It might not come as much of a surprise, but the Moose Jaw Warriors have at least made it official.
Justin Almeida scored his 28th goal, 69th assist and 97th point of the season as the Warriors took a 3-1 victory over the Regina Pats at Brandt Centre on Friday.
The win saw the Warriors improve to 36-19-6-2 on the season, giving them the single point they needed to clinch the third East Division playoff spot ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Warriors also already know their first-round opponent, as the Saskatoon Blades have clinched second place in the division . The first four games of the series have been set, with Game 1 and 2 in Saskatoon Mar. 22 and 23, and the series revertnig to Mosaic Place for Games 3 and 4 on Mar. 26 amd 27.
Regina native Carson Denomie also scored in his first game in his hometown as a member of the Warriors, with his marker coming only 43 seconds after Almeida's game-tying goal.
The Pats' Ty Kolle opened scoring 3:53 into the game.
Brayden Tracey added an empty netter with 18 seconds remaining.
Brodan Salmond made 32 saves to earn the win, Max Paddock had 20 saves for Regina.
Moose Jaw was 1-for-4 on the power play while Regina went 0-for-4.
The two teams are back in action tonight at Mosaic Place. Game time is 7 p.m.
