Sam Boldt scored the game-winning goal with 4:03 remaining in regulation and Atley Calvert capped a hat trick with an empty netter as the Warriors took a 4-2 win over the Notre Dame Hounds in Game 1 of their best-of-five quarter-final series.
“We just stuck with it, I thought we were okay and we’re hoping that’s the worst game we play,” said Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber, back behind the bench for the first time since recovering from kidney transplant surgery. “Not that we played bad. We just weren’t crisp, but it was still good. Notre Dame is a good team and they work hard, they force you to make mistakes and they pressure you at all times. So hopefully after this Game 1 and we’ve seen how hard they actually come we start doing things a little it quicker and it shows in Game 2.”
The game-winning goal was a hallmark of how the team has played much of the season – an aggressive forecheck, an offensive-zone turnover and a quality scoring chance that became a goal, with Boldt pinching on defence and beating Notre Dame goaltender Jared Picklyk with a low shot blocker side.
“We had two guys hard on the puck and it was good. [Kyle] Forester ended up turning that puck over and Cally [Caelan Fitzpatrick] made a good pass to Bolty and Bolty made a good shot, our D jumped in there and it was perfect,” Weisgerber said.
“And that line worked hard all game, they were creating stuff all night with turnovers and how hard they worked. We need that from that line and they did a good job with it.”
Jonah Jelley opened scoring for the Hounds 8:15 into the game, but Calvert picked up his first of the game on the power play just over two minutes later.
The Warriors’ captain then gave his team their first lead with another man-advantage marker at the 11:18 mark of the second, finishing a drive to the outside on his defender and lifting a quick shot over Picklyk as he drove the net.
That set the stage for Boldt, who was happy to have come through in the late stages of the game and hoped to see the same kind of effort when the series resumes on Sunday in Wilcox.
“You’re always going to have to have tough games in the playoffs, so you have to find a way to win and you have to battle hard,” Boldt said. “We have to keep on playing well and the way we’ve shown, if we do we should have a chance.”
Chase Coward got the start in goal and had 28 saves, the Warriors fired 30 at Picklyk.
The series returns to Moose Jaw for Game 3 on Monday, Mar 1. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
Weisgerber honoured
Not only did the contest mark the first game back behind the bench for Weisgerber, it also came only a few days after the SMAAAHL announced he had been named the league’s coach of the year.
“It’s an honour to be recognized by your peers, but it’s more of team award,” said Weisgerber who led the team to a 30-13-1-0 despite taking the ice with a line-up featuring a single returning veteran. “We have a great staff and you can’t do it without those guys. And obviously having a good team, they were young and they bought in early and it’s a team thing.”
And, of course, there’s simply the fact he’s coaching again, after his transplant kept him sidelined since early December.
“It is nice,” Weisgerber said. “It’s probably a lot quicker than I thought and expected, but I just feel really good and I’m happy to be back.”
