Throughout their six games in the Western Hockey League regular season against the Saskatoon Blades, the Moose Jaw Warriors saw the usual suspects get their share of points.
High-scoring forwards Jagger Firkus, Brayden Yager and Atley Calvert led the way, all doing their share of damage as the two teams battled to a 3-3 record against one another.
And if either crew is going to find success, they’ll undoubtedly need their top scorers to be doing the same when Games 1 and 2 of the WHL Eastern Conference final hit the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday night.
The difference could well turn out to be which team gets production further down the line-up, and in the regular season, Brayden Schuurman was one of those guys against the Blades.
The 19-year-old scored at a point-a-game pace against Saskatoon through the six games, including three points in the Warriors 9-6 win on home ice on Nov. 14, eventually finishing the season series with a goal and seven points.
More of the same could be a major difference-maker maker given how tight-checking the series is expected to be.
“It’s the way it goes against some teams, but playoffs are a different animal,” Schuurman said of his offence against Saskatoon. “I’ll be looking to continue that kind of production from the regular season but it’s always tougher in the playoffs… It’s going to be two really good teams going at it. We’re going to need contributions from everyone in different ways and everyone knowing their part in the series.”
Schuurman has played much of the campaign on the third line alongside Lynden Lakovic and Rilen Kovacevic, with Ethan Semeniuk slotting in on shift-by-shift basis. That trio has formed an effective checking line in the post-season while putting up points as opportunities come up.
Playing that role successfully has paid dividends for the Warriors through the first two rounds, with Moose Jaw taking five-game wins against both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos.
“Being that line, we know we’re going to be playing against any of their lines and they’re going to play against any of ours, so we know we have to win our match-ups.” Schuurman said. “Chipping in some offence and being as strong as we can defensively in our zone is going to be important.”
Seeing as how the Warriors and Blades have developed a bit of a rivalry over the last couple seasons and the scope of the series ahead, the teams will be expecting to see a much higher level of physical play compared to their regular season battles.
The good thing for the Warriors is their third and fourth lines have taken that kind of thing to heart in the postseason, and have no plans of letting up now that it’s all about to become a lot more difficult.
“We want to stick to our game and not get away from our game, but we have to make sure we’re sticking up for each other in the heated battles in this series,” Schuurman said. “Both clubs are going to be fighting for space and physicality is a big part of the game and in playoffs. Everything gets elevated and things get bigger, emotions are higher, that’s an important part of playoffs, and we’re ready for it.”
Games 3 and 4 are at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday, with tickets down to fewer than 100 for each game. Puck drop both nights is 7 p.m.
