The Moose Jaw Warriors might not have had the offensive output they showed in their previous meeting with the Calgary Hitmen, but they were able to get the job done just the same on Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors weathered the storm through the first half of the game while building a lead and checked Calgary into oblivion in the once they had it, going on to a 4-1 win in Western Hockey League action in Calgary.
Moose Jaw joined the 20-win club with the victory, improving to 20-16-3-1 and moving within two points of Saskatoon for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Warriors goaltender Carl Tetachuk had to be sharp in the first 10 minutes of the game as Calgary threw all sorts of pressure at the visitors, and he was up to the task, including a miraculous pad save on Maxim Muranov while down and out during a scrum.
As many chances as the Hitmen had early, it was the Warriors who would strike first.
Atley Calvert hit Riley Niven with a breakaway pass from the Warriors blueline, and the rookie forward would put his shot off the crossbar. The puck dropped right on the goalline behind goaltender Brayden Peters, though and Josh Hoekstra was rewarded for going hard to the net, tapping home the loose puck with 3:57 remaining in the first.
The Warriors were being outshot 20-7 when the next goal was scored, and counter to the flow of the game, it was once again Moose Jaw.
Rookie Nathan Pilling -- who hails from Calgary -- tipped home a shot from the point by Max Wanner with 7:38 gone in the frame, giving the Warriors a 2-0 edge.
The Warriors turned the tide as the period progressed and generated their own pressure late in the period, and it paid off with 50 seconds remaining. Calvert outduelled a Calgary defender on the end boards, went in behind the net and found Majid Khaddoura pinching in the slot, with the defenceman roofing a shot to make it 3-0.
The lead would be cut to two goals with three seconds left in the second when Calgary’s Grayden Siepmann scored on a perfect shot from the top of the left face-off circle.
The Warriors put on a defensive clinic through much of the third period, holding the Hitmen to only three shots in the first 15 minutes while generating a handful of chances of their own.
Cordel Larson finished things off for the Warriors with an empty-net goal with 28 seconds remaining, giving the 20-year-old goals in each of the three games he’s appeared in since the trade deadline,
Tetachuk was decidedly less busy in the second half of the game, facing only 13 shots after the initial Calgary outburst and stopping 30 on the night. Peters made 21 saves for Calgary.
The win was the third straight for Moose Jaw, who now have points in seven of their last 10 games.
The Warriors will now have a day off but will face their toughest test of the Alberta road swing on Tuesday night when they face the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings. Game time is 8 p.m. Moose Jaw time.
