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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Make Trek to Brandon on Thursday

October 26, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Moose Jaw, SK - Coming off one of their biggest wins of the young season, the Moose Jaw Warriors will look to keep the momentum going into Brandon on Thursday.

The Warriors and Wheat Kings meet for the third time this season and the first at Westman Place in Brandon.

Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said defending against the Wheat Kings' transition game will be key on Thursday night.

"If you look at the games against them, when we [track against the rush] well, we have success, when we don't do that well, it's the exact opposite," he said.

Moose Jaw dropped its home opener, 9-4, to Brandon back in September, but bounced back five days later with a 5-2 win over the Wheat Kings at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

"Tracking the rush was important against Saskatoon, but then multiply that by five against Brandon," O'Leary said.

The Warriors are coming off a big win over the Blades on Tuesday, winning a hard fought game, 3-1, at SaskTel Centre.

Rookie forward Pavel McKenzie scored the game-winner with his first Western Hockey League goal.

He said that was a win that the Warriors can build off.

"It felt pretty good because Saskatoon's a pretty good team and we managed to beat them, so it shows we're a pretty good team as well," McKenzie said.

O'Leary said the Warriors were able to match the Blades structure and compete level.

"We knew we had to be ready, but I just really liked our urgency and our effort and compete to come up with loose pucks in all three zones, I thought that was the difference," he said.

"We're not shooting for perfection, there's always something that we can continue to build on, but I thought that looked like our group, I thought every line had its moments where we looked how we envisioned our team looking."

Going into Brandon, McKenzie said the Warriors need stay with what has been working.

"We need to keep playing the way we've been playing and try and score a few more goals on our chances," he said.

The Warriors and Wheat Kings face-off at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Thursday. Tune into all the action on WHL Live and Country 100, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 5:40 p.m.

After Thursday's game, the Warriors return home for two weekend contests.

On Saturday, it's Military Appreciation Night when Moose Jaw faces off with Prince George at the Moose Jaw Events Centre at 7p.m.

Then on Sunday, come trick-or-treat at the Hangar and enjoy a skate with the team after the Warriors face Prince Albert at 2 p.m.

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 26, 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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