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nivek_wahs
02-20-2007, 04:29 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=8a59e6f9-172c-4df3-96c6-6420392fa271


Lemire sparks Warriors

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Interim head coach Rene Lemire must be a pretty good salesman, because the Moose Jaw Warriors are starting to buy his playoff pitch.

Moose Jaw's dwindling postseason hopes got a surprising shot in the arm over the weekend with a pair of wins at the expense of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Regina Pats -- the top two teams in the East Division.

The Warriors are now just seven points behind the Prince Albert Raiders, who hold down the East's final playoff spot.

"I'm very pleased and proud of the accomplishments we've made in a short period of time," Lemire said after Sunday's 3-0 win in Regina. "The kids are like sponges right now with the information we're throwing at them."

The Warriors looked like a poor investment when Lemire took over on Feb. 7 after Steve Young was fired. The embattled last-place club got off to a 1-3 start under Lemire and had seemingly hit bottom last Wednesday after a 5-2 loss to Regina.

However, the tailspin was averted with a home-and-home split against the East Division-leading Wheat Kings, followed by a huge win at the Brandt Centre.

What's behind the sudden turnaround? According to Lemire, it's a renewed commitment to defence.

"We had to get some structure in our game," explained the former Warriors assistant. "It was too wide open and no accountability for our defensive-zone work. That's something we've been preaching since Day 1."

Moose Jaw's transformation from an attacking offence to a more conservative style wasn't the only bold move orchestrated by Lemire. He also elected to start No. 2 goaltender Kurt Jory ahead of last year's playoff hero Joey Perricone in all three weekend games.

Jory responded by stopping 77 of 83 shots against Brandon -- a 4-3 shootout win on Friday and a 4-2 loss on Saturday. Jory was also brilliant the next night in Regina, making 35 saves for his second career shutout.

"When I took over, they wanted to know how I would rotate the goaltenders," said Lemire. "I told them I was going to find a hot goaltender and ride him. I didn't think (Perricone) played overly well against the Pats on Wednesday so I told Kurt it was his turn. He played very well so I had no reason not to keep my word. I preach to these guys about trust and they need to have trust in me."

Moose Jaw also showed an edge to its game that was non-existent the last time these teams met. The Warriors didn't just crank up the physical intensity, they became aggressors.

"That was the most important factor after Wednesday's episode in the Crushed Can where the Pats took it to us and embarrassed us," added Lemire. "We couldn't afford that again. We changed our gameplan a little bit, had two good games (against Brandon) where we played physical and we just carried it over. We knew if we played physical against the Pats ... that maybe we'd catch them off guard."

Mission accomplished.

"It could be the new coaching, I don't know what it is," Pats defenceman Craig Schira said of the Warriors' new attitude. "They played a different style of game. Their power play is a little different, their PK was different. They forced us really hard and it took us a while to get going and figure out what they were doing. We didn't adjust to their game and it killed us in the end."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007