The Moose Jaw Warriors just keep finding a way to pick up points.
The latest example came on Wednesday night in Western Hockey League action from the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex in Calgary, as the Warriors battled tooth-and-nail against the Hitmen before coming away with a 3-2 victory.
The win gives Moose Jaw points in 12 of their last 13 games, with 11 wins over that span.
All that production has paid its dividends in the standings, too, as the Warriors have reeled in the Red Deer Rebels for third place in the Eastern Conference. Moose Jaw is now 27-17-3-2 on the campaign and tied with Red Deer, who have three games in hand.
The Warriors scored a nice one to get on the board first. Ryder Korczak picked up the puck in the neutral zone and turned on the jets down the wing before finding Jagger Firkus with a perfect cross-ice pass. Ethan Buenaventura could only get a piece of it, and Firkus had his 60th point of the season with the power play marker.
Calgary got that one back with 6:55 to go in the period as Carter Yakemchuk scored his first WHL goal on a hard blast from the point that found its way through traffic.
The Warriors had a golden opportunity to take the lead when the Hitmen were hit with a five-minute major with nine minutes left in the second period, but Calgary had the better chances. Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Sean Tshigerl each had shorthanded breakaways, but Unger was up to the task and made the save on both.
Calgary continued to carry the play after killing off the major, but it was the Warriors who would strike next.
Team captain Daemon Hunt showed his speed off the blueline, breaking in on the wing and taking a perfect feed from Korczak before putting home a shot along the ice. The goal came with 1:38 remaining and was Hunt’s 14th of the season, the most among defencemen in the WHL.
It was the Warriors’ turn to take control of things in the early part of the third, and shortly after Brayden Yager had two glorious scoring opportunities stopped by Buenaventura, Max Wanner got the job done. His easy-peasy wrist shot from the point found the back of the net 4:14 into the period.
Tschigerl would score with 17 seconds remaining and the goaltender pulled, but Calgary would get no closer.
Unger capped the contest with a 38-save performance, while Buenaventura had 27 stops for the Hitmen.
The Warriors were to play in Lethbridge on Wednesday night, but that contest has been postponed. Next action is Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders, and next home action is Friday, Feb. 25 against the Swift Current Broncos. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
