A solid start start for the Warriors. A huge offensive breakout for the Blades in the second period. And pushback by Moose Jaw in the third, but not enough to hit the win column.
The Warriors overcame a 4-2 deficit with a pair of third period goals -- including a strike by Martin Rysavy to tie the game with 1:26 to play -- only to have Saskatoon score seconds into overtime and take a 5-4 win at Mosaic Place.
“I think it’s one of those things where with the first period, I thought we played well enough to get a better result,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “We’ve seen previous instances where we’ve left things on the table and it came back to bite us, games against Brandon and P.A. where we had all kinds of looks and no finish and let the other team hang around and that’s what we saw tonight.”
The Warriors outshot Brandon 14-7 in the opening frame and had a host of solid scoring chances, but found Blades’ goaltender Austin Elliott’s crest and glove on each of them. The Blades 17-year-old also did a good job of rebound control, and when the puck did get away, his teammates were able to corral the danger.
“I don’t think we did a good enough job of getting back inside for those second and third opportunities,” O’Leary said before pointing to Rysavy’s goal as an example. “When we tied the game, it was because we were right in front of the net going for those second and third opportunities. So we can do a better job of that.”
Elliott wouldn’t be able to hold off the Warriors forever, and Ryder Korczak would get Moose Jaw on the board 5:11 into the second. Cole Jordan had an excellent chance driving across the net, and seconds later a Mateychuk shot would rebound right to Korczak, who had the easy tap-in for the game’s first goal.
Saskatoon would get that back four minutes later when Jayden Wiens was absolutely robbed by Warriors goaltender Carl Tetachuk with a pad save at the side of the net, but outduelled a Moose Jaw defender to flip the rebound home.
Saskatoon then used a pair of Warrior penalties to get back in the game, and a turnover behind the net would lead to the Blades taking a 2-1 lead. Brandon Lisowsky did the honours, taking a feed from behind the net to the top of the crease and lifting a quick shot top corner at the 9:19 mark.
Lisowsky then extended Saskatoon’s lead to 3-1 at 5:54, taking a pass in the high slot from Ben Saunderson and one-timing a perfect shot top corner.
Jordan got a second chance to score 50 seconds later, and this time would finish things off, pinching in and finding a loose puck in the crease before poking it home for his first goal of the season.
Lisowsky finished off the hat trick two minutes after Jordan’s goal, going in on a two-on-one break with Trevor Wong after a neutral zone turnover and tipping a pass top corner with 2:38 left in the period.
O’Leary pointed to Saskatoon’s surge as something to deal with in future contests -- especially after a similar second period led to a lopsided win for the Blades in Saskatoon on Oct. 27.
“It’s not letting one lead into two lead into three,” O’Leary said. “You saw it in overtime, guys like Robins don’t need too many looks to make you pay, and the second period continues to haunt us. I think it’s just managing the puck in those circumstances, we can be better at that.”
Unlike the game in Saskatoon, the Warriors were able to stay in touch. And that was enough for the third-period comeback.
Korczak got the Warriors within one 11:40 into the third, finishing off a slick passing play with Brayden Yager and Jagger Firkus and beating Elliott five-hole with a shot from just inside the left face-off circle.
There things remained until just over a minute remained, when Czech Republic World Junior hopeful Rysavy tied things up. Firkus got the initial shot off and Rysavy was right there for the rebound, getting off a backhand in close to tie the game at four.
There wouldn’t be good news in the end, though, as Robins went in alone on Tetachuk in overtime and scored 35 seconds into the extra frame to give the Blades the 5-4 victory.
Korczak enjoyed one of his best offensive showings of the season with two goals and four points, while Firkus, Yager and Denton Mateychuk all had two assists each.
The Warriors fell to 13-13-2-1 while Saskatoon improved to 13-11-0-1, with the result creating a logjam for second place in the East Division between the Warriors, Blades and Brandon Wheat Kings at 29 points. Brandon has one game in hand, Saskatoon two.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday when they travel to Regina to face the Pats before closing out their pre-Christmas schedule by hostin the Pats on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m.
