For the second time in as many meetings the Warriors and Tigers went to overtime, and like the contest in the Friendly City back on Oct. 29, Moose Jaw would take the victory.
Denton Mateychuk found some space in the slot with 2:19 to play in the extra frame and ripped a shot past Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow to give the Warriors a 3-2 victory in Medicine Hat.
While it’s early in the season, the win was crucial for team morale as with Prince Albert and Swift Current also winning on the night, it kept Moose Jaw tied for third place in the East Division instead of falling all the way to last place in both the division and Eastern Conference.
And just as important was how they won -- after being victimized by late-game comebacks and team-wide collapses early in the season, it was Moose Jaw who rallied late to secure the win.
The Warriors improved to 6-7-0-0 with the victory, while the Tigers fell to 4-6-2-1.
The Warriors got on the board first with just over two minutes gone, and it was Ryder Korczak who once again finished things off. Eric Alarie forced a turnover at the bluelin and hit Martin Rysavy with a pass to go in two-on-one with Korczak, who ripped a shot over Langkow’s shoulder.
Despite the Warriors carrying play much of the period, it was Medicine Hat who would score the game’s second goal. Bogdans Hodass took a harmless-looking shot from the far boards after a turnover at the Warriors’ line, but Ashton Ferster got to the front of the net and tipped the puck past Carl Tetachuk to tie the game 1-1 with 4:26 left in the frame.
A tripping penalty 200 feet from their own net would cost the Warriors three minutes into the second period when Noah Danielson scored on the power play, firing a shot from the right faceoff circle off the crossbar and in.
There the score remained until 2:32 remained in the third period, when Jagger Firkus scored his fourth goal in two games. Mateychuk did the hard work on the play, though, carrying in from the point to the side of the Tigers net and hitting Firkus with a perfect cross-ice pass that the 17-year-old made no mistake on.
Both goaltenders had a host of huge saves on the night, with Tetachuk turning aside 24 shots to earn the win and Langkow stopping 32 shots in the loss.
Brayden Yager had two assists for Moose Jaw, as did Hodass for the Tigers.
The contest marked another game where the Warriors didn’t have a lot of time on the power play, as they received only one full two-minute advantage and were unable to score. Fortunately for Moose Jaw, the Tigers had only one other opportunity and finished 1-for-2.
The Warriors are back in action Tuesday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (9-5-1-0). Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
