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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Look for Bounce Back in Regina

September 27, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


The opening weekend of the regular season didn't go how the Moose Jaw Warriors had hoped with back-to-back losses.

With a big rivalry game against the Regina Pats next up on the schedule on Wednesday night, the Warriors are looking to find their footing in the Queen City.

"It's a huge game, especially starting off pretty bad like we did, it's a big bounce back game for us," Warriors defenceman Lucas Brenton said. "It's a big game between two teams that have had a rivalry, so it's going to be good."

The Warriors opened the season with a 4-0 loss in Prince Albert last Friday and then a 9-4 defeat in the home opener against Brandon on Saturday.

Head coach Mark O'Leary said the focus for the team is on the details.

"Starting with our tracking, it was evident in both games that, whether it's coming into our zone or even in the offensive zone, we need to do more to stop those odd man rushes," he said.

"It's one-on-one puck battles, if we can have the puck, I like our chances of something positive happening, it's when we lose those one-on-one puck battles, whether it's in the neutral zone or the offensive zone and certainly the defensive zone that we get ourselves in trouble."

The average age of the Warriors' opening weekend roster was 17 years old, including 11 players in their first WHL season.

O'Leary said the opening weekend was a learning experience for the younger players about what it takes to play in the WHL.

"If you're going to lose a game, you should learn something from it," he said. "We're going through some growing pains here, we're a younger group, but at the same time, everybody has the capability of competing and coming away with more one-on-one puck battles."

The Warriors are expecting to have last year's leading scorer, Jagger Firkus, back in the lineup for Wednesday night's game after he was reassigned by the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.

The Pats opened the season with a pair of wins over the weekend. O'Leary said to have success against them, the Warriors will need to clean up its game in transition.

"Regina likes to create foot races in behind our D, we just need to make sure that we have numbers above the puck and then after, it's competitiveness coming back into our zone and winning those puck battles in front of our net," he said.

"Brandon had way too much of an easy time finding those pucks in front of our net, so if we can clean up those two things, we're going to give ourselves a chance."

As the Warriors aim to rebound against the Pats, Brenton said the team is motivated to turn things around.

"We're pretty upset right now, so we're going to show that on the ice," he said. "We're going to play hard, play fast and play our game."

The Warriors and Pats meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Tune into all the action on Country 100 and WHL Live. The Pre-Game Show is on the air at 6:40 p.m.

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Western Hockey League Stories from September 27, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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