Warriors End Preseason with Loss in Brandon
September 18, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Moose Jaw Warriors News Release
The Moose Jaw Warriors will head into the regular season on a losing note.
The squad dropped a 4-0 game to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday at Westoba Place to close out the four-game preseason schedule.
“We had some pretty decent looks throughout the game, but there goaltenders played well and it looked like a little bit of an energy thing tonight,” Warriors assistant coach Scott King said.
Jackson Unger made 39 saves on Saturday in the second-year netminder’s only action of the preseason.
The Warriors were outshot 43-26 by the Wheat Kings in the loss.
Brandon picked up a goal from Nolan Ritchie only 2:12 into the game, then added markers from Roger McQueen and Eastyn Mannix early in the second period.
Ritchie’s second of the night only 23 seconds into the third finished off the scoring.
Moose Jaw went 0-for-5 on the power play, while Brandon was 1-for-3.
King said the Warriors put together some strong chances on all five man advantages, but couldn’t finish.
“We were moving around and looked like they were confident and comfortable,” he said. “I really liked the way [Brayden Yager] attacked, he’s obviously dangerous, he rolls in and he makes plays happen.”
The Warriors were shorthanded during their weekend split against Brandon to end the preseason with seven regulars away at NHL training camps.
King said while the results weren’t there, the young players looked strong in bigger roles.
“There’s some pleasant surprises, we’ve got a lot of good young players coming up and in a couple of years, they’re going be guys that can play in this league,” he said. “The take away is the future looks bright.”
With the preseason in the rearview mirror, the Warriors turn their focus to the opening weekend of the regular season when they battle the Regina Pats.
“We’ve got high hopes for this group, we think that we have a real good team and we’re going to have a good season, so it was a good training camp,” King said.
The Warriors travel to Regina on Friday to open the 2022-23 regular season and then square off with the Pats on Saturday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre for the team’s home opener.
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