Evan Callaghan scored the game-winner off a feed from affiliated player Matt Perkins with 5:08 remaining in overtime as the Warriors took a 1-0 win over the Saskatoon Blazers in the semifinal of the Mac’s Midget AAA tournament on Tuesday evening in Calgary.
They'll face the Calgary Buffaloes -- owners of a 16-4-3 record as the second-best squad in the Alberta AAA Midget league -- for gold after the Buffaloes took a 6-3 win over the Cariboo Cougars later Tuesday.
Not bad for a team with just a single Midget AAA veteran in their line-up.
“Just to get here, the way the pools worked, our pool was very difficult and it’s been great to see how well the guys have played to get to this point and especially to win a game like that,” Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber said shortly from Calgary shortly after the semifinal win. “It’s been a lot of fun and guys have played really well.
“I think we have pretty special group here and right from the get go we had kids who were willing to buy in and work hard and it shows when you play the game the right way and have a great bunch of kids that want to play for each other. It’s fun to be around and we’re just enjoying the run here.”
The Warriors posted a 3-0-1 record in the round robin and ended up facing the only team with a perfect record in the tournament, the Chicago Mission, in the quarter-final.
The Moose Jaw AAA Warriors celebrate their 1-0 win over the Saskatoon Blazers in the Mac's Midget AAA tournament semifinal. Facebook photo.That contest ended up as a 4-1 win for the Tribe, who used the momentum of that win to knock off the Blazers despite not having managed a win against Saskatoon in three previous tries.
“Playing two games of that importance in one day, the guys were just completely drained,” Weisgerber said. “But they just willed it, they wanted it more and it was a heck of a goal that Callaghan ended up scoring, the guys were pretty happy after that one went in.”
Chase Coward picked up the shutout with a 27-save performance.
The Warriors will now move over the Scotiabank Saddledome for the gold medal contest at 5:30 p.m. Moose Jaw time on Wednesday.
“Any game we play here tomorrow will be a tough one, we know they’re going to be playing very well too so we’ll have to be ready to go,” Weisgerber said.
Canadian Youth Olympics team member Dustin Ernst will get the start in goal.
