After seeing the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors move within a game of a first-round upset in the Sask Male AAA Hockey League standings, the Moose Jaw U15 AA Warriors apparently thought ‘why not us?’.
As a result, they’re now a single victory away from their first playoff series win in nearly a decade.
The Warriors battled to a 6-3 win over the Regina Aces in Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round series on Wednesday night in Regina, and as a result will now have a chance to wrap up on Friday night at the Bert Hunt Arena.
Moose Jaw didn’t leave a lot to chance in Game 1, either. Ryan Gibbs scored the lone goal of the opening period at the 7:29 mark, and by the time the clock hit the 9:09 mark of the second period, the Warriors had a 4-0 lead.
Carson Deichert, Luke Pratte and Nixon Friesen all scored in the first 11 minutes of the frame to give the local squad all the offence they’d need to get things done.
Deichert added his second of the game before the period was out, and with Regina having closed to within a pair midway through the third, put the game away with his hat trick goal with 1:20 remaining.
Deichert -- who late in February was named to the Sask First top-32 program for his age group -- added an assist to cap his night with four points. Roman Markin added a pair of assists.
Jayce Finiak turned aside 23 shots to earn the win in goal while the Warriors had 20 shots at the other end of the ice.
Moose Jaw is the decided underdog in the series having posted an 11-18-0-0 record to finish in seventh place in the South Division, with the Aces finishing second thanks to a 23-4-2-0 mark.
Now the Warriors are looking for Moose Jaw’s support.
With Game 2 of the series back on home ice, the Warriors are hoping to see a loud and boisterous crowd on hand to cheer on the local crew at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Bert Hunt.
Admission is $5, with Moose Jaw Minor Hockey players admitted for free.
A win Friday advances the Warriors to the SAAHL quarter-final, where they’ll face the highest-ranked remaining team in the field.
