In an exciting six period contest, the Moose Jaw Warriors proved victorious Saturday evening – extending their best-of-seven series to the seventh and final game.
After finishing off the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League’s opening round of playoffs, the Warriors moved on to a second round matchup with the Swift Current Broncos, beginning last Friday.
After the teams exchanged wins in the opening two games in Moose Jaw, the Warriors prevailed in overtime in game three, by a score of 4-3. The following night, it was the Broncos’ turn to win in overtime – this one needing two overtime periods, also at home. The series then shifted back to Moose Jaw for game five – a game in which the Broncos prevailed 2-0, setting the stage for Saturday’s triple overtime thriller.
Falling behind 2-0, the Moose Jaw turned up the heat in the third period, with goals from Winnipeg’s Jett Woo and Oakbank’s Brett Howden.
Leaning on captain Howden, the Warriors got the job done – albeit much longer than they anticipated. Although the game-winning power play goal by Jayden Halbgewachs came just 1:14 into the third overtime, it was a four-hour game, with over 100 minutes of ice time.
Moose Jaw netminder Brody Willms shut the door on 58 of 60 Swift Current shots, including 14 off the stick of Broncos’ captain Glenn Gawdin.
Game seven will take place at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw at 8:00 P.M. mountain time. The winner of this series will go on to face Brad Morrison and the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the third round of the WHL playoffs.
By Carter Brooks
Photo provided by the Moose Jaw Warriors
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