MOOSE JAW -- It’s something that hasn’t been said often about the Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors as of late, but this past weekend saw the local squad go through a bit of the good and a bit of the bad.
The Warriors took a 4-3 victory over the Warman Wildcats in Warman on Saturday before dropping a 6-2 decision in the rematch Sunday.
The loss was the first for Moose Jaw in nine games, a span running back to the beginning of December. The Warriors are now 23-5-2 and hold a four-point lead over the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the 12-team loop, though Regina has two games in hand.
Warman are now 17-10-0 and sit in sixth place, four points back of Tisdale.
Moose Jaw 4, Warman 3
The Warriors got off to a good start, taking a 3-1 lead out of the first period, but Warman would chip their way back into the game to make things interesting late.
Moose Jaw’s Brennan Brown, Noah Thul and Carson Deichert all scored in a six-minute span in the opening frame, with Declan Borthwick getting one back for Warman as the Warriors took their two-goal lead.
Nash Curniski replied for the Wildcats with the lone goal of the second period, Keaton Lesperance would make it a 4-2 contest early in the third.
Dylan Danyluk pulled Warman to within one with 2:23 to play, but that would be as close as they’d get as the Warriors held on for the win.
Lesperance finished with three points, while Tyler Hudec and Ryan Gibbs had a pair of assists each.
Luke McKechnie turned aside 37 shots to earn the victory, Seth Gutenberg had 22 stops for Warman.
Warman 6, Moose Jaw 2
After a close first period, Warman blew things open with three unanswered goals and would go on to their comfortable victory.
Gibbs got things started for Moose Jaw only 59 seconds into the contest, but Broden Wotherspoon replied for the Wildcats before the period was out.
The second frame was all Warman, as Dade Wotherspoon, Hudson Brehaut and Trey Markus scored to give their crew a 4-1 lead through two.
Gibbs scored his league-leading 26th goal of the season midway through the third, and the Warriors veteran has now moved within two points of Regina’s Maddox Schultz for the SMAAAHL scoring lead with 53 points. Keirin Osberg is fourth in scoring with 17 goals and 44 points, while Deichert sits fifth with 15 goals and 42 points.
Dade Wotherspoon and Ty Dauvin had Warman’s other goals in the third.
Wildcats goaltender Corben Schnurr had a relatively quiet afternoon, facing only 17 shots, while Kaleb Page had 23 saves for the Warriors.
The WINMAR Warriors are back in action on Thursday when they visit the Regina Pat Canadians. Game time is 8 p.m. from the Co-Operators Arena. Warman returns to the ice on Wednesday when they host the Saskatoon Blazers, with puck drop at 8 p.m. at the Home Centre Communiplex.
