MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- If the Moose Jaw Warriors are going to find a way to snap their ongoing Western Hockey League losing streak, they’re going to need to find a way to get a few breaks along the way.
Tuesday night was not that night.
Despite creating their share of chances, the Warriors ran into a hot goaltender in Josh Ravensbergen and would go on to an 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Prince George Cougars in Prince George.
The loss was the eighth straight for the Warriors and saw the local squad drop to 3-9-2-0, tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference. The Cougars improved to 8-4-2-2 and are now in second place in the Western Conference.
The Warriors had the first good chance of the game two minutes in, with Aiden Ziprick getting a shot off in close and the rebound going to Pavel McKenzie at the side of the net. Ravensbergen was able to make the save, though, and the game remained scoreless.
Koehn Ziemmer gave Prince George the lead 5:05 into the game, finding himself in the right place at the right time to put home the rebound of a Terik Parascak shot from the slot.
The Cougars had the balance of pressure as the period progressed, but Jackson Unger was able to make a handful of big saves -- including a stop in close on the WHL’s third leading scorer, Borya Valis.
Rilen Kovacevic nearly tied the game with six minutes to play in the period when he went in on a breakaway, but Ravensbergen would make a blocker save.
McKenzie had another great chance five minutes into the second period when he got off a hard one-timer from the slot, but would only find Ravensbergen’s crest.
Just over two minutes later, Noah Degenstein would get the lone goal for the Warriors, breaking down his wing and getting off a shot that would hit Ravensbergen’s glove and drop into the net at 7:24.
It was Unger’s turn to make a couple of big saves at the 11 minute mark, as Evan Groening had a partial breakaway and a follow up shot on the rebound that the Warriors netminder was able to get ahold of.
Prince George tilted the ice in their favour the rest of the period, but Unger turned aside all 22 shots he faced to preserve the 1-1 draw.
That pressure continued to start the third, and the Cougars broke through early.
Jett Lajoie got a chance in the slot off a deflection and found the back of the net on their first shot of the frame 1:14 in.
The Warriors had a great chance to tie the game on a chance in close with 8:20 gone in the period, but Ravensbergen made another huge save and on the ensuing rush the Cougars made it a two goal lead.
Valis got off a pass into the slot off the break down his wing, and Parasack would put home a one-time top shelf glove side.
A late power play gave the Warriors a chance to get back into the game, but as has been a theme early in the season, Prince George would score into the empty net. Parasack scored his second of the game with two minutes to play in the game to close out offence on the night.
Unger finished with 42 saves on the night, Ravensbergen stopped 19.
The Warriors are back in action Friday night when they continue their B.C. Division swing in Victoria against the Cougars.
