Warriors chilled by ICE in shootout Saturday

Winnipeg, MB — A Saturday night showdown in Winnipeg lived up to expectations as the Moose Jaw Warriors went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked ICE.

The Warriors scored twice in the third period to force overtime before falling 3-2 in a shootout at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

“I thought we went out and played our game, we moved the puck, we got up ice, we held the puck in their zone a little bit more than we typically have against these guys,” Warriors assistant coach Gord Burnett said.

Atley Calvert and Martin Rysavy scored in the third period and the Warriors couldn’t capitalize on some great chances in overtime. Matthew Savoie scored the lone goal in the shootout to give Winnipeg the win.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Warriors, who are now 2-0-0-1 during their key four-game week against Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

The Warriors outshot the ICE, 31-26, on the night.

“They’re a good hockey team, we had to weather a couple of storms, especially the one in the third period, but I thought all-in-all, if you add up the o-zone time, we would probably come out on top in that area,” Burnett said.

The Warriors trailed 2-0 going into the third. Winnipeg opened the scoring on a goal from Owen Pederson late in the first period and Zach Benson gave them a two-goal lead in the final minute of the second.

Moose Jaw struck back only 2:30 into the third period when Calvert scored his team-leading 26th goal the season. The Moose Jaw product has now scored 10 goals in 13 games since the Christmas break.

The Warriors found the equalizer when Rysavy banged home a rebound in front for his third goal of the season, tying the game with 3:10 to play.

Both teams had opportunities to win the game late in the third and overtime, but both goalies came up with big saves.

In the shootout, Brayden Yager, Ryder Korczak and Jagger Firkus were all stopped, while Connor Ungar turned away Benson and Connor McClennon, but couldn’t stop Savoie.

“It’s part of the game, so it is what it is, but obviously you’d love to see the game settled with more than one guy on the ice,” Burnett said.

The Warriors and ICE will battle again on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. CST at the Wayne Fleming Arena.