nivek_wahs
03-07-2008, 09:57 AM
Warriors run streak to seven (http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=114340&sc=9)
Warriors run streak to seven
Tribe outlast 10 Wheat King power plays to take impressive victory over Conference and Division rivals
MATTHEW GOURLIE
The Moose Jaw Times Herald
Special teams sparked the Moose Jaw Warriors early Tuesday in Western Hockey League action and bailed them out in the second half of the game.
The Warriors used two power-play goals and a short-handed tally to build a 4-0 lead against the Brandon Wheat Kings and then proceeded to kill off seven straight minor penalties to hold off the Wheaties for a 5-3 win.
With the win the Warriors vaulted into sixth place in the Eastern Conference and now have points in their last seven games.
“It was a big hockey game for our team,” said Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak. “We rose to the occasion and got the two points.”
The Warriors were dominant in the first period. Keaton Ellerby and Ty Wishart scored power-play goals. Terrance Delaronde scored before the end of the first and Martin Filo added a short-handed goal early in the second.
“I thought the first period was really good,” said Hunchak. “The thing I was really happy about was how we played defence — to only give up one shot against a team like that. I was really happy with that.”
The Wheat Kings took their first shot on Joey Perricone 10:49 into the first and they only had one shot on their first three power-plays. They were out-shot 13-1 after 20 minutes.
“We obviously had the confidence going into the second period and we laid back a little bit and took some penalties we didn’t need to take,” said Ellerby.
The Warriors were short-handed seven straight times and though they killed them all off, Nathan Green and Brayden Schenn scored twice 44 seconds apart for Brandon to halve the lead.
“I thought the momentum changed when we ran into seven minors in a row,” said Hunchak. “Obviously we have guys who don’t play penalty kill. It’s tough to get back into the game and keep rolling four lines when you’re short as much as we were in the second period.”
Jordan Knackstedt scored late in the second period to restore the three-goal lead, but the Wheat Kings finally connected on the power-play as Matt Calvert scored 6:29 into the third period.
The Wheat Kings finished 1-for-10 on the power-play.
“The power-play is important every time you play,” said McCrimmon. “We had some time in the zone and had some chances. We could have helped ourselves tonight with better success on the power-play.”
The Warriors continued to try to set a physical tone early and Ellerby felt consistency in that area will be a key to continued success down the stretch and into the post-season.
“If we can play that physical game for 60 minutes and run-and-gun and punish the other team I think that’s going to be a huge tool for us,” said Ellerby.
Perricone made 18 saves and got stronger as the game went on. Brandon starter Andrew Hayes made 27 saves.
Matthew Gourlie can be reached at 691-1261
Warriors run streak to seven
Tribe outlast 10 Wheat King power plays to take impressive victory over Conference and Division rivals
MATTHEW GOURLIE
The Moose Jaw Times Herald
Special teams sparked the Moose Jaw Warriors early Tuesday in Western Hockey League action and bailed them out in the second half of the game.
The Warriors used two power-play goals and a short-handed tally to build a 4-0 lead against the Brandon Wheat Kings and then proceeded to kill off seven straight minor penalties to hold off the Wheaties for a 5-3 win.
With the win the Warriors vaulted into sixth place in the Eastern Conference and now have points in their last seven games.
“It was a big hockey game for our team,” said Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak. “We rose to the occasion and got the two points.”
The Warriors were dominant in the first period. Keaton Ellerby and Ty Wishart scored power-play goals. Terrance Delaronde scored before the end of the first and Martin Filo added a short-handed goal early in the second.
“I thought the first period was really good,” said Hunchak. “The thing I was really happy about was how we played defence — to only give up one shot against a team like that. I was really happy with that.”
The Wheat Kings took their first shot on Joey Perricone 10:49 into the first and they only had one shot on their first three power-plays. They were out-shot 13-1 after 20 minutes.
“We obviously had the confidence going into the second period and we laid back a little bit and took some penalties we didn’t need to take,” said Ellerby.
The Warriors were short-handed seven straight times and though they killed them all off, Nathan Green and Brayden Schenn scored twice 44 seconds apart for Brandon to halve the lead.
“I thought the momentum changed when we ran into seven minors in a row,” said Hunchak. “Obviously we have guys who don’t play penalty kill. It’s tough to get back into the game and keep rolling four lines when you’re short as much as we were in the second period.”
Jordan Knackstedt scored late in the second period to restore the three-goal lead, but the Wheat Kings finally connected on the power-play as Matt Calvert scored 6:29 into the third period.
The Wheat Kings finished 1-for-10 on the power-play.
“The power-play is important every time you play,” said McCrimmon. “We had some time in the zone and had some chances. We could have helped ourselves tonight with better success on the power-play.”
The Warriors continued to try to set a physical tone early and Ellerby felt consistency in that area will be a key to continued success down the stretch and into the post-season.
“If we can play that physical game for 60 minutes and run-and-gun and punish the other team I think that’s going to be a huge tool for us,” said Ellerby.
Perricone made 18 saves and got stronger as the game went on. Brandon starter Andrew Hayes made 27 saves.
Matthew Gourlie can be reached at 691-1261