MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors continued their solid start to the season on Saturday, scoring three goals in the first period and going on to a 5-3 win over the Tisdale Trojans at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Warriors improved to 5-2-0 in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League standings and are currently in fifth place in the 12-team league, two points out of second.
Tisdale fell to 1-4-3 and are currently in eighth place.
Moose Jaw couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game, as Ryan Gibbs, Kierin Osberg and Wade Franks all scored in a span of seven minutes late in the first period to give themselves a 3-0 lead.
Gibbs and Tisdale’s Pryce Thiessen exchanged goals in the second period before Osberg restored the Warriors’ four-goal edge 4:15 into the final frame.
Tisdale made things interesting in the final five minutes as Carter Geysen and Pryce Thiessen scored goals 1:21 apart late in the game, but the Trojans would get no closer.
Noah Thul picked up a pair of assists for Moose Jaw.
Luke McKechnie picked up the win in goal, turning aside 24 shots, white Jackson Dunn had 34 saves for Tisdale.
Osberg was named the game star for Moose Jaw, Thiessen took the honour for the Trojans.
With his two goals, Gibbs has climbed back into the top 10 among SMAAAHL scoring leaders with seven goals and 13 points slotting him in at fifth overall.
McKechnie currently holds a 2.25 goals against average and .901 save percentage, sitting second in the league among goaltenders with more than three games played.
Moose Jaw is back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 30 when the Notre Dame Hounds are in town, with puck drop at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
