The Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors will be heading into the Sask Male AAA Hockey League post-season on an exceptionally high note.
With their playoff lives on the line two weekends ago, the Warriors have since gone on to score 25 goals across four games, picking up four wins in the process and hanging onto seventh place.
That included a pair of commanding wins this past Saturday and Sunday over the last-place Yorkton Maulers in Yorkton, with the Warriors taking a 7-3 win in the opener and capping off their regular season with a 7-0 victory.
It all means the Warriors will finish with a 22-19-3-0 record and will take on the Regina Pat Canadians when the first round of the playoffs begin this coming weekend.
Warriors 7, Yorkton 3
Things were interesting in the early going on Saturday, as after the Warriors took a 2-0 lead out of the first period, Yorkton scored a pair of power play goals just over two minutes apart early in the second to tie things up.
The Warriors ended up with a 4-2 lead through two, though, and pulled away in the final frame.
Jake Britlz scored twice and had three points for Moose Jaw, while Carson Deichert, Jonah Pinel and Brennan Brown all had a goal and an assist. Cooper Buhay and Noah Thul had their other markers, Chase Peterson, Keaton Lesperance and Ryan Gibbs all had two assists each.
Luke McKechnie turned aside 18 shots to earn the win, the Warriors had 23 on Yorkton’s Wyatt Bouvier.
Mikale Budz, Boston Schmidt and Aidan Vallance scored for Yorkton.
Warriors 7, Yorkton 0
Moose Jaw scored three goals in the first and another four in the second before putting things into cruise control and taking their comfortable win.
Max Threnien led Moose Jaw with two goals and four points, Caleb Potter had a pair of goals. Thul and Bryce Boughen each picked up a goal and three points, Brennan Brown had their other marker.
Buhay, Peterson and Kanyan Unger all added two assists.
Ryan Bain turned aside all 21 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. Moose Jaw had 24 shots on Yorkton’s Owen Sinclair in the first two periods and 12 on Josh Blair in the third.
Be sure to keep an eye on www.smaaahl.com this week for up-to-date playoff schedules.
