Don’t look now, but the Moose Jaw Warriors are once again in first place in the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference.
And it took a big win in yet another first-place showdown to get the job done.
Pavel McKenzie scored in the final 10 minutes of the third period and the Warriors would go on to a 3-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesday night.
The Warriors improved to 8-5-0-0 with the win and moved all the way from sixth place to a tie with Saskatoon for first in the Conference.
As the score would indicate, the game was close and tight-checking from the start.
Neither team had a ton of pressure in the first 10 minutes of the game, but back-to-back Warrior penalties would change all that.
Despite their recent struggles on the penalty kill, the Warriors managed to get the job done, including a lengthy Saskatoon two-man advantage. Goaltender Jackson Unger also played a huge role, as the Blades poured on the offence and were outshooting the Warriors 12-2 at one point in the frame.
The Warriors had far better luck on their first power play of the game later in the period. Some solid puck movement in Blades zone led to Jagger Firkus finding Atley Calvert at the top of the Saskatoon crease, and Calvert would outduel his defender to tip the puck home five-hole with 24 seconds left in the opening frame.
Saskatoon didn’t need much time in the second period to reply. A neutral zone turnover led to Egor Sidorov going in on a breakaway and he’d score the Blades’ first goal at 2:07 of the frame.
Both teams had a handful of chances in the rest of the period, but the best by far was a 2-on-0 break by Sidorov and Tanner Molendyk that Unger was able to get his left pad on for the save.
There things remained until 8:02 remained in the game when the Warriors regained the lead. McKenzie broke through with his first goal in the WHL, but it was some great work by Firkus that set things up. Firkus outmuscled his man along the boards and sent a blind backhand pass to the front of the net, finding McKenzie all alone. A quick shot top corner blocker side and Moose Jaw had a 2-1 lead.
Firkus then finished things off with 1:10 to play with an empty-netter for his third point of the game. That gives the Seattle Kraken prospect 11 goals and 23 points in 11 games, good enough for a tie for fourth among WHL scoring leaders.
Unger picked up first star honours for yet another solid performance that included 32 saves on the night, one of his lowest shot totals of the campaign.
Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product Rowan Calvert -- the younger brother of Atley -- picked up an assist on Sidorov’s goal for his first point of the season and was named the game’s third star.
The Warriors are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat King. They then return home Saturday for what could be yet another first-place showdown, this time against the Prince George Cougars. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
