It would have been easy for the Moose Jaw U13 AA Warriors to just go through the motions against the Melville Millionaires in their Sask AA Hockey League first-round playoff series this past weekend.
Facing a team that had beaten them all five times they played in the regular season, outscoring the Warriors 45-11 in that span? Generally not a sign of positive things to come.
But there the Warriors were, tied 3-3 through two periods on Saturday afternoon in Melville, despite playing a team that had thrown 11 goals on the scoreboard three times in their previous meetings.
And while the Millionaires would go on to take a 5-4 win in that contest and pick up an 8-3 victory 24 hours later in Moose Jaw to claim the best-of-three series two-games-to-none, it was a much-improved showing for the local squad.
As the final score of Game 1 would indicate, it was a back-and-forth battle throughout.
Jackson Boyle scored with 58 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the game 1-1 and Kingson McLeod gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 edge with a shorthanded marker 1:37 into the second period, but Melville regained the lead before the period was 12 minutes old.
Tylan Arnold saw to it that wouldn’t hold, though, tying things up at three with a power-play goal with 2:26 left in the frame.
Melville’s Hogan Hickman scored 2:56 into the third to restore Melville’s one-goal lead, and after Soren Hayden tied things up with another shorthanded goal two minutes later, would score the eventual game-winner with 8:18 left in the contest.
Hayden also added an assist, while Nixon Friesen had two helpers for Moose Jaw.
Spencer Jameson went the distance in goal and had 26 saves for the Warriors, who had 22 shots on the Millionaires’ Waylon Johanson.
Hickman finished with a four-point night, Jack Robinson, Riley Ironquill and Bennett Temple had their other goals.
Game 2 at the Kinsmen Arena on Sunday saw Moose Jaw throw everything they had at Melville -- including 21 of their 47 shots in the third period alone -- but they’d be unable to find the season-extending win.
Friesen, Mcleod and Arnold scored the Warriors' goals, Brycen Galbraith had 23 saves in net.
Robinson and Maxon Johnston had two goals each for Melville, while Hickman, Savannah Mucha and Jersey Kittelson picked up a goal and an assist each. Ironquill added a goal and three points.
Melville now advances to the South Conference quarter-final, where they’ll face the top-seeded Swift Current Broncos.
