The Moose Jaw Warriors looked like a team out of synch when they took the ice against the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Western Hockey League action Friday night.
Which, to be honest, was very likely the case.
With three new players in the line-up and a host of different lines and defensive pairs, the Warriors struggled to get anything going offensively and went on to drop a 4-0 decision in Lethbridge.
The contest marked the return of forward Martin Rysavy from Columbus Blue Jackets camp in addition to the arrival of defenceman Kalem Parker and forward Brayden Shuurman from the Victoria Royals. The 19-year-old duo had been acquired in a trade 48 hours earlier and had made the long trip to meet the team in Lethbridge.
The Hurricanes opened scoring three minutes into the game, capitalising on the rush after a lengthy run of pressure in the Hurricanes zone. Tyson Zimmer beat his man breaking into the zone and put home a backdoor pass from Trae Wilke to give his team the early 1-0 lead.
The Hurricanes then made it 2-0 with eight minutes remaining in the period, with a turnover deep in the zone eventually leading to Chase Pauls scoring on a shot from the left face-off circle.
The Warriors weren’t without their chances in the first period, with two of the best opportunities coming from breakaways by Martin Rysavy and Lynden Lakovic, but Hurricanes goaltender Harrison Meneghin made the save both times.
Things didn’t go much better for Moose Jaw in the second period, as while neither team scored, the majority of the frame saw the ice tilted into the Warriors zone. Moose Jaw got a bit of relief with a pair of power plays but were unable to get a shot on net on either opportunity.
Warriors goaltender Jackson Unger had to sharp in both periods, for good reason -- Lethbridge put 33 shots on the Moose Jaw net through the first two frames and had a slew of good scoring chances..
An awful turnover on the rush led to an early three-on-one for Lethbridge to start the third period, and Logan McCutcheon would finish things off with a perfect shot top corner short side at 4:18.
A neutral zone turnover led to a short two-on-one for Lethbridge and Brayden Edwards would finish it off to make it 4-0 with 7:02 to play.
The opportunity came after one of the few moments of sustained pressure the Warriors had in the second half of the game, with Meneghin making a save in close on Lakovic to preserve the shutout.
Unger ended up facing 42 shots on the night and kept things from getting out of hand with more solid saves in the third period.
Meneghin had 26 saves to earn the shutout.
Moose Jaw fell to 3-3 with the loss, Lethbridge improved to 4-1.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Medicine Hat to face the Tigers. Next home action is Tuesday night when the Calgary Hitmen visit the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
