MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors are about to take the ice in the Sask Male AAA Hockey League championship final for the first time in team history, but thanks to prior commitments at their home arena, they’ll be playing the full series on the road.
With the Temple Gardens Centre undergoing conversion for the World Men’s Curling Championship this week, the Warriors will be moving south to the friendly confines of the Southland Co-Op Centre in Assiniboia for both of their home games.
The series between the Warriors and Regina Pat Canadians begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Regina at Co-Operators Centre, with Game 2 on Tuesday, Mar. 25 at 7 p.m. in Assiniboia followed by Game 3 on Thursday in Regina at 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 if necessary will be played Saturday, Mar. 29 in Assiniboia at 7 p.m., and the fifth and deciding contest will take place on Monday, Mar. 31 in Regina at 6:30 p.m., also if necessary.
If the regular season series between the two teams is any indication, fans will be in for a barnburner when the clubs resume acquaintances.
The teams finished one-two at the top of the SMAAAHL standings, with Regina taking first place with a 35-7-2 record and Moose Jaw five points back at 32-9-3.
The Warriors won the first meeting 5-4 in overtime back on Sept. 10 before the Pat Canadians had two solid offensive outings, winning 7-3 on Sept. 17 and 7-5 on Nov. 23.
The remaining three games between the teams were all one-goal affairs -- a 5-4 Moose Jaw win on Dec. 11, 6-5 Moose Jaw win on Jan. 16 and 3-2 Regina win on Feb. 11.
All told, the Warriors hold a 3-3-0 record head-to-head, the Pat Canadians 3-2-1.
Rookie phenom Maddox Schultz led Regina and the entire SMAAAHL in scoring with 43 goals and 93 points in 44 games, with Jonah Sivertson second with 32 goals and 77 points in 30 games and Chase Surkan third with 28 goals and 73 points in 41 games.
Schultz hasn’t let up in the playoffs and currently leads all scorers with eight goals and 17 points across seven games.
Ryan Gibbs led Moose Jaw with 36 goals and 71 points in 44 games, good enough for fourth in the regular season, while Kierin Osberg was ninth with 29 goals and 58 points in 44 games and Brennan Brown 17th with 26 goals and 51 points in 39 games.
Gibbs has topped the Warriors in the playoffs with five goals and 11 points in 10 games.
Taylor Tabashniuk will lead Regina in goal and has a 2.01 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
Luke McKechnie has started all 10 postseason games for the Warriors and has a 2.26 GAA and .911 SP.
Regina advanced to the final with a three-game sweep of Prince Albert in the first round and needed four games to get past the Saskatoon Blazers in the second.
Moose Jaw has faced five elimination games through the first two rounds, defeating Estevan in five games after winning the last two of the series and then downing Swift Current in five with three straight wins after falling behind 2-0.
The SMAAAHL champion will advance to the Western Regional tournament in Kenora, Ont. in early April, with the winner there advancing to the Telus Cup national championship in Fraser Valley, B.C. Apr. 21-27.
