It’s the simple nature of any sport you play -- you take the field or the ice, and you expect to win.
But sometimes things go so well and turn out so positively that it’s hard not to be impressed.
The Moose Jaw Warriors went into their first-round series with the Lethbridge Hurricanes expecting the kind of war that’s normal between a pair of fourth- and fifth-ranked teams in the post-season.
Instead, they put together their best playoff result since 2004, the last time they swept a team in the Western Hockey League playoffs.
“I think the players deserve the credit there,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. They put the work in over the course of the season and especially in the time leading up to the playoffs. The practice habits, just our total work and the consistency of it, were dialled in. When you do that, you see the results and I was really proud of the guys with how they started the playoffs.”
The Warriors opened with a 2-1 double overtime win at the Moose Jaw Events Centre before taking a 5-1 victory in Game 2, rolling to a 6-2 victory in Game 3 in Lethbridge and finishing things off with a 5-2 win in Game 4.
“We certainly didn’t expect a sweep, but we talk about resetting each game and that kind of proves it,” O’Leary said. “The first game was a wild one in terms of the overtime, and all four games were never out of hand or out of reach, They were all hard games and all different games, but we didn’t need to win the series every night, we just needed to win one game. That’s where the reset came into play and the guys did a great job of that.”
While putting up five or more goals a game will lead to many a win, the Warriors' back end saw to it that even a couple of goals would be enough for a chance It all starts with goaltender Connor Ungar, but the blueline crew led by captain Denton Mateychuk have seen to their jobs and then some at both ends of the ice -- five of their 18 goals were scored by defencemen, with Max Wanner and Logan Dowhaniuk putting up a goal and four points each to go along with a pair of markers from Mateychuk.
“The offence from the back end, that’s a big part of our DNA here,” O’Leary said. “ We want five guys involved in how hard we attack and they did a great job of that in the first round. Then with Connor Ungar, we play confident in front of him, we know and believe he’s the best goaltender in the league and that gives you some extra swagger as well.”
Now, the focus turns to the second round. With Regina pushing their series with Saskatoon to Game 7, Moose Jaw’s opponent has yet to be determined other than it will be either Winnipeg or Red Deer.
One thing that’s for certain is whoever they face, the Warriors will be expecting a battle -- especially if they face the Ice, who have spent much of the season as the top-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League.
“They’ve been the top team in the country all season long, and if you want to do something special, those are the teams you have to play,” O’Leary said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens on Monday night in Saskatoon, but whether it’s Red Deer or Winnipeg, it’s got to be about us first. The same way we prepared ourselves for the first round, we have to prepare ourselves for the second round.”
While the series dates have yet to be finalized, it’s expected things will kick off Friday night at whichever team the Warriors face. The hope will be that even without home ice advantage, the confidence shown in the first round will carry over into the second.
“Confidence is earned, and the players have confidence right now, but the first round is over and done with,” O’Leary said. “So we have to reset again, reestablish that, and it doesn’t last forever. We have a really big week to prepare ourselves and get ready for the game on Friday.”
Be sure to keep an eye on www.mjwarriors.ca for updates on their second-round opponent after the game in Saskatoon Monday night.
