AAA Warriors get off to solid start with shut-out win over Swift Current

It might have been seven months since they faced another actual team, but the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors made it look like it was just an extension of their storybook campaign last season.

The Warriors had two goals apiece from Ethan Peters and Blake Betson, while Kael DePape turned aside all 20 shots he faced as Moose Jaw took a 7-0 win over the Swift Current Legionnaires in exhibition action Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Place.

The game was the first for the local squad since their season was shut down due to COVID-19 shortly after they advanced to the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League final last March. That campaign was filled with similar results to Saturday, and something they’ll be looking to emulate going forward.

“It was good,” said Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber. “For the guys it was just good to get a game under their belts. We’re going to go through some video and things with our systems and some stuff that we can shore up, but for a start and an exhibition game it was nice to see some good things and it’ll be nice to get at ‘er again tomorrow.”

Evan Callaghan, Atley Calvert and Wyatt Wilson also scored for the Warriors, who took a 1-0 lead out of the first and led 4-0 through two. Rookie Anthony Wilson contributed three assists, while Kirk Mullen, Max Wanner, Riley Niven and Chris Otterson had two helpers each.

Seeing veterans and rookies alike hit the scoresheet and show flashes of brilliance throughout the afternoon was a positive sign for Weisgerber.

“Obviously for the young guys it’ll be a bit of a learning curve with the systems and things like that, but they bring high energy and they’re fast,” he said. “That’s how we play and those guys fit in well, so it’ll be good to keep those guys going like that for sure.”

It certainly won’t hurt having a veteran goaltending presence, either. DePape joined the Warriors in the off-season after playing the past two years with the Yorkton Maulers and was steady throughout in his first appearance for Moose Jaw.

“He’s a veteran guy, with him coming in we were fortunate to get him here from Yorkton and he played very well,” Weisgerber said. “He’s going to be good for us this year, this is his third year in the league and you can tell, he’s nice and calm in there and he made some big saves.”

Callaghan scored the Warriors first goal of the game and felt having such a dominant performance right off the hop was a positive first step.

“I think it’s really important,” the Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product said. “It’s a confidence booster and it sets you up for the season. You know what you can do and what you’re capable of and we’ll go from there.”

And, of course, it certainly didn’t hurt to have a chance to finally play a game against another opponent.

“It’s was amazing, I can’t even describe it,” Callaghan said with an obvious grin under his mask. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this, and to get a win is really nice.”

The Warriors are back in action on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in a rematch with the Legionnaires. All pandemic protocols will remain in place, including mandatory masks, signing in at the door and social distancing as much as possible. A limit of 150 fans is also in place, so get to Mosaic Place early.