Moose Jaw, SK — The Moose Jaw Warriors got the job done on Tuesday night at the Hangar.
Atley Calvert scored a natural hat trick in the first period and helped power the Warriors to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to win those games if you’re a good team,” Calvert said after the win. “At the end of the day, we won and that’s all that matters.”
Calvert led the Warriors’ attack with a hat trick and four points, while Lynden Lakovic picked up a pair of helpers on the night.
Evan May was steady between the pipes for the Warriors, making 29 saves in the victory.
“Just kind of a lethargic game, just really sloppy, execution wasn’t real sharp on either side, the passing wasn’t great, but one of those nights and at the end of the day, you’ve got to take it for what it is and be happy with the two points,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said.
Calvert scored his 31st of the season with 7:21 to go in the first period.
He would add his second of the night, and 32nd of the season, only 1:08 later on the power play.
The Moose Jaw product completed his hat trick, scoring his 33rd of the season, in a span of just 3:51, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead after one.
“[Lakovic] made two unreal plays and the other one just happened to hit me, so just go to the net and sometimes they hit you and go in, and other times we can just find them,” Calvert said.
“It’s nice at the end of the day when the pucks finding you.”
Edmonton would get on the board 7:59 into the second period when Blake Fiddler’s point shot found its way through for a power play goal.
Only 44 seconds later, the Warriors answered back as Jagger Firkus potted his 40th of the season to restore the three-goal lead.
The Oil Kings cut the lead back down to two before the end of the second as Roan Woodward scored to make it 4-2 after two.
The Warriors sealed the win early in the third when Martin Rysavy blasted home his 18th of the season, and third goal in the last two games.
“You never know against teams that are lower in the standings and you let them hang around for too long and sometimes it comes back to get you, so it was nice to build that lead,” King said.
The Warriors finished the night 1-for-1 on the power play, while going 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Edmonton outshot Moose Jaw, 31-29, including 21-15 over the final two periods.
The Warriors have now won three straight and sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with 14 wins in their last 16 games.
This weekend will see the Warriors head out on the road to Alberta to face Red Deer on Friday and Calgary on Saturday.