RED DEER -- It was another tough night for the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday as they continue to struggle to find wins after the Western Hockey League trade deadline.
The Red Deer Rebels scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of the first period and would go on to a 5-1 victory in WHL action in Red Deer.
The loss sees the Warriors’ record fall to 10-30-4-2 after their 11th straight game without a win, while the Rebels snapped a 13-game losing skid and improved to 16-23-4-2.
After a largely uneventful first half of the first period, Red Deer got some puck luck to open scoring. A shot from the point by Ty Coupland redirected to Jhett Larson, and he’d have a wide-open net to shoot at for the game’s opening goal at the 11:08 mark.
Matthew Gard made it 2-0 with a power play goal five minutes later, jamming in the loose puck at the side of the net after Warriors goaltender Josh Banini made the initial save.
Moose Jaw had a couple of scoring chances as the period progressed, but Brett Calhoon would extend the Rebels’ lead instead. After a Nishaan Parmar wrap-around attempt, Calhoon would outduel three Warriors in front and poke the puck over the line to make it a 3-0 game after the first.
A checking-from-behind double minor to Gard midway through the second would give the Warriors a chance to get back into the game, but Red Deer would successfully kill off both penalties.
There things stood until the 6:38 mark of the third period, when Derek Thurston got off a shot from the point that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net.
Beckett Hamilton then capped scoring for Red Deer with 8:36 to play, taking a feed from behind the net from Nolan Schmidt and putting a shot top shelf glove side.
Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke carried the shutout into the final seconds of the game, but the Warriors would get on the board.
Ethan Semeniuk took a feed to the side of the net from Aiden Ziprick, spun, and put a shot top shelf for a power play goal with 10 seconds left on the clock.
Banini finished with 35 saves on the night, while Wutzke turned aside 21.
The Warriors are now off until Friday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
