The Moose Jaw Warriors might have had their share of offensive difficulties against the Saskatoon Blades in Games 1 and 2 of their first round Eastern Conference playoff series, but things on the other end of the ice have been as solid as ever.
There was little blame that could be put on the goaltenders in either contest, as even the game-winning goal in Game 1 was of a fluke variety as Saskatoon’s Chase Wouters simply dumped a puck on net from a hard angle, only to have it sneak past Brodan Salmond and into the net. It was a terrible turn of events for a goaltender who had played admirably well, and his Game 2 replacement, Adam Evanoff, was just as strong between the pipes – even with the bad luck in that game.
Warriors head coach Tim Hunter feels there’s plenty of confidence around the team when it comes to the Tribe’s final line of defence.
“We’ve had good goaltending even after we gave up too many chances after allowing their first power play goal in Game 1,” Hunter said.
“We didn’t play our game, we stood around and watched a lot… they’ve earned one goal so far where they’ve really dug in and competed and everything else they’ve had has been fortuitous or somewhat lucky goals. So we’re confident once we play our game and the way we can we’ll come out on top.”
At the other end of the ice, it would be easy for the Warriors to have serious feelings of déjà vu – Nolan Maier has had his share of miraculous saves in the series, including back-to-back brilliant stops seconds apart early in the second period of Game 2 that could have turned the tide for the Tribe.
It was much like their first round series against the Prince Albert Raiders last season that featured Ian Scott nearly stealing the seven-game battle and Stuart Skinner turning in a stellar showing in their second round loss to the Swift Current Broncos. As one might imagine, the Warriors will be looking to find the kind of final result they had in the first series, as opposed to the latter.
Game 3 takes place Tuesday and Game 4 Wednesday at Mosaic Place. Game times are 7 p.m. for both contests.
