Kirsch Excited To Be With Warriors

With the Western Canada Under 16 Challenge Cup at Mosaic Place, the Moose Jaw Warriors practiced at the Kinsmen Thursday afternoon.

That marked the first time that Justin Kirsch and Kenton Miller skated with their new team. The duo was acquired from Calgary Wednesday in the deal that saw Collin Bowman and Joey Kornelsen move west.

Kirsch says that he was surprised when he was told about the trade, but was happy to land in the Friendly City. "Obviously I was in shock that I got traded, but at the same time I was excited to come to Moose Jaw. They have a good team here and I'm excited to try and get them into the playoffs."

Kirsch is from Chilliwack, BC and says he was familiar with the Warriors tradition and is now excited to be apart of it. "I knew they were a good team, they always have a good team every year, and I'm excited to be here."

Kirsch scored 25 goals last season for the Hitmen, while Kenton Miller had 28 points last season with Spokane. Miller was picked up by the Hitmen back in July.

Both are expected to make their debut's tonight when the Warriors head east to take on the Brandon Wheat Kings.

This is the first time the East Division rivals have battled since opening weekend. During that home and home series home ice wasn't an advantage as the road team won both games.

The Wheat Kings will have a new look since the last time they've played. Earlier this month Brandon shook up their roster with a number of trades which saw them acquire goalie Brandon Anderson from Lethbridge and forward Darian Dziurzynski from Saskatoon.

Catch all the action from Westman Place, coverage begins with the PreGame Show with James Gallo at 6:10pm on Country 100, DiscoverMooseJaw.com, and mjwarriors.ca

Saturday night the Warriors are back at Mosaic Place for their first meeting of the season against the Regina Pats. Tickets are going fast, as of Friday morning there was less than 200 available.