CALGARY -- A slow start proved to be too much to overcome for the Moose Jaw WINMAR Warriors at the Circle K Classic U18 AAA tournament in Calgary on Saturday morning.
The New York-based Bishop Kearney Selects put together a dominating first period and took a 2-1 lead before adding single markers in the second and third, going on to a 4-1 victory at the ultra-prestigious 32-team tournament.
As a result, Moose Jaw falls to 1-1 and will need a win over the Calgary Northstars in their final game of the round robin on Sunday night in order to advance to the playoffs.
The Selects -- who feature players from throughout the U.S. and even a handful of international standouts -- couldn’t have asked for a better start against the Sask Male AAA Hockey League leaders, outshooting the Warriors 27-6 in the first period as they took their early lead.
Konstantin Hutzinger opened scoring only 21 seconds into the contest, and Lucas Marshall made it 2-0 with 7:04 to play in the period.
Carson Deichert would get one back for Moose Jaw before the period was out scoring his first of the tournament with 3:42 to play. Keaton Lesperance and Ryan Gibbs drew assists on the goal.
That would be the last good news for the Warriors, though, as Bishop Kearney’s Jason Simons made it a two-goal game with 45 seconds left in the second period and Hutzinger would close out scoring 4:19 into the third.
Konner Powell finished with two assists for the Selects.
Kaleb Page stopped 42 shots for the Warriors, who were able to generate more pressure as the game progressed and ended up with 29 shots on Bishop Kearney’s Ethan Phillips.
The Warriors were 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Selects scored once on five chances with the man advantage.
Moose Jaw will look to close out the round robin and advance to the quarter-finals on Sunday when they face the aforementioned Northstars, who have an 0-2 record heading into the contest. Puck drop is 7:15 p.m. Moose Jaw time.
