MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors didn’t get off to the fastest of starts against the Yorkton Kinsmen Maulers on Saturday afternoon, but once they got things going, it was all systems go.
After falling behind early in the first, the Warriors would go on to score four in the period, another four in the second and take an 11-2 victory in Sask Male AAA Hockey League action at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Gage Nagel led the Warriors with a hat trick, while nine players had multiple-point outings in the commanding win.
Moose Jaw improved to 21-4-2 and moved two points clear of Regina for first place in the SMAAAHL, while Yorkton fell to 4-21-1 and remain in 11th place in the 12-team league.
Brodie Heimbecker scored the game’s opening goal to give Yorkton the lead only two minutes in, but Brennan Brown would score a pair to go along with single markers from Nagel and Keaton Lesperance to make it 4-1 Warriors after the first.
The roll continued in the second, with Maxon Johnston and Ryan Gibs scoring in the first 10 minutes to make it a 6-1 game before Nagel and Johnston scored three minutes apart late in the frame to make it a seven-goal lead.
Kale Johns got one back for the Maulers before the period was out, but Nagel, Lesperance and Noah Thul scored in the final frame to finish off their offence breakout.
Thul and Johnston each finished with a three-point game, while Carson Deichert, Tyler Hudec and Maxx Fuessel had two assists each.
Luke McKechnie stopped 28 shots to earn the win in goal for Moose Jaw, while Casson Silbernagel had 24 stops for the Maulers in 36:12 of work before giving way to Reid Schweitzer, who had eight saves the rest of the way.
The two teams are right back in action on Sunday, with puck drop at 1:30 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
