MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Warriors just couldn’t find a way to finish off the Swift Current Broncos in Western Hockey League action on Tuesday night.
Despite taking the lead three times in the contest, the Warriors would be unable to make any of them stick and go on to drop a 4-3 shootout decision at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Moose Jaw fell to 4-13-2-1 and remain in last place in the Eastern Conference, while Swift Current improved to 12-6-0-0 and moved into a tie for the East Division lead with Saskatoon Blades with the second-best record in the Conference.
The opening period was back-and-forth throughout the first 10 minutes, as both Warrior goaltender Jackson Unger and Broncos netminder Reid Dyck made a handful of saves to keep the game scoreless.
The Warriors would be the first to break through with 6:01 to play in the opening frame. Ethan Hughes forced a turnover and went in on a breakaway on his wing before putting a shot top-shelf glove side for the 1-0 lead.
That edge would stand for the rest of the period and for the fourth time this season, Moose Jaw had the lead out of the opening 20 minutes.
Things essentially stayed the same to start the second, with each team getting a handful of chances but few outstanding scoring opportunities. Unger was the busier of the goaltenders, though, especially after the 10 minute mark as the Broncos began to get more and more pressure in the Warriors zone.
That zone time would pay off with 4:22 to play in the period, and it was a bit of a lucky one.
Unger appeared to have the puck covered in his crease, but Brady Birnie was able to poke it free, and Grayson Burzynski was in the right place at the right time to knock it home to tie the game 1-1.
The Warriors would regain the lead 20 seconds into the third.
Brayden Yager broke down his wing and appeared to get too deep into the zone to get a quality shot off, but instead would put the puck over Dyck’s shoulder from just above the goalline.
Swift Current got that one back three minutes later. A turnover at the blueline led to the Broncos going in on a short odd-man break, ending when Luke Mistelbacher found Carlin Dezainde with a backdoor pass and the tap-in to the open net.
Moose Jaw received their first power pay of the game with 6:23 gone, and they’d capitalize.
Aiden Ziprick did the honours, getting off a shot from the left faceoff circle that eluded Dyck.
The lead only lasted a couple of minutes, as Mistelbacher took a hit to set up Clarke Caswell, who went in on a breakaway and beat Unger with a shot top shelf glove side.
The remainder of regulation and overtime solved nothing, and the contest ended up in a shootout.
There, things went to five rounds without a goal before Birnie slipped a shot five-hole on Unger, giving the Broncos the 4-3 win.
Unger had another busy game and finished with 42 saves, while Dyck stopped 25 shots.
The two teams will do it all over again on Wednesday night in Swift Current, with puck drop at 7 p.m. Next home action for the Warriors is Thursday, Nov. 21 when the Saskatoon Blades are at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
