The Moose Jaw Warriors just wouldn’t say die against the Red Deer Rebels in Western Hockey League action on Wednesday night, but they’d still come up short on the scoreboard.
The Warriors found a way to tie the game three times throughout regulation but came up short in the shootout, dropping a 4-3 decision in Red Deer.
They still picked up a point in the standings and have a 24-14-0-2 record to sit four points up on Lethbridge for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and five points back of Saskatoon, though the Blades have four games in hand.
After a back and forth first period that saw both teams with a handful of scoring chances, it was Red Deer who broke through with the game’s first goal.
A turnover at the blueline led to Frantisek Formanek getting a shot off from the point that deflected and dropped in front of a crowd in front, leading to Kai Uchacz picking the puck out of the crowd and putting a shot past Connor Ungar. The goal came with two seconds left in the period.
Neither team had much when it came to regular controi in the first 10 minutes of the second, but the Warriors had a pair of golden scoring chances at the eight minute mark. Eric Alarie was the shooter on both, first going in on a breakaway after a feed from Jagger Firkus and putting a shot over the net, and then again missing high on a chance from just outside the slot seconds later.
A late Red Deer penalty put the Warriors on the power play to start the third period, and they’d finally break through. Firkus did the honours, taking a pass into the high slot from Denton Mateychuk and one-timing a shot home blocker side 33 seconds into the frame.
The Rebels got that one back less than three minutes later, with Formanek taking a feed into the Warriors zone with a head of steam, beating his defender outside and sliding a shot home on the breakaway.
Red Deer had a chance on the power play midway through the third, and that led to the best scoring chance of the first half of the period, as Ungar got across to make the save on a Jayden Grubbe cross-crease scoring chance.
A few minutes later, the hockey gods rewarded Alarie for their earlier strikes against the 19-year-old forward, as he fought off a check along the boards in the Red Deer zone and found Calvert breaking into the zone. The reigning WHL player of the week would rifle a shot home glove side to tie the game 2-2.
A penalty three minutes later gave the Rebels a chance to retake the lead and they’d capitalise, with Kalan Lind scoring off a rebound by going hard to the net.
The Warriors received a power play of their own with three minutes remaining in the game and it was their turn to come through. Ryder Korczak took a shot from low on the left wing and had the puck deflect down off a Red Deer defender between Rhett Stoesser’s pads for the tying goal. The marker came with only 1:16 to play in regulation and would send the contest into overtime.
The extra frame solved nothing, and for the second time in their last four games, the Warriors would lose in a shootout. Uchacz scored the only goal in the skills competition, and Red Deer had a 4-3 win.
It was yet another exceptionally busy night in net for Ungar, as he’d make 48 saves in earning the win, while Stoesser had 27 saves for the Rebels.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday, Jan. 13 when they host the Portland Winterhawks. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
