Penalties Sink Warriors in Preseason Loss to Broncos

September 11, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Moose Jaw Warriors News Release

Another preseason game with some lessons learned for the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The Warriors gave the Swift Current Broncos seven power play opportunities and they scored on two of them in a 3-1 loss on Saturday night.

“Both games [this weekend], you can say that penalties got in our way a little bit here and at the end of the day, you’re looking for things to build on and that’s one of them right there,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said.

“Discipline is a big part of any success in this league, so we can learn from that.”

Moose Jaw had plenty of chances throughout the game, outshooting Swift Current, 31-28, which included two posts hit on breakaways in the loss.

“That’s game right there,” O’Leary said. “We certainly had a lot of some time, so by no means is two losses all negative, it’s preseason and we like what we see in a lot of areas.”

Nathan Pilling had the lone goal for the Warriors when he tipped in a point shot from Brady Ness, tying the game at 1-1 just 2:06 into the second period.

Pilling put together a strong opening weekend to the preseason as he looks to crave out a bigger role on the team in his second season.

“Confidence is for sure something that’s been growing in my game,” the 18-year-old forward said. “Coming in this year from last year, growing on everything and really just putting effort first, that’s really helped me a lot.”

Pilling had five goals and 14 points in 54 games as a rookie last season for the Warriors.

O’Leary said he’s noticed an uptick in Pilling’s play so far through training camp and the preseason.

“You look for guys like that to take a step and Nathan’s a driven individual and he wants to be good,” he said. “I have all the time in the world for players like Nathan, he pays attention, he’s taken a huge step here in the early going and we’re expecting a big season from him.”

The Warriors played a young lineup once again with 2022 first round pick Connor Schmidt and 2021 fourth round pick Ethan Hughes making their WHL preseason debuts.

At a number of points during the game, the Warriors had all 15 and 16 year olds on the ice.

O’Leary said the young players put together a solid weekend.

“There’s a lot of skill coming and that’s real important if you want to win games, but what’s even better is they’re good people and they’re willing to work,” he said.

“You look at the strides they’ve made over the last couple of weeks since they got into camp, they’re more comfortable around Moose Jaw, around the team and we’re really excited about the skill they have.”

The Warriors will close out the preseason next weekend with another home-and-home when they take on the Brandon Wheat Kings, starting on Friday at the Hanger in downtown Moose Jaw.

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