When the Moose Jaw Warriors acquired overage goaltender Connor Ungar this past summer, the hope was he’d provide much the same kind of performance the Western Hockey League club saw from 20-year-old Carl Tetachuk last season.
To say the least, it’s been so far, so good.
Ungar was named the WHL’s Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Oct. 9 after a trio of stellar performances led to Moose Jaw winning two of their three games.
All told, Ungar would go 2-0-0-0 with a 0.80 goals against average and .979 save percentage, moving into the top five in the league in all three categories.
“He’s been rock solid,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary told Marc Smith of www.mjwarriors.ca. “It’s not just the first save, but it’s the battle and compete level to make the second and third one… He’s a pro through and through and that instills confidence in the players and coaching staff,”
Ungar needed to be sharp in the Warriors' first game of the week, as he made 40 saves -- many of the exceptional variety -- and only lost his shutout bid in the final five minutes in Moose Jaw’s 3-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
It was more of the same the following Saturday night, as Ungar turned aside 26 shots to lead the Warriors to a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice came into the contest undefeated and are currently the top-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League.
Ungar didn’t get the start against the Blades in Saskatoon on Sunday, Oct. 9, but was lights out when he did take over the crease. He’d stop all 29 shots he faced in 30:23 of work as Moose Jaw dropped a 4-1 decision.
Ungar was acquired by the Warriors back on May 19 after playing last season with the Red Deer Rebels and putting up a 21-9-1-0 record with a 2.43 goals against average and .911 save percentage. He also played parts of the previous two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Ungar heads into play this week with the fifth-best goals against average in the WHL at 2.00 while his save percentage is third-best at 0.943. Ungar’s 4-0-0-0 record is tied for second in the league.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday night when they host the Red Deer Rebels. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
