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Warriors emerge victorious out of hard-fought battle with Pats

Hayes scores pair of goals as Moose Jaw takes 3-2 win at Mosaic Place
The Moose Jaw Warriors were expecting a hard-fought battle with the Regina Pats on Friday night, and that’s exactly what went down in Western Hockey League action at Mosaic Place.

Warriors forward Cade Hayes scored twice and Carl Tetachuk made 24 saves -- including a handful of the spectacular variety -- as the Warriors clawed their way to a 3-2 victory in the first meeting between the two arch-rivals this season.

“Yeah, it was a great win and especially against the Pats, our big rivals,” said Hayes, who scored both of his markers in the first period. “The crowd was really into it, it was a fun game and a really chippy game, so it was really nice to come out on top.”

The Warriors got on the board first midway through the opening frame when Hayes finished off a scramble in front of the Regina net while on the power play.

Moose Jaw had numerous chances to extend their lead in the first 20 minutes -- including a lengthy two-man advantage late in the period -- and would outshoot Regina 15-5 on their way to taking a 2-1 lead.

That kind of a start was exactly what the Warriors were hoping for.

“That’s a big thing, we have to come out and play a full 60 and that starts off with the first few shifts,” Hayes said. “I thought we started great and kept that going through the whole game. Now we’ll have a few good practices here and get ready for Wednesday (against Prince Albert).”

The two goals were the first on the season for Hayes, and something he hopes will be just a sign of things to come down the line.

“It’s been good so far, but it’s just a start,” he said.”I’m going to keep working hard, try to step up and play my game and hopefully score some more goals here.”

Logan Nijhoff got one back for the Pats before the first period was out, but Hayes restored the lead with six seconds remaining, finishing off a dazzling rush with Ryder Korczak and Denton Mateychuk by absolutely roofing a shot over Pats netminder Matthew Kieper.

Regina took advantage of their second power play of the game midway through the second, as Ryker Evans scored on a shot from the point that redirected past Tetachuk.

That set the stage for Matthew Gallant to score the first of his WHL career with 2:09 to play in the period, carrying the puck in wide on a Regina defender and beating Kieper high to the glove side.

The Warriors finished the game 1-for-8 on the power play and had another long two-man advantage in the third, but couldn’t find the back of the net despite a slew of glorious opportunities. That’s all fine and dandy though -- chances eventually turn into goals in the long run.

“We had some really good puck movement and a ton of chances and I don’t know how we didn’t score, so we’re not too worried about that,” Hayes said. “It’s just a matter of sticking with it and they’re going to go in for us.”

Regina had chances of their own to find the tying marker late in the game, but Tetachuk was up to the task, including a spectacular cross-crease save on Pats standout Connor Bedard in the game’s waning moments.

See that kind of performance in goal, and the overall play of the team in the early going this season is nothing but a positive and something Hayes and his teammates hope only continues going forward.

“I’m real excited for our team here, we have a lot of depth all the way with forwards and our D and Tetachuk played a great game and bailed us out a few times in the third,” he said. “So I’m really looking forward to seeing us keep this going and see what we can do this year.”

The Warriors are back in action Wednesday when they host the Raiders at Mosaic Place. Game time is 7 p.m., and fans are once again reminded to have either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from the last 72 hours to gain entrance into the building.

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