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.
The loss is the fourth straight for the Warriors, who will now look to rebound in a rematch against the Broncos on Wednesday night in Swift Current.
Jackson Unger was solid throughout the game between the pipes for the Warriors, making 42 saves in regulation and overtime, and then another four in the shootout before Swift Current’s Brady Birnie slid one past him for the winner.
“He played a great game for us, gave us a chance,” King said. “He was a bright spot for sure.”
The back-and-forth game saw the Warriors take the lead three times only for the Broncos to respond each time, sending the game to overtime.
The Warriors opened the scoring when Ethan Hughes won a race for a puck and scored his second of the season with 7:01 to go in the first period.
“It was a fast game and I think we did a good job of using our speed and keeping it going and it’s fun to play in those type of games where its close and its fast paced and going either way,” Hughes said.
“I thought in the first period, we did a good job of keeping them out and we got a little bit away from that in the second period, but we did a good job of keeping them to the outside.”
Swift Current answered back late in the second period when Grayson Burzynski buried a loose puck in the crease to make it 1-1 after two.
Only 20 seconds into the third period, Brayden Yager scored a highlight reel goal for his 10th of the season to make it 2-1 for the Warriors.
The Broncos responded 2:58 later when Carlin Dezainde scored to tie the game back up at 2-2.
With 8:03 gone in the third, the Warriors got their first, and only, power play of the game and made it count as Aiden Ziprick ripped home his fourth of the season.
Just under a 1:30 later, the Broncos answered again as Clarke Caswell scored to tie the game up at 3-3 midway through the third.
Both teams had chances over the final ten minutes and in overtime, but could find the go-ahead goal.
In the fifth round of the shootout, Birnie finally broke through to give the Broncos the win.
The Warriors were outshot, 46-28, on the night, while finishing 1-for-1 on the power play and holding the Broncos to an 0-for-2 night with the man advantage.
These two teams lock horns again on Wednesday night at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current. Puck drops at 7 p.m.