The Moose Jaw Warriors didn't have their "A" game while Prince Albert was sharp Sunday night, handing the tribe a 3-1 loss up at the Art Hauser Centre.
Prince Albert peppered Warrior rookie goalie Spencer Tremblay for 19 shots in the first period, but Tremblay was solid, keeping it a scoreless game going into the second.
The Warriors landed into some penalty problems in the middle frame and the Raiders jumped on them, Josh Morrissey and Michal Hlinka scored power play goals less than a minute apart to put Prince Albert up by a pair after two periods.
The Warriors had a better third, shooting Prince Albert 12-7, but Eric Williams turned them away early holding the tribe scoreless. The Raiders scored another power play goal to go up by three, Kenton Miller scored for Moose Jaw to break up the shutout bid.
Warriors Assistant coach Mike Vandenberghe says they weren't able to get rolling, largely due to how well the Raiders played. "They came out hard and played aggressive, worked the pucks deep, were physical and did all the little things right."
Rookie Spencer Tremblay made 45 saves, Vandenberghe says he was Moose Jaw's best player. "He had to make close to 50 saves and that's not a good night, hat's off, he should up to play and kept us in the game. In the first period he made some big saves, Spencer deserves to be a star of the game."
Tremblay was named the third star and says after playing well the loss is a tough pill to swallow. "I played good but I'd rather get the win." The performance was a confidence booster for the rookie. "It really helps after coming off that game in Brandon where I didn't play as well as I should have, this picks me up off the ground."
Moose Jaw was 1-for-7 on the power play, while the penalty kill gave up three goals on seven Raider man advantages. "Our special teams were junk tonight," said assistant coach Mike Vandenberghe. "We didn't play well on the penalty kill, we didn't play well on the power play. We didn't really put the effort in that was needed to win tonight."
The tribe returns to Mosaic Place later today for practice and will get ready for Tuesday's clash with the Red Deer Rebels. Vandenberghe says that after such a rough outing Sunday, the guys will need to respond better Tuesday.
"To put an effort out like this after a big game Saturday night, it's disappointing, and now we have to get ready. Red Deer is always a god game for us, we have to make sure we come to the rink focused on what we have to do. We have to come with energy and come to win hockey games."
Tuesday's game will be the second meeting of the season between the Warriors and Rebels, and their first at Mosaic Place. Looking towards the weekend, Moose Jaw has home games against Regina Friday and Kelowna Saturday.
Sunday WHL scores...
Moose Jaw 1 v 3 Prince Albert
Medicine Hat 2 v 1 Calgary
Regina 2 v 0 Brandon
Saskatoon 3 v 8 Edmonton
Spokane 0 v 1 Lethbridge
Kootenay 1 v 2 Swift Current
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