Marc Smith/MJ Warriors

The Moose Jaw Warriors put together one of their most complete efforts of the season to knock off the Eastern Conference’s top team.

Jackson Unger made 32 saves for the Warriors as they shutout the Saskatoon Blades, 4-0, on Thursday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“Obviously Saskatoon is playing good hockey this year, but I like the fact that we took it to them right off the bat,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said. “We were getting pucks in behind them, we were on the forecheck and I thought a lot of guys probably had their best game in a Warrior uniform.”

For the first time since Game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference Championship, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades will lock horns at the Hangar in downtown Moose Jaw on Thursday night.

The Warriors are expecting a stiff test when they square off with their East Division rivals.

“We’ve just got to play to our structure, play to our game and if everyone’s on board, we’ll be successful,” Warriors defenceman Connor Schmidt said.

Swift Current, SK – For the second straight night, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos went into extra time and Swift Current came out with two points.

The Warriors scored twice in the third to force overtime against the Broncos, but Luke Mistelbacher scored in the extra frame to beat Moose Jaw 5-4 on Wednesday night at the InnovationPlex.

“Those are two games where we probably deserved a bit of a better fate,” Warriors assistant coach Curtis Pereverzoff said.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors came up just short in a back-and-forth battle against the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-3 shootout game at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The Warriors and Broncos have needed extra time in both meetings so far this season.

“We were sharp, we were moving pucks quick… we hung around and I thought we did lots of good things tonight,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said after the loss.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors face-off with a familiar foe to open the week at the Hangar.

The Warriors will welcome in the Swift Current Broncos to downtown Moose Jaw for the first half of a midweek home-and-home set between the two rivals.

“Sometimes we struggle with getting into the game early and with Swift, it’s usually not too hard,” Warriors forward Rilen Kovacevic said. “It will be nice to play them back-to-back and get things going right away.”

Medicine Hat, AB – The Moose Jaw Warriors surrendered five straight goals to the Medicine Hat Tigers and dropped an 8-4 game at Co-op Place on Saturday night.

The Warriors led 2-0 in the first period and 3-2 in the second period, but couldn’t finish the job once again in their third straight loss.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors will hit the road on Saturday night to battle the Medicine Hat Tigers at Co-op Place.

Both teams will be looking to bounce back from losses to open the weekend after the Warriors fell 7-3 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, while the Tigers dropped a 4-2 game at home to Edmonton.

The Warriors have dropped back-to-back games after finishing their BC Division road trip with a 6-2 loss in Vancouver last Saturday.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors’ struggles in the third period continued Friday night.

The Warriors went into the third period tied at 2-2 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but Lethbridge struck for five goals in the frame and beat Moose Jaw, 7-3, at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“The third period starts off and we give up two goals in the first 40 seconds and that’s just a matter of not being ready to go after the intermission, so no excuse there, we need to find ways to be better,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said.

Victoria, B.C. – The Moose Jaw Warriors will look to get back on track when they head into Victoria to face the Royals on Friday night.

Moose Jaw has lost three straight games to open up their BC Division road trip, but have been getting better with each outing.

Victoria, BC – The injury bug hit the Moose Jaw Warriors hard early in the season with some key, veteran forwards missing time.

While that led to struggles for the team, it could also pay dividends as the season progress with some younger players getting more opportunities higher in the lineup.

“It helps you get your confidence now and dip your feet into the league a bit more, you’re getting more opportunities and more looks and that’s going to give you scoring chances,” Warriors rookie forward Landen McFadden said.