The Moose Jaw Warriors couldn't complete the comeback Tuesday night at Mosaic Place, falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Vancouver Giants.
The Giants, featuring Team Canada head coach Don Hay and World Junior hopeful Brendan Gallagher, posted a 3-1 lead on the Warriors early in the second period.
Two unanswered for the tribe from Eric Arnold and Cody Beach tied things up for Moose Jaw, but they couldn't solve Adam Morrison in the shootout and Matt Bellerive finally ended the game in round five.
Luke Siemens made 22 saves in the Warriors net, while Adam Morrison stopped 31-of-34 Moose Jaw shots.
Gallagher had a goal and two points for the Giants and was named the game's first star, he says they came into town and played a smart road game. "When we're checking, we're staying above guys, and we're not taking to many chances when we don't need to."
"There was a little bit in the second period when we got away from that and they were taking it to us a little bit. We got back to it (our game plan) in the third and killed some big penalties, guys were blocking shots and that's always good to see," added Gallagher.
Newly acquired Warriors defenceman Tyler Vanscourt says they had to make adjustments on the fly to try and contain the speed of the Giants.
"They were definitely fast tonight but I think we were patient with the puck and smart with our decisions for the most part, just had to deal with some bad bounces."
Vanscourt was picked up from Prince Albert earlier in the day in exchange for a 4th and 5th round pick in 2013.
Going into the first intermission the Warriors trailed 2-1, after giving up an early goal in the second they clawed back with two goals to tie the game at three.
Assistant coach Trevor Weisgerber says that success was due to adjustments made during the intermission. "We had quit a few turnovers early, just not getting pucks out, our communication wasn't great."
"That was the biggest thing we talked about and we thought we adjusted well in the second and third. It definitely helped out, obviously we got a lot more shots, spending more time in the other end chipping pucks as well," added Weisgerber.
With the one point for the shootout loss, Moose Jaw moves into a three way tie for third in the Eastern Conference with Edmonton and Medicine Hat.
There’s no rest for the tribe as they head up to Prince Albert tonight for the first time this season. Coverage begins from "Hockeytown North" with the PreGame Show at 6:40pm on Country 100, DiscoverMooseJaw.com, and mjwarriors.ca.
Tuesday WHL scores;
Vancouver 4 v 3 Moose Jaw, shootout
Spokane 1 v 4 Edmonton
Red Deer 1 v 3 Lethbridge
Swift Current 2 v 4 Seattle
Kamloops 4 v 3 Victoria
Wednesday WHL schedule;
Moose Jaw v Prince Albert
Vancouver v Brandon
Kootenay v Saskatoon
Lethbridge v Medicine Hat
Spokane v Red Deer
Tri City v Kelowna
Kamloops v Victoria
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