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AAA Warriors vault into first place with weekend sweep

Two wins over Trojans in Tisdale move Warriors into three-way tie for top spot in SMAAAHL
With the way things have been going for the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors as of late, it seemed like only a matter of time before they made a major move in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League standings.

As it turns out, this weekend was that time

With 4-2 and 6-3 road wins over the Tisdale Trojans on Saturday and Sunday, the Warriors improved to 16-6-1-0 on the season and, more importantly, moved into a three-way tie for first place in the SMAAAHL with the Saskatoon Blazers and Saskatoon Contacts. Both Saskatoon teams have a game in hand.

On Saturday, the Warriors built period leads of 2-1 and 4-2 before holding on for the one-goal victory. Kirk Mullen, Atley Calvert and Lucius Schmidt all had a goal and an assist for Moose Jaw, while Connor McGrath scored their other marker. Caelan Fitzpatrick picked up two assists.

Dylan Ernst got the start in goal and turned aside 21 shots.

Things were a little more comfortable in Sunday’s rematch, as the Warriors broke open a 2-2 first period tie with a pair of second-period goals before potting a pair of third-period insurance markers.

It was McGrath’s turn to lead the way offensively, as he scored twice and finished the contest with three points. Fitzpatrick, Calvert, Davis Fry and Ethan Peters all had one goal each, Schmidt picked up another two assists.

Ernst had another solid contest with 29 saves.

The Warriors will have a shot at taking over sole possession of first place when they travel to Swift Current to face the Legionnaires on Tuesday night. Next home action is Thursday, Dec. 12 when they host the Notre Dame Hounds.

Overtime… the Warriors were without goaltender Chase Coward for the weekend, as he was called up by the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels and made his first start on Saturday night in their 4-3 loss to the Regina Pats… it wasn’t the best of nights for the youngster, as he surrendered three goals on six shots and was replaced by Byron Fancy in the second period… affiliated player Jaxon Taupert returned to the Warriors and backed up Ernst both contests.

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