MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades found themselves in a pair of close battles in their final two games of the Western Hockey League pre-season this past weekend, with each team picking up a victory.
The Blades struck first on Friday, taking a 4-2 win at Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw, with the Warriors responding with a 4-3 victory in Martensville on Saturday.
Saskatoon finishes second in the Eastern Conference pre-season standings with a 4-2 record, while Moose Jaw put together a 3-2 record and finish seventh.
Saskatoon 4, Moose Jaw 2
The Blades got off to a good start in the first game of the home-and-home, with Hayden Harsanyi opening scoring 3:53 into the contest and Kazden Mathies making it a 2-0 game 3:54 into the second.
That’s where things stood until the third period, when Riley Thorpe scored on the power play to get one back for Moose Jaw at the 3:17 mark of the frame. Brady Ness then tied things up 4:41 later, and the two teams were in for a tight finish.
Dominik Petr would score the eventual game-winning goal on a penalty shot with 9:17 to play, and Colten Worthington capped off scoring with an empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Ethan McCallum picked up the win in goal for Saskatoon with 28 saves, Matthew Hutchison had 34 stops for Moose Jaw.
Each team had three power play chances, with Thorpe’s marker the lone goal scored on the man advantage.
Moose Jaw 4, Saskatoon 3
Owen Berge would emerge as the hero of the second game of the weekend, scoring what would stand as the game-winning goal with 2:24 remaining in the neutral-site contest.
It was a back-and-forth battle up to that point, as after a scoreless first period the teams would exchange a pair of goals in the second.
Ben Bowtell opened scoring for Saskatoon 2:30 into the frame, with Steven Steranka replying for Moose Jaw at the 7:09 mark. Mathies would then make it a 2-1 Blades lead a minute after Steranka’s goal, followed by Pavel McKenzie tying things up with 8:43 left in the second.
Connor Schmidt gave Moose Jaw their first lead at the 8:47 mark of the third, but it wouldn’t last long, thanks to Tyler Parr replying for Saskatoon two minutes later.
That set up Berge’s late-game heroics, with Thorpe and Ethan Semeniuk drawing assists.
Berge and McKenzie both finished with two points apiece on the night.
Hutchison got the start in goal for the Warriors and stopped 21 shots in the first half of the game, Kyle Jones closed out the contest with 15 saves.
Ryley Budd stopped 26 shots for Saskatoon.
Next up is the start of the regular season on Friday night, with the Warriors in Brandon to face the Wheat Kings and Saskatoon traveling to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders. Both games are at 7 p.m.
