The Moose Jaw Warriors’ power play delivered when it was needed the most on Saturday night.
Jagger Firkus scored with 18 seconds to play in the third period to lift the Warriors to a 4-3 win over the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place.
Firkus buried a cross-ice feed from Brayden Yager for his second goal and fourth point of the night.
“Stuff like that’s not planned out, you have to read and react to what the kill is giving you,” Warriors assistant coach Scott King said.
Moose Jaw potted three power play goals in the victory as they took two-of-three this week to open the B.C. Division road trip.
“Tonight was one of those where we got to our set pretty quick and we were moving the puck well,” King said.
Firkus finished with two goals and four points to extend his point streak to 17 games, while Yager scored two of his own and finished with three points on the night.
It was a strong night overall for the Warriors’ special teams, as the penalty kill also came through with big moments as well, including a five-on-three kill midway through the first period.
“That was a huge kill and a big moment in the game,” King said. “If it goes the other way, it’s 2-0 and all of a sudden we’re chasing the game.”
The Rockets opened the scoring with a goal from Will Munro only 5:35 into the game.
The Warriors’ penalty kill sparked the team and they followed it up with a goal from Firkus, his 13th of the season, to tie the game with 6:36 left in the first.
Moose Jaw started the second on the power play and wasted no time taking the lead as Yager scored 57 seconds in the period.
The 2023 NHL Draft prospect scored his 13th of the season just over 11 minutes later to extend the Warriors’ lead to 3-1 heading into the third.
Kelowna struck for goals from Andrew Cristall and Colton Dach in the second half of the third to tie the game.
A penalty to the Rockets with 1:23 set the stage for Firkus to win it.
King said it was a gutsy effort for the Warriors after playing a tight game in Kamloops on Friday.
“It’s tough to play those back-to-backs, so good for the group to find a way to win tonight,” he said. “Kelowna kept pressing and made it hard on us, but there were two real important games to get on the trip.”
Jackson Unger made 25 saves to backstop the Warriors to the win. King said he came through at moments when the team was reeling.
“He held his own and he battled,” he said. “He came up with some big ones and right to the very end was battling.”
The Warriors will get a couple of days off to travel to Vancouver Island where they will take on the Victoria Royals on Tuesday night to continue the seven-game B.C. Division road trip.