And if a few players aren’t completely on board, well, you’re going to get nights like Friday night against the Saskatoon Blades.
The Tribe were full marks in the first period but couldn’t keep the pressure on their East Division contending opponents, dropping a 3-0 decision at Mosaic Place.
“In the early going I thought we were pretty good in terms of speed, maybe it took a couple shifts to get our feet wet, but after that I thought we did a pretty good job in terms of coming to pucks, chipping and charging,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “We generated a lot of shots and had bodies to the net and second efforts. But in the second period they took it to another level and we stood around and watched a little bit.
“They’re a good team, we were able to keep ourselves in the game and had some big saves when we needed them. Some guys had really good games but unfortunately there are some guys who would like a little more from themselves and that’ll be the challenge [tonight].”
The two squads came out of the first period in a scoreless tie, with the Warriors outshooting Saskatoon 10-8 in the process.
As O’Leary pointed out, that changed in the second, and it led to Blades agitator extraordinaire Riley McKay scoring 5:58 into the period.
The Warriors’ Eric Alarie and Tate Popple battle for the puck moments before Cayde Augustine scored a goal that would be called back.The Warriors appeared to get that one back midway through the frame when Cayde Augustine blasted home a loose puck after a goalmouth scramble, but said scramble included a measure of goaltender interference on Blades netminder Nolan Maier and the goal was called back.
“That really took the wind out of our sails,” O’Leary said. “I think it should have counted and watching it again, I know it should have counted, but those kind of things you have to find ways to get over. It kicked us a little bit and we didn’t recover, but at the end of the day we just need to drag a couple more guys into the fight a bit and we’ll be better tomorrow.”
McKay added his second of the game with 6:29 remaining in the third and Tristen Robbins capped scoring with 1:25 to play.
Warriors goaltender Boston Bilous turned in a solid performance in goal, making 33 saves on the night and doing all he could to keep his team in the contest when Saskatoon had sustained runs of pressure in the second and third.
“They’re a good team, I’ve played them quite a bit and I know their personnel and their players, so I had good idea of what they were going to bring today,” Bilous said. “I thought we did a pretty good job for the most part, at least for the first two periods we were sticking with them and kept it a one-goal hockey game. But it’s not fun losing, you win as a team and lose as a team.”
Warriors goaltender Boston Bilous makes the save after an attempted screen by the Blades Chase Wouters.Bilous has now started six games for the Warriors and faced at least 33 shots a night, including three outings with 42 or more and a 53-shot game in his first outing after joining the team in the trade with Prince Albert. A busy slate, for sure, but no issue for the 18-year-old veteran.
“You don’t think of it, the circumstances don’t matter as a goalie, you just save the puck no matter how many come your way, and you just want to win,” Bilous said. “That’s my goal, to try and get better and help my team win hockey games. The shots are what they are, some nights like tonight we don’t give up to many, but you still have to stop the puck.”
The Warriors fell to 12-31-2-0, are winless in their last three and have one win their last 10 games. They’re back in action Saturday night when they host Brayden Tracey, Adam Evanoff and the Victoria Royals in their first game back in Moose Jaw since the blockbuster trade deadline deal. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
Overtime… the Warriors wore special Hockey Night in Canada jerseys for the game as part of the Western Hockey League “Suits Up” campaign in support of organ donation and presented by Remax… in addition to the special insignia on the front of the jersey, the neckline included the words ‘The Boulet Effect’ in honour of Logan Boulet, the Humboldt Bronco player who was killed in the bus accident and whose organ donation saved the lives of many… The Warriors jerseys were auctioned off during the contest and presented to the auction winners by the players themselves after the game. While final totals were unavailable as of press time, it’s expected the event will raise close to $10,000 in support of the Kidney Foundation of Canada… fans also had a chance to pick up special Hockey Night in Canada themed bobbleheads featuring Don Cherry and Ron MacLean.
