The last time the Moose Jaw Warriors played at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, they absorbed one of their toughest losses of the season in a 5-3 defeat to the last-place Kamloops Blazers
Warriors forward Atley Calvert had two goals in the contest, but couldn’t hide his extreme disappointment with the loss in his team’s final home game before the Christmas break.
On Friday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, things were far different.
Calvert had a goal and two assists and the Warriors rode an absolutely fantastic goaltending performance from Jackson Unger to take a 5-2 victory over the Regina Pats in front of close to 3,500 fans.
The Warriors improved to 19-14-0-2 with the victory and remain a single point back of the Brandon Wheat Kings for third in the Eastern Conference after Brandon’s 3-2 shootout win over the Blades in Brandon.
“It got a little hairy there at the end, but Ungs was unbelievable tonight.” Calvert said of how the game played out. “He made at least 10 really great saves and we couldn’t have done it without him, he was our best player tonight… They made it close, but we had an emphasis on playing the right way and we knew we’d get our looks. Getting the two late was big and it was a really nice win.”
The Warriors created pressure right off the hop and were rewarded for their fast start.
Kalem Parker got Moose Jaw on the board only 57 seconds into the proceedings, jumping on a Jagger Firkus blocked shot and putting the puck home through traffic for the quick 1-0 lead.
The Pats received their first power play with just over 10 minutes to play in the first and nearly tied the game when a rebound went right to Borya Valis alone at the side of the net, only for Unger to make a great glove save.
It was Pats goaltender Kelton Pyne’s turn to get in on the big save action a few minutes later, as he made a couple of big stops in close before robbing Rilen Kovacevic of his first goal as a Warrior with a sprawling stop of his own.
Unger saw that go down and likely said some version of ‘hold my drink’ because when Dakota MacIntosh was hit with a high-sticking double-minor with just over five minutes to play in period, the 18-year-old netminder put together the goaltender version of the Firkus Circus.
A huge glove save on Tanner Howe similar to his save on Valis and three big blocker stops -- including one on what looked like a sure goal midway through the penalty kill -- preserved the one-goal lead and sent the Warriors into the break on a high,
All told, Unger would make 21 saves in the frame after Regina failed to record a shot in the first eight minutes.
The Warriors took advantage of some good puck movement in Regina’s zone to make it a two-goal lead 5:44 into the second.
Calvert was the beneficiary, taking a pass into the slot from Firkus and with plenty of time and space, beat Pyne with a shot top shelf glove side for his 21st of the season.
The 20-year-old Moose Jaw product had an interesting celebration, as he made a beeline across the zone to the boards pointing to a group of fans in the corner before slamming into the glass with a huge grin.
“It was just a bunch of guys I grew up with and they happened to be here tonight, so it was nice to have a game like that,” Calvert said. “You don’t seem them very often being here and them being in other spots so it was good to see them.”
Some slick power play puck movement led to the Warriors’ third goal, as Brayden Schuurman took a pass to the side of the net and banked a shot in off a sprawling Pyne with 9:03 to play in the frame.
Regina got on the board with two minutes gone in the third when Zane Rowan took a cross-crease feed from Sam Oremba and jammed the puck past Unger to make it a two-goal game.
The Pats then closed within one with a power play goal at 7:51, with Valis putting a shot into the wide-open net off an Oremba rebound.
Pyne kept the Warriors from extending their lead with two huge saves moments after his team got within one, twice stopping Lynden Lakovic on shots in close.
There was little he could do on the Warriors’ fourth goal, though, and it was a product of a great passing play in the Regina zone.
Firkus dipsy doodled along the boards and found Calvert in the slot, with his spinning backhand pass going to Ethan Semeniuk in front of the net and he’d tip the puck home with 3:31 to go in the game.
Only 39 seconds later, the Warriors removed any doubt with regards to the result when Martin Rysavy found Schuurman at the side of the net for a shot top shelf glove side. Kovacevic picked up the second assist for his first point as a Warrior since the trade with Edmonton earlier in the week.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when they make the trip north to face the Prince Albert Raiders. Next home action is Friday when the Raiders are in town, with game time 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
