Like every Western Hockey League heading out on a road trip to the opposing conference, the Moose Jaw Warriors were heading into a bit of the unknown during their recent B.C. Division swing.
With plenty of talented teams in the division -- including the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers -- it was going to take a solid team effort to come away with a winning record, and the run wasn’t going to be made any easier with their stops in Red Deer and Calgary on the way home.
As it turns out, the Warriors were more than up to the task.
The local squad put together a 5-2-0-0 run through the seven-games-in-14-nights run, one of their top showings in recent Western Conference road swings and what the team hopes is just a sign of things to come.
“I think that was a huge road trip for us,” said Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk. “We went into it with confidence and came out of it with confidence and the two games we lost were winnable games. So I think we’re really happy with how we played, we just have to learn from our mistakes and what we did that didn’t work. It was definitely good, but we have a lot we can learn from it.”
The Warriors opened the trip with a 5-2 loss to Prince George on Nov. 23 before proceeding to reel off five straight wins -- 3-2 in Kamloops on Nov, 25, 4-3 in Kelowna on Nov 26, 8-3 in Victoria on Nov. 29 and 5-4 in overtime in Vancouver on Nov. 30 to close out their B.C. portion of the swing.
Moose Jaw then picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on the way home, a 5-2 victory over Eastern Conference second-place Red Deer on Dec. 3, before falling 5-3 in Calgary on Dec. 4.
“I think the guys did a real good job,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “The first game was a tough one, I thought we had a really good start in P.G. but there was a tough finish to that game, but after that, I felt we found our game. We were playing the style we were accustomed to, and to the guys' credit, it was a tough road trip and they did it right.”
O’Leary felt the key to their success was having the ability to essentially roll lines at will, with the team’s depth and skill finding a way to break through time and again.
“There were times from game to game and within the games that we were able to use four lines and six defenceman and had great goaltending,” he said. “I think that gets some excitement in the room with more guys involved in the success, and when that happens it tends to run downhill. That’s what we found on the road trip and it just kept going.”
As the success continued to build, so did the team’s confidence. And it’s safe to say the Warriors -- who hold an 18-10-0-0 record to sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference -- are a confident group going forward, especially when you add in the bonding experience that’s always part of long road trips.
“It’s definitely important, this is going to help us build as a team,” Mateychuk said. “It was really good for us, getting to know your teammates a little better, getting to know the guys you didn’t know as well before, so to come out of it with a lot of momentum is great.”
There’s also the fact the Warriors now know they’re bona fide contenders. Defeating the B.C. Division’s top three squads in their own rinks while on a heavy road trip will certainly do that for a team.
“I think that was the thing I was most excited about,” O’Leary said. “And those were good playoff atmospheres, they were hard games, it’s one thing to win a game running away, but those were tight-checking games and we had to fight for every inch. For our guys, it’s another confidence booster and it’ll help down the road, especially when we get into the playoffs.”
Next up is the Warriors’ Teddy Bear Toss Game on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.. They’ve already been through one -- the Calgary Hitmen put on their annual show on Saturday night, with more than 20,000 bears raining down on the ice after their first-period goal -- and needless to say, they’re looking forward to their own.
“It’s obviously a cool night, we got to play Calgary at their home rink for their Toss, and now we’re looking forward to our own and it’ll be a pretty exciting game,” Mateychuk said.
Fans are asked to bring new and unwrapped toys, toques and mittens in a plastic bag to throw on the ice after the Warriors’ first goal. Volunteers will collect the donations, which will be given to the Salvation Army Christmas Toy Drive for distribution to those in need.
