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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Drop Tight Shootout Battle with Brandon

April 9, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


The chances were there for the Moose Jaw Warriors, but they come away from Brandon with just one point.

The Warriors lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Wheat Kings at Westoba Place, dropping a hard fought battle on Saturday night.

"We had our chances, we had our looks and unfortunately we missed the net or the goalie made a big save," Warriors assistant coach Gord Burnett said.

Moose Jaw held a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but Brandon battled back to tie the game before the midway point of the middle frame and then won it in the shootout.

Ryder Korczak had a goal and two points in the loss for the Warriors.

"I thought our first period was good, but we let off the gas in the second period and it cost us," he said.

Despite the loss, the Warriors do pick up an important point, which moves back into a tie with the Saskatoon Blades for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Moose Jaw has two games in hand.

Brandon is also in the mix, sitting just three points back.

With just three games left in the regular season, Burnett said this game had a playoff feel to it.

"It was an important game to both of us," he said. "We're fortunate to come out with one point, but obviously we would have loved two, it just makes Tuesday's game that much more important."

Eric Alarie opened the scoring for the Warriors just 3:53 into the game when he finished off a great setup by Korczak, who made a couple of Wheat Kings miss before sliding the pass into the slot.

Korczak cleaned up his own rebound in front to pick up his 23rd of the season and make it 2-0 only 4:14 into the second period.

Brandon didn't let the Warriors ride that momentum for long though as Nolan Ritchie scored a power play goal at 7:22.

Vincent Iorio followed that up just over two minutes later to tie the game up at 2-2.

Moose Jaw would outshoot Brandon, 13-9, in the third period, but couldn't find the go-ahead goal, sending the game to overtime.

There were chances at both ends of the ice in a fast-paced extra frame that saw Brandon outshot Moose Jaw, 4-1.

In the shootout, Denton Mateychuk, Jagger Firkus and Korczak were stopped by Wheat Kings goalie Ethan Kruger and Nate Danielson scored on the final shot to secure the win.

Korczak said the Warriors need to be better in their defensive zone coming out of the game.

"We weren't hard on pucks, they have the puck and they're skating around us, so we're going to fix that when we come back here on Tuesday," he said.

Carl Tetachuk made 29 saves in regulation and overtime and another two in the shootout in the loss. The Warriors outshot the Wheat Kings, 32-31, overall on the night.

Korczak said the team likes that they get another crack at Brandon again on Tuesday.

"We can show them how we really play," he said. "It's playoff hockey, it's going to be tough, but we're ready for it."

The Warriors and Wheat Kings meet for the final time in the regular season on Tuesday night at Westoba Place in Brandon.

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