the key for Moose Jaw is to play their game.

"You can't really worry about what they're doing, it's more so what you're doing and what you can do on the ice," he said.

"They look like a really good team."

The Warriors' game plan will be focused on making the Winterhawks work to generate their offence.

"We'll need to manage pucks and try to make it hard on them to have to go 200-feet to generate any offence," O'Leary said. "We just need to play hard, heavy, Moose Jaw Warriors hockey and we'll give ourselves a chance."

Moose Jaw is playing the third of four games in five nights after dropping a 3-2 game in Edmonton on Tuesday and a 4-3 shootout contest in Red Deer on Wednesday.

The two losses were vastly different as the Warriors rebounded from Tuesday's loss with a strong effort against the Rebels.

"In Edmonton, we had the puck for the majority of the night, but it was unforced errors and a little bit stubbornness with our execution, but in Red Deer, we got back to playing our game," O'Leary said.

In Red Deer, the Warriors overcame three one-goal deficits in the third period to force overtime. Firkus said the Warriors showed their character in that game.

"There's a lot of times this year where in the third period, we'll be down a goal with a couple minutes left and we've come back," he said. "Our group knows that if we play to the final buzzer, there's a chance to win."

The Warriors will look to carry that mindset into Friday's meeting with the Winterhawks.

Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Tune into all the action on Country 100 and WHL Live. The Pre-Game Show on IKS Media Warriors Live gets underway at 6:45 p.m. on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Check out the Moose Jaw Warriors Statistics

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