Moose Jaw, Sask. – Noah Degenstein got a large monkey off his back over the weekend.
The Moose Jaw Warriors’ sophomore forward scored his first Western Hockey League goal on Friday in Lethbridge and then followed it up with his second goal on Saturday in Medicine Hat.
“It felt amazing, it almost felt surreal, I couldn’t even believe it,” Degenstein said. “It was pretty nice seeing my teammates come congratulate me, so it was a sweet feeling I’ll never forget.”
Degenstein played 40 games in 2023-24 as a rookie, but couldn’t find a way to get the puck into the back of the net, finishing with three assists.
The six-foot-four draft-eligible forward said he knew it was only a matter of time this season.
“It felt like forever, I’m not going to lie, but it’s good to get that over with,” he said.
“I’ve been getting more shots off than last year, so something is going to go in eventually, so I had hopes.”
Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said Degenstein has put in the work early in the season and finally got the rewards.
“The biggest thing is the way that he practices,” he said. “I’ve seen a big jump in his maturity and his preparation to how he goes about his day-to-day and it’s fun to watch the progression of the work that you put in and it translate into a game.”
Degenstein has already matched his point total from last season with two goals and three points through six games.
He said he’s been focused on his all-around game early in the season and that’s paid off.
“I’ve been checking hard, I’ve been forechecking good, I’ve been playing my 200-foot role pretty well, so I’m just going to try to keep that going,” Degenstein said.
“All the guys that have moved on [from last year’s team] were a big part of the team last year and they helped out a lot and just learning their habits in practice and games, that goes a long way for us.”
After following up his first goal with another one the next night, Degenstein said he’s just looking to keep playing his game.
“I’ve just got to keep playing a hard, 200-foot game and go to the net and keep marking smart plays in the offensive zone and defensive zone,” he said.
The Warriors split their two games over the weekend, dropping a narrow 4-3 game in Lethbridge on Friday before bouncing back with a complete 6-3 win over Medicine Hat on Saturday.
Degenstein said the Warriors are focused on building consistency.
“We’ve got to build off that Med Hat game, that obviously gives us confidence, they’re a good team, but we’ve just got to keep playing like that,” he said.
The Warriors are back at the Hangar this Friday to host Landon Dupont and the Everett Silvertips before travelling to Saskatoon for an Eastern Conference Championship rematch against the Blades on Saturday.