Warriors Disappointed in Finish; Proud of Season
April 26, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release
The Moose Jaw Warriors are heading into the offseason a bit earlier than the team had hoped for.
After a hard fought five games, the Warriors' season ended in Game 6 of their second round series against the Winnipeg ICE on Monday night.
"That was a tough last game, but I'm super proud of the guys, how we battled the whole year, going through ups and downs," Warriors forward Ryder Korczak said on Tuesday as the team cleaned out their locker stalls.
This is the second straight season that the Warriors have lost out to the league-leading ICE in the second round.
The Warriors made it a game deeper into the series this time around and pushed Winnipeg throughout the series.
"We gave them a good run," Warriors goalie Connor Ungar said. "They're a good team, you've got to give them some credit, you hold your head high and keep moving forward."
Moose Jaw had a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and had a chance to take full control of the series in Game 4 before losing in overtime.
The Warriors led 2-0 in Game 5 in Winnipeg before the ICE came back to win with five unanswered goals.
"If we get that overtime goal, the series is 3-1 and it's a different story, that's playoff hockey," Korczak said. "Everything happens for a reason, so I'm definitely happy with the guys and the season we had."
The Warriors put together a great run in the playoffs that followed up the team's first 40-win season since 2018-19.
"We just kept getting better throughout the year, so that's a big thing, we kept learning from our mistakes in games and that's huge," Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk said.
"It's a fun group of guys to go out there and battle with and I'm excited to hopefully have a chance to do it again next year."
With the loss still stinging for the team, the experience gained isn't lost on the players that will have the opportunity to return next season.
"When you lose to a team for the last two years now, that's something that it's always in your head a little bit," Mateychuk said. "I definitely still feel that in my stomach, the feeling from last night, so I don't want to let go of that too quick."
Warriors forward Brayden Yager said the team should focus on using the loss as motivation this offseason and heading into next season.
"Hopefully we can take another step and do something even bigger next year," Yager said.
Western Hockey League Stories from April 26, 2023
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- Ephram McNutt Wins Dr. Jeff Zorn Academic Excellence Award - Prince George Cougars
- Warriors Disappointed in Finish; Proud of Season - Moose Jaw Warriors
- WHL Conference Championships Presented by Nutrien to Begin April 28 - WHL
- Blades Complete Reverse Sweep, Advance to Eastern Conference Finals - Saskatoon Blades
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