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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Drop Hard Fought Battle in Saskatoon

March 3, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Saskatoon, SK - Two teams that have played each other hard over the past two seasons went toe-to-toe once again on Friday night in the Bridge City.

The Moose Jaw Warriors put together a strong fight, but ended up falling 4-1 to the Saskatoon Blades, dropping their third straight game.

"The boys battled pretty hard and it sucks not coming out on the right side of it, but I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," Warriors forward Atley Calvert.

The loss drops the Warriors' record to 35-22-0-3 on the year and coupled with Lethbridge's win in Prince Albert, cuts Moose Jaw's lead on fourth place in the Eastern Conference to three points.

Calvert had the lone goal for the Warriors in a game where the final score didn't reflect how tightly played all 60 minutes were.

"I thought we played a really good game," Warriors assistant coach Scott King said. "I don't think we gave them a whole lot and we generated more than enough looks to score more than one goal.

"We could be a little bit more persistent shooting the puck, but again we battled hard, it was a real good game and we gave ourselves a chance to win."

Calvert said the difference in the game was the Blades finishing when they got an opportunity.

"They capitalized on our mistakes," he said.

After a tight and scoreless opening period, Tanner Molendyk opened the scoring for Saskatoon midway through the second frame, giving the Blades a 1-0 lead after two.

Early in the third period, Egor Sidorov would snap the puck home to give the Blades a two-goal lead.

The Warriors didn't go away and just over three minutes later, Calvert cut the lead back down to one with his 35th of the season on the power play.

Moose Jaw continued to press for an equalizer, but the Blades extended their lead back out to two when Blake Gustafson scored with 7:36 to play in the third.

Sidorov added an empty net goal for his second of the night to seal the game with ten seconds left.

Justen Maric made 29 saves in his first start for the Warriors.

Moose Jaw outshot the Blades 14-13 in the third period, but were outshot 33-27 overall on the night.

"[Justen] made the saves he should have, he battled in there," King said. "I'm sure that will be a confidence builder for him, but he showed what he was capable of and gave us a chance to win."

Moose Jaw finished 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Coming out of the game, Calvert said the Warriors need to continue to work on their puck management.

"That bit us in the butt a little bit as the game went on," he said. "When you do it early, you have the legs, but as the game goes on, you start making the same mistakes and then eventually they will end up in the back of your net."

The Warriors will return to the Hangar on Saturday night to take on the Prince Albert Raiders for #YourTeamYourJersey Night, sponsored by Real Canadian Superstore. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

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