They might not have gotten off to the start they wanted to, but the rest of the game was just fine for the Moose Jaw Warriors in Lethbridge on Wednesday night.
The Warriors surrendered the opening marker but scored a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of the first period and never looked back, going on to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes in Western Hockey League action.
The contest was a big one in the standings -- Moose Jaw improved to 23-13-0-0 on the season, moving three points clear of Lethbridge for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and within six points of the Saskatoon Blades for third, though the Blades have four games in hand.
Lethbridge got on the board first, with a defensive zone turnover leading to Jett Jones taking a feed from behind the net from Tyson Zimmer and putting a shot past Connor Ungar 7:27 into the game.
Max Wanner got that one back for the Warriors before the period was out, taking a cross-ice pass from Brayden Yager in between the circles and putting a shot blocker side past Lethbridge starter Harrison Meneghin with 6:39 to play.
The goal was Wanner’s seventh of the season and surpassed his total in 55 games from last season in only 29 games. The Edmonton Oilers prospect also has 25 points on the campaign, also passing his total of 23 from 2021-22.
The Warriors took their first lead with 1:17 to play in the period, this time with Atley Calvert doing the honours. Calvert went in on the rush with Ryder Korczak and scored his 18th of the season, taking the return feed and putting a shot off Meneghin’s shoulder and in.
Eric Alarie was the beneficiary of some solid work in the corner by Calvert and Firkus early in the second period, leading to the Warriors’ third goal. Firkus ended up finding Alarie alone in between the circles, and he’d have all day to tuck the puck around the goaltender and in for his eighth goal of the season. The goal came with 2:40 gone in the frame.
Just over seven minutes later, Calvert had his second of the game, this time on the power play. Team captain Denton Mateychuk got a shot off from the point, and Calvert was in position at the side of the net to successfully get the tip. The marker was Calvert’s eighth power-play goal of the season, giving him the team lead in that category.
Lethbridge got one back before the period was out, with Anton Astachevich getting off a perfect shot from the slot to pull the Hurricanes back within a pair with 4:24 to play in the frame..
Chase Pauls then got the Hurricanes back within one, with his shot in traffic finding the back of the Warriors' net with 11:56 to play in the game.
The one-goal game didn’t last more than a couple of minutes.
Alarie scored his second of the game, finishing off a rush with Calvert -- who picked up his second assist and fourth point of the game -- 1:50 later to make it a 5-3 Moose Jaw lead.
A late penalty gave Lethbridge a chance with a 6-on-4 advantage, but the Warriors would kill off the penalty and go on to the win.
Ungar finished with 26 saves to earn the win, while Meneghin had 18 saves at the other end of the ice.
The Warriors are right back in action on Friday night when they host the Calgary Hitmen, Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
