Warriors Ready to Battle with Blades in First Round Matchup
Published on April 22, 2022 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release
For the first time in three years, playoff hockey returns to downtown Moose Jaw on Friday night.
The Moose Jaw Warriors will host the Saskatoon Blades for game one of their first round WHL Playoff series at Mosaic Place.
"It's huge, the guys have earned that opportunity to start at home," Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said. "For a young group, it's nice to start at home, get your feet wet in the playoff action and then go from there."
The Warriors earned the right to host the first two games of the series after finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, just one point ahead of the Blades in fifth place.
While the Warriors edged the Blades overall in the standings, Saskatoon had the edge throughout the season in their head-to-head series, taking six out of eight games.
Despite Saskatoon coming out on top in the season series, Moose Jaw sat even with them in goals for and against with 28 a piece, thanks to a 7-1 win on opening night and a 7-0 win on Mar. 26.
At home, the Warriors were 2-1-1-0 against the Blades, beating them by a combined score for 21-10.
"They're going to be a very even matchup for us, if we can stick to our identity, manage our emotions, we're the better five-on-five team, so if we can stay out of the box, limit their special teams, we'll like the result," 20-year-old forward Cordel Larson said.
Playoff experience is limited on both sides with 50 games for the Blades and 44 for the Warriors.
Larson has the most experience on both sides of the ice after suiting up for 14 games with the Spokane Chiefs on their run to the Western Conference Final in 2019.
The Weyburn product was acquired at the deadline to be a veteran presence for the Warriors.
"It just comes down to the highs and lows of playoffs," Larson said. "There's going to be times where you're feeling great, like you're on top of the world and there's going to be times when you're kind of fighting it a bit, it' just managing those emotions throughout the playoffs."
With plenty of skill on both sides of the ice, the key matchup may be between the teams' two 20-year-old netminders.
Carl Tetachuk posted a career-year for the Warriors in his final Western Hockey League season, setting career highs in wins, goals against average, save percentage, minutes, saves and shutouts.
During the regular season series, he went 2-2-1-0 with a 2.53 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage against the Blades.
Nolan Maier set the WHL record for most career wins with 122 late int he season.
He appeared in six games against the Warriors, going 4-2-0-0 with a 3.46 goals against average and an 0.884 save percentage.
Tetachuk said he's looking forward to going head-to-head against Maier.
"I have to outplay him, so for me, it's me and him being veterans back there, so it comes down to who's the better goalie," he said.
O'Leary is confident that Tetachuk can be the difference maker in the series.
"You can talk about the record, but it's a different record when Carl Tetachuk is net than when he's not," he said. "Right now with our lineup the way that it is, it's 0-0, so we're looking forward to seeing where that record goes from here."
Another advantage for the Warriors will be the home crowd, Larson said he wants to see Mosaic Place rocking for games one and two.
"The overall vibe around the team is just everyone's really pumped up," he said. "We're very excited."
The Warriors and Blades meet on Friday and Saturday night at Mosaic Place. Games three and four will go on Tuesday and Wednesday in Saskatoon.
Tune into all the action on Country 100, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:40 p.m.
Fans can also watch all the action on WHL Live at watch.chl.ca. The IKS Media Warriors Live Pre-Game Show hits the air at 6:50 p.m.
Tickets are available at mjwarriors.ca and the Mosaic Place Box Office.
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