MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Warriors didn’t get the results they wanted out of their first weekend of Western Hockey League pre-season, but at this time of the year, wins and losses aren’t as important as development.
So despite dropping a 4-2 decision to the Regina Pats in front of a sold-out Southland Co-op Centre in Assiniboia on Saturday night -- marking their second loss to the Pats in as many games -- head coach Mark O’Leary took things in stride as his crew figures things out in the earliest of goings.
“I thought there were some good things similar to last night, but we had some problems in our own end breaking the puck out, whether it was going back after pucks under pressure or pucks along the boards,” O’Leary said in postgame comment to the Warriors’ Marc Smith. “Those are areas we can continue to work on and that’s what this time of year is all about.”
The two teams slotted in a different core of veterans for the rematch, but both once again featured rookie-laden line-ups, with the Warriors dressing eight first-year players and the Pats seven.
Among those for Moose Jaw was their top pick in the 2024 Import Draft, defenceman Cohen Williams. He finished the game without a point, but turned a few heads nonetheless.
“I thought he was good,” O’Leary said. “Talking about breaking the puck out and he was one who stood out with his poise and finding the centreman in good spots. That’s a tough thing to do for a 15-year-old player and he certainly showed what he’s going to be in a short amount of time here.”
Lynden Lakovic scored both goals for Moose Jaw, with Brayden Schuurman picking up the single assist on each marker.
Anthony Wilson, Zackary Shantz, Logan Peskett and Kristian Lacelle scored for Regina, who trailed 1-0 after the first and were tied with Moose Jaw 1-1 through two.
Jackson Unger stopped 31 shots in the loss, Kelton Pyne turned aside 22 for the Pats.
Even with the loss, O’Leary did see progress from the opening game -- a 7-4 loss one night earlier in Estevan.
“Once we got going north with numbers I thought we looked really good,” he said. “We supported the puck well tonight, we could have done a little better job on entries but in the offensive zone we want five guys involved and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. Attacking, climbing back above and playing honest that way, but I thought it just took us a little too long to get out of our zone.”
Making the contest a little more special was the crowd in Assiniboia. A total of 900 fans packed the Southland Co-op Centre, offering a different feel compared to most pre-season games.
“I think it’s great,” O’Leary said. “I think sometimes exhibition needs a bit of that, some juice in the air. There was a good atmosphere before the game and during the game, the energy level is high and you don’t see a lot of that during the exhibition schedule. So i know the guys were excited for that.”
The Warriors will now spend the next week preparing for their home-and-home pre-season set with the Swift Current Broncos, with Moose Jaw in Swift Current on Friday night before facing the Broncos at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is 7 p.m.
