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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Fall in Shootout to Wheat Kings on Friday

December 8, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Brandon, MB - Despite leading for much of the game, the Moose Jaw Warriors couldn't finish the job in Brandon on Friday night.

The Warriors fell 5-4 to the Wheat Kings after a nine-round shootout.

"We had a two-goal lead in the third period and found a way to give two right back to them, so those situations, you've got to be able to lock it down and bring that thing home," Warriors associate coach Scott King said.

"The little details, defending, being in the right spots and we just gave them a couple there. Had an opportunity with the four-on-three in overtime and didn't get much out of that and then it's a skills competition after that."

Brayden Schuurman paced the Warriors on the night with two goals, while Jagger Firkus finished with a goal and two points in the loss.

Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk also extended his WHL-high point streak to 23 games with an assist in the first period.

King said the Warriors made mistakes at the wrong times to allow Brandon to stick around in the game.

"Mistakes will happen, but when they happen, key times of the game, where you're trying to lock it down, it came back to bite us," he said.

"We've got to learn from these games and it gets down to the wire here and in playoffs, you've got to be able to close those games out."

The night started perfectly for the Warriors as Firkus scored his team-leading 26th of the season just 45 seconds into the game.

Brandon would tie the game on a goal from Nate Danielson midway through the second period, but Moose Jaw answered back just over five minutes later when Schuurman scored his fifth of the season.

The Wheat Kings tied the game back up early in the third period when Jaxon Jacobson found the back of the net just 2:20 into the frame.

The tie game was short-lived as Atley Calvert responded for the Warriors only 37 seconds later and then Schuurman followed that up 48 seconds after that to make it a 4-2 game.

Brandon didn't go away and picked up goals from Jacobson and Hyland only a minute apart to tie the game with 5:51 left in the third.

Moose Jaw had a power play in overtime, but couldn't capitalize and then fell in the nine-round shootout when Jayden Wiens scored the winner.

Jackson Unger made 36 saves in the loss for the Warriors, while Moose Jaw was outshot 41-31 on the night.

The Warriors were 0-for-2 on the power play, while finishing 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Moose Jaw will look to bounce back on Saturday night when they host the Eastern Conference-leading Saskatoon Blades for the annual Teddy Bear Toss night in support of the Salvation Army.

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