Trailing 3-2 with a power play as the third period wound down, it was another chance to rally late, just like they did in their final round robin game against the defending champions from St. Albert.
Instead, it would be Calgary who would get the break, as a tipped cross-ice pass at the blue line led to a breakaway and an all-to-crucial insurance marker that put the Buffaloes ahead 4-2.
Two empty net goals later, and Calgary was celebrating a 2019 Mac’s tournament victory.
The loss brought the Warriors’ incredible run at the ultra-prestigious to a disappointing – albeit impressive – end
“They’ve got a good hockey team over there,” Warriors coach Trevor Weisgerber told the Calgary Sun. “We knew we had to play a good game. We had some bad breakdowns where they capitalized on their opportunities and we didn’t. We hit a few posts that could have changed the game. At the end of the day, they did capitalize on their opportunities so kudos to them.”
Just reaching the final was something the Warriors had never accomplished in team history. They’d made the playoffs in the past, but traditionally ran into one of the tournament’s top seeds in the quarter-final and would get no further.
This time around, the Warriors would finish 3-0-1 in the round robin, including a stunning 3-3 tie with the Alberta AAA league-leading Raiders where they scored twice in the final 2:41 to secure a key point. A loss in that contest would have knocked the Warriors from the tournament; instead it was St. Albert who were the odd ones out with a 2-0-2 record.
Moose Jaw would go on to defeat the Chicago Mission 4-1 in quarter-final action and the Saskatoon Blazers 1-0 in the semifinal on Tuesday.
Caelan Fitzpatrick and Kirk Mullen scored goals for the Warriors. Dylan Ernst got the start in net and surrendered three goals on 17 shots before giving way to Chase Coward midway through the contest. Coward stopped 10 shots the remainder of the game.
Max Wanner was named a tournament all-star defenceman for the week.
The Warriors will now have some much-needed time off before travelling to Saskatoon to face the Blazers on Thursday, Jan. 9 before hosting the Tisdale Trojans in their next home game on Saturday, Jan. 11.
