For one period, at least.
After that, it was all hands on deck as the Warriors would score four second-period goals and tack on another three in the third to take a 7-1 victory.
“That’s our first competitive game and game that mattered since March, it’s been a long time the guys have had off and we were just okay,” said Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber. “I thought the first couple shifts were good and then in the second and third we came out really well.
“It just came down to doing the little things like getting hard to the net, competing and winning those battles. In the first it was like ‘okay, we’ll win the odd one’ and ‘okay, we’re content with being second on pucks’ and not winning puck battles in front of the net. In the second and third we won all those battles.”
Riley Niven scored the Warriors’ first goal of the regular season 4:27 into the second period, with Atley Calvert and Kirk Mullen drawing assists.
Niven would add another goal before the period was out, while Hayden Wilm and Jackson Allan also had second-period markers.
Mullen, Max Wanner and Wyatt Wilson scored for Moose Jaw in the third.
Calvert capped the game with three assists and turned in another solid effort as the team’s captain, using his work ethic and positional play to generate a ton of chances and set up his teammates, resulting in a three-assists performance.
“It’s the same as last year, he does everything well,” Weisgerber said. “I don’t think it matters if he’s scoring or getting assists, it’s irrelevant because he’s always in the right spots and he’s always making the right plays. Whether it’s assists or goals, he’s always going to be around the puck.”
For his part, Calvert is just playing his usual game. It’s likely his time with the team will come to an early end in late December when the Western Hockey League season starts up and he joins the WHL Warriors, but until then, just keep on keeping on.
“I just try and do everything right, not taking shortcuts,” Calvert said. “I just want to show these guys how to play the right way and hopefully we can rack up some wins.”
When the time does come to go from a team captain to a raw rookie, he plans to change not a thing.
“There’s a big transition, but it’s all the same principles,” Calvert said. “it’s just ramped up a little bit. As a leader, you have to show how to play the right way and as a rookie you have to prove yourself, and as a leader you have to prove yourself. A lot of it is the same thing.”
As one might expect with such a lopsided score, the Warriors also dominated the shot clock, pouring 55 shots on Yorkton goaltender John Macpherson. Kale DePape -- who hails from Yorkton and played the past two seasons with the Maulers before joining Moose Jaw this season -- had a far less busy night, turning aside 13 shots.
Mullen, Allan and Wilson also had an assist each, while Anthony Wilson, Matt Perkins and Chris Otterson all had two assists apiece.
The Warriors are back in action Friday when they host the Notre Dame Hounds. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
