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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Warriors Ready For Hurricanes

The Moose Jaw Warriors put their three game winning streak on the line tonight when they hook up with Lethbridge for the first time this season at Mosaic Place.

This game will mark the debut of newly acquired goalie Luke Siemens, who practiced with the tribe for the first time yesterday.

Siemens knows that there's going to be a lot of eyes on him. "Obviously I want to do good. I'm not going to put extra pressure on myself and think 'what are these guys going to think of me'. I'm just going to play my game."

The Delta, BC product was picked up from Everett Monday, and he says the chance to be a number one goalie is an opportunity he's worked hard for.

"The last couple of years have been a learning curve for me backing up some good goaltenders. Now that I have my chance I'm going to make the most of it."


Tuesday's practice saw the return of Warriors blueliner Dylan McIlrath, who was sent back to Moose Jaw on the weekend from the New York Rangers.

McIlrath played in several pre season games for the Rangers, and says making the adjustment from the pro's back to major junior is something he needs to be aware of.

"You can't try to be one step ahead, you have to control your emotions and control the pace of the play here and not forcing passes," said McIlrath. "I have to play the game that got me here and got me to the player that I am. That's just staying at home, being physical, and doing the simple things."

Focusing on tonight's game, captain Kendall McFaull says a strong start is key. "Seems like when we have a good first period we do a lot better than when we fall behind and have to battle back."

"The thing that has been getting us success, especially last game, was moving puck quicker. We attacked the puck a lot harder than we have before. Those other games where we came from behind and won, we started the game a little slow, and we weren't putting the pressure on them (the opposition)," said McFaull.

So far this season the Warriors have averaged just under 40 shots against per game, and McFaull says that's got to change. "We have to limit our turnovers. We've turned over a lot of pucks in the neutral zone and in our end. We have to make smart breakout passes, we haven't been doing that and it's cost us."

Catch the Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes on Country 100, DiscoverMooseJaw.com, and mjwarriors.ca.

James Gallo is live from Mosaic Place with the PreGame Show at 6:40pm.

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