The Moose Jaw Warriors saw one nearly get away in Western Hockey League action on Saturday night but still managed to prevail over the Prince Albert Raiders in a shootout.
The Warriors led 3-0 at one point in the contest before the Raiders came all the way back, with Moose Jaw eventually taking a 4-3 victory.
One other contest involving Saskatchewan teams saw the Saskatoon Blades take a 5-2 home ice win over the Regina Pats.
Moose Jaw 4, Saskatoon 3 (SO)
Things couldn’t have gone better for the Warriors early, beginning when Luke Moroz scored on the power play only 5:09 into the contest for the lone goal of the first period.
Landen McFadden then made it 2-0 only 42 seconds into the middle frame, and Noah Degenstein increased Moose Jaw’s lead to three at the 5:48 mark of the period.
The defending Eastern Conference champions didn’t sit back and let the loss happen, though, and the comeback started when Riley Boychuk got the Raiders on the board with 9:44 to play in the second.
Only 52 seconds later, it was a one goal game, thanks to Brock Cripps’ first goal of the season.
That’s where things stood until midway through the third, when Alisher Sarkenov scored on the power play to complete the comeback and tie the game 3-3.
Nothing changed through the remainder of regulation and overtime, and the teams were off to a shootout.
There, McFadden and Rasmus Kamarainen scored on the first two Moose Jaw shots while goaltender Jordan Switzer stopped two of the three he faced to secure the victory.
McFadden finished with two points on the night, Cripps also had a two-point outing.
Switzer finished with 40 saves to earn the win, Michal Orsulak turned aside 25 in the losing effort.
Moose Jaw improves to 3-3-0-0 and remain 10th in the Conference, Prince Albert falls to 2-6-0-1 and are in 11th with their fourth straight loss.
Saskatoon 5, Prince Albert 2
Discipline proved to be the difference at SaskTel Centre, as the Pats had difficulty staying out of the penalty box and handed the Blades seven power plays on the night, with Saskatoon scoring on a pair of them.
Konstantin Hutzinger scored his first of the season for Saskatoon for the only goal of the first period 4:23 into the game.
Ellis Mieyette got one back on the power play for Regina 4:51 into the second, but the Blades responded with a pair on the man advantage midway through the period. Cooper Williams restored Saskatoon’s lead at the 8:06 mark and just over four minutes later, Hunter Laing’s sixth of the season made it a 3-1 game.
After scoring his first goal of the season on Friday night, Maddox Schultz found the back of the net again for Regina 3:07 into the third, but the Pats would get no closer.
David Lewandowski scored 31 seconds after Schultz’s marker to restore the Blades’ two-goal lead and Hayden Harsanyi added an empty netter with a minute to play to close out scoring on the night.
Harsanyi, Lewandowski and Williams all had two points, Kazden Mathies picked up a pair of assists.
Martin Psohlavec turned aside 36 shots in the winning effort for Saskatoon, Taylor Tabashniuk stopped 36 shots for Regina.
Saskatoon improves to 4-2-1-0 and move into third in the Conference, Regina drops to 3-3-0-1 and are tied for eighth.
Up Next
There’s a lone game for Saskatchewan teams on the schedule Sunday, as the Swift Current Broncos wrap up their B.C. Division road swing against the Prince George Cougars. Puck drop is 2 p.m.
