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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Return with Tough Test against ICE

December 27, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


After 12 days off between games, the second half will begin in earnest for the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night.

The Warriors return to the Hangar to host the Winnipeg ICE in their first game back from the holiday break.

"It was definitely big to go home, see your family and recharge," Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk said.

Moose Jaw won 20 games over the course of the first 32 games, going 20-12-0-0 and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference as they get set for the home stretch of the regular season.

Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said the team is excited to get back to work.

"It's not often that you can get 10 days away, get refreshed, but you see the excitement in everyone when they get back doing what they love to do," he said.

"We're happy with [the first half], we're certainly not satisfied, but for us, it's doing the things that we need to do to go from that good team to a great team."

The Warriors had a plus-18 goal differential in the first half, scoring 120 goals and allowing 102 goals over the first 32 games.

O'Leary said the key for the team in the second half is to limit their goals against.

"We can score goals, but the diligence in terms of the checking, the details there, and then managing pucks, those two things to limit the opportunities coming the other way," he said.

The Warriors will face a good test to start the second half with the Eastern Conference-leading ICE coming to the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The game will be an opportunity for the Warriors to see how they stack up.

"It's one of the top teams in the league, so it's a good one [to measure ourselves]," Mateychuk said.

"It's going to be a big test," added Warriors forward Ryder Korczak. "They're one of the better teams in the league, we consider ourselves one of them, so it's going to be a big test."

O'Leary said it's the perfect way to get back into the swing of things.

"You want to jump in feet first to the second half," he said. "We're looking forward to the opportunity, we know what they're about, the fast transition and certainly the skill level up front to make plays and make you play at the other end of the rink."

The Warriors and ICE go head-to-head on Wednesday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre at 7 p.m.

Tune into all the action on WHL Live and Country 100. The Pre-Game Show on IKS Media Warriors Live kicks off the night at 6:45 p.m. on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

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