The Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors might have seen their four-game winning streak come to an end, but they were still able to wrap up their weekend on a winning note Sunday afternoon.
One day after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Tisdale Trojans, the Warriors got right back on track with a 3-2 victory over the Warman Wildcats in Sask Male AAA Hockey League action at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Warriors are now 16-16-0-4 on the season, good enough for seventh place in the 12-team league, five points up on Prince Albert for the final playoff spot and seven points back of Warman for sixth.
A rough second period proved to be the difference in their game against Tisdale on Saturday, as the Trojans would score three straight goals and take a 4-2 lead out of the frame. Moose Jaw got one back late in the third, but would be unable to get any closer.
Dylan Duzan scored the Warriors’ lone goal in the first, Grady Hoffman had their goal in the second and Bryce Boughen wrapped up Moose Jaw scoring in the third.
Parker Dunn, Carter Ralston, Blake Girard, Jaxon Kehrig and Peyton Kostiuk scored for the Trojans.
Ryan Hicks got the start for Moose Jaw and stopped 12 shots in 31:34 of work, Ryan Bain turned aside all 14 shots he faced the rest of the way.
Things went far better for the local squad 24 hours later.
Warriors leading scorer Liam Fitzpatrick and Warman’s Liam Bursaw traded goals in the first period before the Wildcats’ Cade Hynd scored the lone goal of the second, giving his team a 2-1 edge heading into the final frame.
There, Fitzpatrick scored his league-leading 26th of the season with 30 seconds remaining to tie the game, and team captain Ryder Knutson would emerge as the overtime hero, potting the winner with 57 seconds left in extra time.
Fitzpatrick now has 54 points in 36 games this season and is second in league scoring, two points back of the Saskatoon Blazers’ Raiden Zacharias. Hoffman has 17 goals and 45 points and has climbed to eighth among SMAAAHL leaders.
Bain had 31 saves in the win, the Warriors fired 40 shots at Warman’s Corben Schnurr.
The Warriors continue their home stand during the coming weekend, hosting the Swift Current Legionnaires on Friday at 7 p.m. before the Saskatoon Contacts make the trip south on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Both games are at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
