The team’s coaching staff let their charges know in no uncertain terms how they felt about their performance on the evening and how things will need to improve -- especially when it comes to following what the team has worked on in practice since day one.
“It comes down to execution, and it’s just not good enough,” said head coach Trevor Weisgerber. “We’re only three games in and it starts with our older guys, they have to be better. We’ve been around here a month and a bit, and with our habits, we just have to keep working on it.”
One of the major sticking points was how the game started. The Warriors once again gave up the first goal, this time when Swift Current’s Noah Mitchell scored with 4:52 left in the first, marking the third straight game Moose Jaw was chasing early.
“We haven’t had a good start yet, all three games we haven’t played well and given up the first goal,” Weisgerber said. “Our preparation has to be much better, and I can take the blame for that. But at the end of the day we have to come here and play better and we weren’t good enough here tonight.”
Wyatt Lacoste scored for Moose Jaw before the period was out, but they’d find themselves once again behind on the scoreboard when Carter Herman scored for the Legionnaires midway through the second. Again the Warriors would rally late in the period, this time when Rowan Calvert scored with nine seconds to play.
That set up the final frame, where the Warriors carried the play from the opening puck drop. But one Legionnaires rush, one rebound and one turnover midway through the period let to Swift Current’s Matt Ripplinger scoring the game-winner.
The Warriors had a power play late in the game but were unable to generate any solid scoring chances, and the Legionnaires would escape with their one-goal win.
“With our effort, even systems-wise with breakdowns and things like that, it starts from our backend with our D,” Weisgerber said. “We just have to do things quicker and put the puck on the tape, and that just wasn’t there.”
Ryan Bain stopped 26 shots in taking the loss, Colby Watson had 33 saves for Swift Current.
The Warriors fell to 2-1 with the loss, Swift Current improved to 2-1.
Moose Jaw returns to action this weekend when they face the Yorkton Maulers in a pair of games Saturday and Sunday in Yorkton.
