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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Ready to Open Playoffs against Hurricanes

March 31, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Moose Jaw, SK - The 68 games of the regular season are in the rearview mirror, the week of practice is in the books and now the 2023 Western Hockey League playoffs are about to get underway.

The Moose Jaw Warriors will open their first round, best-of-seven, series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

"We're chomping at the bit for sure," Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said. "It felt like a long week, there's a lot of excitement, but we're just looking forward to puck drop and getting things started for real."

The Warriors will be looking to build off the experience gained during last year's trip to the second round of the playoffs.

"We learned that you need to manage the highs and lows," Warriors forward Atley Calvert, who had 40 goals and 73 points in the regular season, said. "Every game is different and we just have to manage our emotions."

A player that will be leaned on for experience during this year's playoff run will be 20-year-old defenceman Logan Dowhaniuk, who the Warriors acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings earlier this season.

Dowhaniuk won a WHL Championship in 2022 with the Oil Kings.

"It takes everything, every day," he said. "You're practicing, you're getting ready, if you're hurt, you're getting stuff fixed, so it takes all your energy and if we want to go far, that's what it's going to take."

The Warriors finished the regular season in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 85 points, while the Hurricanes enter the playoffs in fifth place with 78 points.

Moose Jaw went 3-1 against Lethbridge during their regular season series, which included a 2-0 record on home ice.

"They play really hard, they've got some big players, I think we can use our speed to our advantage and get pucks behind their D," Warriors forward Brayden Yager said.

"We ended the season on a good note, I expect a tough series, but if we just keep doing our thing, we'll do good."

O'Leary said the Warriors will find success if they can play well in the neutral zone and have strong puck management.

"Those are the two areas that we've been talking about most," he said. "Also making sure that we're winning battles for loose pucks in front of both nets, it's an area that we need to concentrate on going into game one and if we dot hat, we give our skill a chance."

The Warriors will host games one and two of the first round series on Friday and Saturday at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Then the series shifts to Lethbridge for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Wednesday at the ENMAX Centre.

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