MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Warriors are through to the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.
And in style, at that.
The Warriors finished off a four-game sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings on Thursday night, marking the second year in a row the local squad has made it through the first round without dropping a game.
And while it wasn’t completely perfect, facing a bit of adversity at points over the four games was just what the doctor ordered when it comes to getting ready for the bigger -- and likely far tougher -- games ahead.
The Warriors took a 7-4 win in Game 1 in Moose Jaw before winning 5-4 in overtime in Game 2. The series then moved to Brandon, where the Warriors turned in a pair of dominant 6-4 and 6-2 wins to finish things off.
“We’re pleased with how it went, I think the games were tighter than some of the scores in a sweep would indicate, but that was good for our group,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “Especially for the players who haven’t been in the playoffs before, I think it was a good series for them to learn a bit as well.”
While the Warriors have all sorts of veteran depth, for a handful of younger players it was another example of how important it is to be sharp and stay sharp in all situations, especially when it comes to shift-to-shift minutiae.
“Sometimes it’s hard to help them connect the dots to why the little details matter so much, but in the playoffs you can see how every detail has such an impact on the game, so you have to be prepared,” O’Leary said.
“The players have done a great job just getting in that mindset where they’re prepared from the get-go and one thing we’ve talked about this group for years is their resiliency. Regardless of what happens, they pick themselves up and punch back, and we even saw that as recently as Game 4. We get scored on and come right back and get one and that’s an important quality to have.”
One of the major factors in the series was the Warriors’ overall depth. While the top two lines got their share of points -- Matthew Savoie is the WHL playoff scoring leader with eight points heading into Friday’s games, while Jagger Firkus and Denton Mateychuk each have two goals and seven points -- the Warriors have also seen significant contributions from their third and fourth lines.
Game 4 was a good example, as the line of Lynden Lakovic, Brayden Schuurman and Rilen Kovacevic wreaked havoc on their first couple of shifts, leading to a pair of goals as the Warriors built a 4-1 first-period lead.
“That’s one of the things that made me so proud of this group,” O’Leary said. “When you look back over the course of the four games, it really showed you what the playoffs are all about. Different guys in different moments stepping up and doing their part whenever they’re called upon. That’s the mindset you have to have, whether you’re playing six minutes or 26 minutes, you could be involved in the most important shift at the most important moment of the game and you need to be ready for it. I felt our guys were in that mindset the whole series.”
Now, the focus turns toward what promises to be a tough second-round battle.
The Warriors are in waiting mode as the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders play out the remainder of their series, with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Friday night and the Blades holding a four-games-to-one lead.
Should Saskatoon finish things off, the Warriors will face the Swift Current Broncos in the second round, thanks to their sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Until that’s confirmed, the Warriors will take advantage of the time off, as the second round will likely begin Friday at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“We’re going to use the luxury of rest here,” O’Leary said. “The next few days we’ll be on the ice a little bit but it’ll be more about being sharp on our details and next week when we know our opponent we can start practicing and preparing, and if it is Swift Current, we’ll focus on their tendencies and details there.”:
One thing that’s for certain is the Warriors will be looking forward to the kind of fan support they’ve had in the first round. More than 3,500 fans took in each of the home games, and if you’re of the opinion that doesn’t really matter, well, we’ll let O’Leary set the record straight.
“The crowd and the atmosphere in the rink is one of the first things you hear the players talk about,” he said. “They’re excited about it, they know the importance of it and it gives them a little bit extra juice. You can see it in the way they play, it’s just a different feel in the rink when it’s full like that. Friday and Saturday was really good that way, and hopefully, next Friday and Saturday will be the same way.”
Be sure to keep an eye on www.whl.ca for updates on the WHL Playoffs.
