The Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors might have seen their Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League season get off to a solid start, but they learned a valuable lesson when it comes to finishing games on Saturday night.
The Warriors surrendered a pair of goals to the Tisdale Trojans in the third period and would go on to drop a 4-3 decision in overtime at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Things started off swimmingly for the local crew, as Connor Miller and Bryce Boughen each scored first-period goals -- Miller’s coming only 29 seconds into the proceedings -- as the Warriors took a 2-0 lead.
Kale Margolis got one back for Tisdale with just over eight minutes gone in the second, but Joel Pinel restored Moose Jaw’s two-goal edge with 7:39 to play in the period.
That set the stage for the final frame, where Dayton Reschny pulled the Trojans within one 5:54 into the period and Matthew Van Blaricom tied things up with 9:50 to play.
Overtime solved nothing, with the shootout seeing both Van Blaricom and Margolis scoring while Dylan Duzan and league scoring leader Liam Fitzpatrick were stopped, giving Tisdale the 4-3 victory.
Ryan Bain was named the Warriors’ game star after turning aside 40 shots in the loss, while Moose Jaw fired 39 shots at Tisdale’s Lane Beal.
The Winmar Warriors are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 8 when they host the Prince Albert Mintos. Game time is 1:30 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
