Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Josh Brook has been an utter rock on the blueline for his team throughout the season, with his play living up to his status as the Tribe’s captain and the Eastern Conference nominee for the WHL’s top defenceman.
That’s why a simple miscue that led to a critical penalty in the last five minutes of Game 3 sat so badly with the 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect – and true to his character, Brook wasn’t laying the blame on anyone else when asked about the sequence of events that led to Saskatoon’s game-winning goal in the contest.
“It obviously sucks to lose that game, we had a very good chance of winning and it was just a couple unlucky bounces,” Brook said shortly after the 3-2 loss at Mosaic Place. “We have a puck go over the glass, then I put a puck over right after and that can’t happen. I’ve been here for four years, I should have taken time to tame it and put it out. That just wasn’t good enough.”
Knowing is half the battle, as the old saying goes, and that’s why the Warriors remain confident they can get the job done in Game 4 tonight at Mosaic Place – they’re well aware of their miscues costing them chances and giving the Blades openings to score.
“It’s just costly mistakes by us as a team, just little ones,” Brook said. “We’re not making too many mistakes out there but ones we’re making they’re getting us on, so we have to eliminate those.”
And that’s where his position as the team’s captain comes in. Facing his final game with the Tribe, Brook will be looking for the best from everyone in the line-up.
“We have to have our best game of the season, that’s all there is to it,” he said. “Everyone has to. It’s do or die and I think we’re going to be ready tomorrow, we’re going to bring it and we’re going to win this game.”
Goaltender Adam Evanoff is a major reason things have been so close the last two games, and his performance in Game 3 was superlative: tough save after tough save, especially in the second period as the Blades pressed to take control of the game.
Even his mask took a beating, as he took at least a half dozen pucks off the cage throughout the evening.
Like most players, Evanoff was loathe to talk about himself after the game. Instead, it was all about the team and what they’re going to do to get back in the series and make things interesting the rest of the way.
“It was a tough loss, but we all know where we’re at now, we believe in each other and that’s the thing that really matters,” he said. “We have belief in each other even though our backs are against the wall we’ll have to bring our best. Everyone knows that and that’s what we’re prepared to do.
“We’re not going down without a fight, that’s for sure,” Evanoff added. “We’re not going to dwell on this one, we’re going to come out and give our best.”
Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
