Moose Jaw, SK – Krzysztof Macias scored two goals in his final WHL game and Connor Schmidt notched a pair as the Warriors picked up a 5-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos in their regular-season finale Saturday at Temple Gardens Centre.
The squadron stormed out of the gates in the opening moments. On the shift of the game, Lynden Lakovic, Pavel McKenzie, and Riley Thorpe were able to force a puck scramble in the Bronco crease. Lakovic was able to knock the puck over the goal line for his 27th goal of the season.
Moose Jaw added to their lead with five and a half minutes left in the frame. Casey Brown used his speed to negate an icing call and beat the Broncos to a loose puck on the Swift Current end boards. Brown was able to move the puck to Luke Moroz on the left side of the net, he quickly tossed it to the right circle where Connor Schmidt scored his ninth of the year.
The Warriors’ power play had a big impact on the middle period.
65 seconds into the second and on the man advantage, 20-year-old Krzysztof Macias took a shot from the right Bronco circle, and after ricochetting off a skate, rolled over the goal line to make it 3-0.
Back on the power play with less than six minutes remaining, Connor Schmidt let a hard shot go from the blue line that went off a body and past goalie Joey Rocha, his second of the game put Moose Jaw up by four.
Swift Current was able to respond 54 seconds later when Connor Dale got a shot through traffic from the left circle, beating Matthew Hutchison to make it a three-goal game.
Moving to the third period, the Broncos kept battling as they tried to claw back into the game. They outshot the Warriors 15-11 in the frame and pulled within two after a goal from Jaxen Gauchier with four and a half minutes left.
Late in the game, the Broncos pulled their goal for an extra attacker in an attempt to close the gap. With 90 seconds left, Swift Current dumped the puck into the Moose Jaw zone. Warriors’ goalie Matthew Hutchison got control behind his net and attempted to shoot the puck down the ice.
The puck went off the glove of a Bronco defenceman and rolled to Krzysztof Macias who scored his second of the game, leading the Warriors to a win in their final game of the season.
The Warriors end the 2024 – 2025 regular season with a record of 15-45-6-2. Lynden Lakovic led the team with 27 goals and 58 points in 47 games. Aiden Ziprick led the team with 36 assists and was second in team scoring with 48 points, and Pavel McKenzie finished third in team scoring with 17 goals and 46 points. Riley Thorpe was the Warriors’ highest-scoring rookie with seven goals and 18 points.