LAST GAME… Prince Albert scored three goals in the third period on Tuesday, two of them into an empty net in the final minute of regulation, and went on to beat the Warriors 6-3 at the Art Hauser Centre. Rilen Kovacevic scored two goals for the Warriors and Pavel McKenzie had one goal. Josh Banini made 43 saves on 47 shots. Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the power play and 1-for-3 with a shorthanded goal on the penalty kill.
Close Encounters… In 28 games this season, the Warriors have gone into the third period tied ten times, which is the second most in the WHL. In these games, Moose Jaw has posted a record of 1-7-1-1. Saskatoon has gone into the third tied for the most in the WHL and has a record of 8-3.
Shots… In 28 games this season, the Warriors have been outshot by the opponent 22 times which is the most in the WHL, and in those games, they have a record of 2-18-1-1. Moose Jaw has outshot their opponents in five games, in those games they have a record of 3-0-2.
Opposition Preview… The Medicine Hat Tigers come into the weekend first in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-13-1. They are 5-4-1 in their last ten games and coming off a 6-4 win over Saskatoon on Tuesday. Gavin McKenna leads the Tigers with 41 assists and 60 points in 30 games, Oasiz Wiesblatt has 13 goals and 43 points, Bryce Pickford has 32 points, and Hunter St. Martin has 20 goals and 25 points.
2024 – 2025 vs. Medicine Hat… This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Warriors and Tigers. Moose Jaw is 1-2 against Medicine Hat, they are 0-1 at home and 1-1 on the road. Moose Jaw is 1-for-6 (16.7%) on the power play and has allowed two goals on seven penalty kills (71.4%).
Lynden Lakovic leads the Warriors with two goals and five points against the Tigers, Rilen Kovacevic has three goals and four points, Brayden Schuurman has two goals, Noah Degenstein has one goal and two points, and Ethan Hughes and Aiden Ziprick have two assists each.
Gavin McKenna leads the Tigers with eight assists and nine points against the Warriors, Oasiz Wiesblatt has four goals and seven points, Hunter St. Martin has six goals, Bryce Pickford has one goal and four points, and Andrew Basha, Marcus Pacheco, and Mathew Ward have one goal and three points each. Harrison Meneghin is 1-1 with a 3.55gaa and a .825sv% and Jordan Switzer is 1-0 with a 4.00gaa and an .833sv%.
O’Leary moving up… Mark O’Leary is entering his fourth full season as the Warriors Head Coach. O’Leary took over the reins in January 2020, in 307 games on the bench he has a record of 157-124-15-11. He is third in games coached in franchise history; Tim Hunter is second with 356. His 157 wins rank second on the team’s all-time list.
NHL Players to Watch… Warriors Connor Schmidt and Lynden Lakovic were two of the 55 WHL players named to the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Lakovic received an “A” rating while Schmidt received a “W” rating.
Streaking
- Connor Schmidt has 2-1-3pts in the last six games
- Ethan Semeniuk has 2-4-6pts in his last six games
- Lynden Lakovic is on a 9-game point streak (6-5-11pts)
- Pavel McKenzie has 4-4-8pts in the last six games
- Aiden Ziprick has 1-3-4pts in the last six games
- Ethan Hughes has 2-3-5pts in the last 11 games
- Rilen Kovacevic has 11-1-12pts in the last eight games
Milestone Watch
- Rilen Kovacevic is five points away from 100 for his career