Warriors Open Preseason against Pats in Estevan

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Warriors Open Preseason against Pats in Estevan

September 6, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Moose Jaw, Sask. - The Moose Jaw Warriors will be heading into new territory for their first game of the 2024 WHL preseason schedule.

The Warriors will face the Regina Pats at Affinity Place in Estevan on Friday night. It's the first half of a neutral site home-and-home set that will see the Trans-Canada rivals head to Assiniboia on Saturday.

"It's a lot of fun, especially in the exhibition season," Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said on the neutral site games.

"We saw what it was like last year in Assiniboia and I thought it brought a little bit of juice to an otherwise vanilla game, so I'm looking forward to it in both Estevan and Assiniboia, it should be good."

This will be the first preseason action for the Warriors, who wrapped up training camp on Sunday with a back-and-forth intrasquad game.

Since then, the team has been putting in work at the Hangar as they begin to ramp up for the start of the regular season in a few weeks.

"I've loved the energy, the effort and the compete," O'Leary said on this week's practices. "We have a group that are engaged in the details and really the mindset is making sure we're better today than we were yesterday."

The Warriors still have 29 players with the team as a number of 15 year olds get an extra look with the main squad.

There are also five 16 year olds looking to crack the roster for the first time, led by 2023 first round pick Aaron Sawatzky.

"I'm definitely really excited for the preseason," Sawatzky said. "I've been looking forward to this for quite a while now and I'm excited for the preseason to start."

Sawatzky saw action in two preseason games and one regular season game last year as a 15-year-old, but spent quite a bit of time around the Warriors' championship team.

He said that was valuable experience to prepare him for this season.

"I felt a lot more comfortable this year," Sawatzky said. "Last season showed me what it takes to be a winning team like that and the work you have to put in, so it definitely showed me the way I had to train over the summer."

While the Warriors will be facing another team for the first time on Friday when they take on the Pats, O'Leary said the focus remains on his squad and seeing what this year's roster can do.

"Really it's three things, number one is always races and battles, your effort and your compete to get there and to compete for it. Then number two, are we checking, our forecheck, tracking details and D zone coverage. And then the third, are we managing the puck, if you make good decisions at the right time, in the right places, if you do those three things, you give yourself a chance," he said.

The Warriors and Pats will meet at 7 p.m. from Affinity Place in Estevan. Stay tuned to the Warriors' social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X for updates from the game.

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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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