Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades scored two goals in the third period and handed the Warriors a 3-2 loss Sunday at SaskTel Centre.
In the first half of the opening period, Saskatoon tilted the ice into the Moose Jaw zone. At one point, the Blades outshot the Warriors 6-1, and they took a 1-0 lead when Grayden Siepmann scored a power-play goal just past the eight-minute mark.
The Warriors started to create more pressure inside the Blades zone as the period went on. With eight minutes remaining, Moose Jaw won a puck battle along the right boards and then set up Riley Thorpe in the low slot. Thorpe’s initial shot was stopped by Evan Gardiner, the puck then rolled behind the Blades’ goalie where Thorpe tipped in his fourth of the season to tie the game at one.
On the power play, with less than seven minutes remaining in the second period, the Warriors controlled the puck in the Saskatoon zone. Ethan Hughes had the puck on top of the left circle. He found a seam to make a cross-ice pass to Pavel McKenzie on the right side of the Saskatoon net, who knocked in his 13th goal to give Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead.
Six minutes into the final frame, the Blades won a faceoff in the Moose Jaw right circle and Zach Olsen snapped a quick shot past Josh Banini to tie the game at two.
The Blades’ pressure continued throughout the rest of the frame, and Hunter Laing scored the go-ahead goal after he pounced on a loose puck in the Moose Jaw crease.
The Warriors had quality chances late in the period but they were unable to finish and ended up with the narrow loss.
The squad is back on home ice on Tuesday when they play the Wenatchee Wild for the first and only time this season. This game will also mark the Wild’s first-ever trip to Moose Jaw.