MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors could be only a matter of days away from booking themselves a spot in the Circle K Classic U18 AAA tournament.
The Warriors picked up back-to-back 5-1 wins over the Warman Wildcats at the Moose Jaw Events Centre this past weekend, all but locking down a spot in the top four in the league and earning one of the coveted berths in the ultra-elite tournament -- formerly known as the Mac’s -- that takes place annually in Calgary during the Christmas holidays.
Moose Jaw currently has a 9-2-1 record for 19 points and sit in third place in the league by that metric, in addition to having a .792 winning percentage, also third in the league.
Traditionally, the top four teams in the SMAAAHL at the mid-November deadline are selected for the Classic, and with the cut-off this year on Nov. 15, odds are high that the Warriors will get the call.
Moose Jaw 5, Warman 1
The Warriors fell behind early on Saturday night but scored five unanswered goals to secure their first win of the weekend.
Cameron Jacobson opened scoring for Warman only 3:58 into the game, but goals four minutes apart from Carson Deichert and Kierin Osberg gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead out of the opening frame.
Deichert scored the lone goal of the second period on the power play at 11:43 to make it a two-goal contest coming home, and Maxton Johnston added a pair of markers in the third -- including an empty netter with 2:22 to play -- to secure the victory.
Hudson Sayers picked up two assists for the Warriors.
Luke McKechnie was named the game star for Moose Jaw after turning aside 27 shots, while Corben Schnurr had 20 stops for the Wildcats.
Moose Jaw 5, Warman 1
Things were close through the first two periods in Sunday’s rematch, but the Warriors would pull away for good with three goals in the final frame.
Charlie Nameth opened scoring with a Warriors power-play goal at the 8:09 mark of the first, but Warman would get that back on the man advantage with seven seconds remaining, with Ty Dauvin doing the honours.
Moose Jaw’s Ryan Gibbs scored his team-leading 10th of the season with 5:23 to play in the second, giving the Warriors the lead for good.
Gage Nagel added an insurance marker at the 9:19 mark of the third, and Brennan Brown made it a three-goal game with 3:01 to play. Deichert finished things off with an empty netter with 1:07 remaining.
McKechnie was once again Moose Jaw’s game star, this time thanks to a 39-save showing. Seth Gutenberg stopped 24 shots at the other end of the ice.
The WINMAR Warriors can likely clinch a Circle K Classic berth once and for all on Wednesday night when they host the Notre Dame Hounds. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
