The Moose Jaw Warriors picked up their third win in the last four games and have points in five out of their last six games after a 3-0 win last night in Prince Albert.
Warrior rookie Travis Brown opened the scoring with a first period power play goal at 12:15, they added to their lead just over three minutes later on Quinton Howden’s 11th of the year.
The Raiders adjusted well in the second period and came with a lot more fight on the Warriors, but Moose Jaw held their ground and kept their quality chances down, keeping it a 2-0 game going into the third.
The score would hold up until 11:02 when Sam Fioretti would score his 9th of the year. Fioretti drove down the right Raider well then cut to the net, he jammed the puck past the goal line at the same time he was crossed checked into the cross bar.
Warrior goalie Luke Siemens made 18 saves to record his second shutout the year; Moose Jaw was 1-for-7 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Assistant coach Mike Vandenberghe says they were tested a day after falling to Vancouver in a shootout. "You travel up today and have to play a team right now is struggling a little bit and that plays into your mind."
"They played well, they blocked a lot of shots, but it's always in the back of your mind that you don't want them hanging around and that's what we did," added Vandenberghe.
Dylan McIlrath was back in the lineup after serving a three game suspension, he says it was a good defensive game for them as they limited the Raiders opportunities.
"We had our forwards coming back which really helped picking up their late guys. They were stretching the zone later in the game, I felt we did a good job keeping them to the outside and limiting their shots."
Vandenberghe says the team defensive was great in front of Siemens, helping him to earn the shutout. "We collapsed well and cleared away second and third opportunities."
"I can't remember a lot of second and third opportunities that they got. They got the initial shot and Luke made the save and then we were there. There wasn't a lot of net front scrambles tonight, which helps quit a bit when you're on the road and don't have to battle as hard in front of the net."
The Moose Jaw win combined with the Saskatoon Blades loss to Kootenay, pulls the Warriors into a tie for top spot in the East Division with the Blades with 37 points.
The guys will get the next two days off to rest before getting back on the ice Saturday for a clash against the Eastern Conference leading Kootenay Ice. Sunday night the Warriors will head back up to Prince Albert for a rematch with the Raiders.
Wednesday WHL scores;
Moose jaw 3 v 0 Prince Albert
Vancouver 4 v 5 Brandon
Kootenay 6 v 1 Saskatoon
Lethbridge 4 v 3 Medicine Hat
Spokane 5 v 2 Red Deer
Tri City 2 v 6 Kelowna
Kamloops 6 v 5 Victoria, overtime
Thursday WHL schedule;
Calgary v Edmonton
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