The Moose Jaw Warriors didn’t get off the best of starts against the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night, but once they got going, it was once again all systems go.
The Warriors overcame an early deficit by scoring four straight goals through the first and second periods before going on to a 6-3 victory in Western Hockey League action at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The win gives the Warriors wins in 13 of their last 15 games and sees the team improve to 30-16-0-2, moving two points clear of Red Deer into a tie for second place with Medicine Hat in the Eastern Conference standings.
Getting things on track as quickly as they did was a point of focus for the team heading into the game, said Warriors forward Matthew Savoie, and seeing results was an obvious positive.
“Just as the game goes on our team gets better and better and I think that’s what we did again tonight,” Savoie said. “Once we get the cycle going in their zone and got some sustained pressure, I thought we were good.”
While the Warriors had goals from their dangerous top six as per usual, it was once again contributions from their third line that helped make the difference in the game.
Martin Rysavy led the way with two goals, while Brayden Schuurman scored on a nifty solo effort in the third and Rilen Kovacevic had an assist while generating all sorts of chances.
“I think that’s the kind of team we have,” Savoie said. “Our third line, I guess you could call it that, it wouldn’t be the third line on many teams. It’s a pretty elite group that we have that can play in any situation and go out there at key times, and I think those guys have been playing really well these last few games. They’ve been really consistent for us, giving us what we need when we throw them out there and they’ve been awesome.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a bit of pressure removed from the top two lines, either, especially when it comes to dealing with what other teams are throwing at them.
“It just makes it hard for teams to match up against us,” Savoie said. :”It gives us three really good offensive lines, and even four lines that can contribute and win their match-up. When are four lines are going like we have been, we’re a pretty dangerous team.”
As well as things turned out, it was Red Deer who opened scoring 2:50 into the game when Jeremiah Roberts got his stick on a point shot by Quentin Bourne and had it deflect top shelf on Warriors goaltender Jackson Unger.
Moose Jaw had trouble controlling the puck in the first seven minutes of the opening frame, with turnover after turnover keeping the puck in the Warriors zone, and they’d only get their first shot on net at the six-minute mark of the period.
A Red Deer penalty would change the flow of the game, though, and the Warriors would get the early goal back with 6:01 to play in the frame.
Atley Calvert forced an offensive zone turnover and went in on a two-on-one with Rysavy, with the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect finishing off the play with a perfect one-timer past Chase Wutzke.
That goal completely swung momentum in the period, and the Warriors would hold Red Deer to a single shot over 13 minutes after their slow start.
Another power play saw the Warriors generate a slew of chances, and Savoie would make it 2-1 with 1:36 to play in the frame. Denton Mateychuk drove to the net down low and put the puck past Wutzke on the goalline, with Savoie right there to jam it in.
All told, Moose Jaw would outshoot Red Deer 17-8 in the frame.
Rysavy then extended the lead to 3-1 with 9:39 to play in the second, taking a pass from the corner from Kovacevic and redirecting the puck on net from the top of the crease, with the tip just sneaking past Wutzke.
Some solid penalty killing by Brayden Yager set up the Warriors’ fourth goal. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick stripped the puck from a Rebels attacker in the Moose Jaw zone and sent Jagger Firkus in on a long breakaway, and he’d score on a slick backhand with two minutes to play in the frame.
Red Deer caught some luck on the power play with six minutes gone in the third when Ollie Josephson’s shot from the point went off Kalan Lind in front and right to Kai Uchaz, who flipped the puck into the net to make it a two-goal game.
The Warriors got that one back a minute later, once again through hard work by their third line. Schuurman went in hard on the forecheck and stripped the puck from a Rebels defender before going in alone on Wutzke and tucking the puck around the sprawling goaltender.
Calvert and Lynden Lakovic connected on the Warriors' sixth goal, thanks to Lakovic taking a feed from Savoie, cruising the zone until he found space and hitting Calvert with a pass in front for the easy tap in with 9:44 to play. The goal was Calvert’s 30th, leaving him needing 10 goals over the last 20 games to match his output from last season.
Carson Birnie scored a garbage-time goal with 1:40 to play, and that’s as close as the Rebels would get.
Jackson Unger was his usual steady self with 23 saves, while Wutzke had 22 saves over two periods and Rhett Stoesser topped seven in the third.
The Warriors are back in action on Tuesday night when the Edmonton Oil Kings are in town. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
