Preview: Warriors Set for Test against ICE on Saturday

October 7, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Moose Jaw Warriors News Release

Last season for the Moose Jaw Warriors ended with a five-game loss in the second round to the Winnipeg ICE.

Five games into the 2022-23 season, the Warriors will get a shot at testing themselves against the ICE during a Saturday night showdown in downtown Moose Jaw.

“I’m excited, as a coach, you want to see where you stack up against the best,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said. “It’s a great challenge for our group, the guys are looking forward to it.”

Winnipeg is off to a 5-0 start to the season after beating Regina, 5-2, on Friday night and is the top ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League.

The Warriors sit at 3-2-0-0 this season and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades in another playoff rematch on Wednesday.

Moose Jaw knows Saturday’s match-up with Winnipeg will be a good early season measuring stick.

“They have a really good lineup, so it’s going to be a good test for us,” Warriors forward Jagger Firkus said.

In Wednesday’s win, the Warriors were pleased with the victory, but felt there were areas that needed to be cleaned up moving forward.

“We had a good first period, but the second and third, we could have cleaned a lot of things up and throughout the week, the last couple of practices, we’ve been doing that,” Firkus said.

O’Leary said Wednesday’s game featured some good early season lessons.

“We had a real good start, we had some good looks that maybe would have changed the game if we had seen them go in the net, but as the game went on we got lax through the neutral zone, especially our puck management,” he said.

“There were a lot of coachable moments, a lot of honest conversations over the last couple of days but at the end of the day we won the game.”

Much like what the Warriors have faced over the past two games against Saskatoon and Brandon. The ICE play a fast-paced game that will put pressure on Moose Jaw to make quick plays.

O’Leary said the Warriors have put an emphasis on defending during practice this week.

“We need to make sure we have numbers on the right side of the puck, that’s job number one and then how hard are you willing to work to make sure you stay there,” he said.

“Winnipeg is a very opportunistic team,” Warriors defenceman Cole Jordan added. “They’ve got a lot of guys that can score, lots of skill up front, so we’re really going to have to bear down in the defensive zone and limit those opportunities.”

The Warriors and ICE face-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Get ready for the game with the IKS Media Warriors Live Pre-Game Show on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, starting at 6:45 p.m. Head to social media after the game for the Post-Game Show as well.

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