The Moose Jaw AAA Warriors definitely had the opportunities to get off to a fast start against the Saskatoon Contacts when the two teams met at Mosaic Place on Friday night.
Receiving the only three penalties of the first period and outshooting the opposition 17-7 in the frame? What’s not to like?
Instead, it was the Contacts who would come out of the opening 20 minutes with a 2-0 lead, and while the Warriors would pull back to within one 3-2 early in the third, they’d get no closer on their way to a 5-2 loss in Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League action.
The loss was the second in a row for the Warriors, who are now 19-12-0-1 on the season and a single point up on the Contacts in fifth place, six points back of the Regina Pat Canadians.
Seth Dragan opened scoring for Saskatoon 4:26 into the game and Berkly Catton scored shorthanded just under four minutes later to give the Contacts their two-goal edge.
Catton, 15, has put up eye-popping numbers since joining Saskatoon from Shattuck St. Mary’s just before the Christmas break. The first-overall pick in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft has points in all nine games he’s played in the SMAAAL, racking up eight goals and 21 points over that span.
He’d draw an assist on Saskatoon’s third goal 3:58 into the second, a power play marker off the stick of Kanye Huang.
Connor Miller would get one back for the Warriors four minutes later, though, and his second of the game two minutes into the third would all of a sudden make a game of things.
Moose Jaw wouldn’t be able to find the tying goal, though, with Saskatoon’s Braeden Jockims and Carter Mason scoring empty-net goals in the final 41 seconds.
Ethan Fechter faced 24 shots in taking the loss, while Chase Wutzke -- who recently returned to the Contacts after drawing plenty of attention with his play in a short stint with the Red Deer Rebels -- had 33 saves for Saskatoon.
The Warriors are right back on the ice Saturday night when they host the Estevan Bears. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
