MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw Warriors had a chance to gain some ground on first place in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League on Tuesday night, but the Regina Pat Canadians had other ideas.
The Pat Cs scored a power play goal in each period and held off a late-game comeback to take 3-2 victory at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Regina improved 31-6-2 with the win and have now moved five points clear of Moose Jaw for first place in the SMAAAHL. The Warriors fell to 28-8-3 and are three points up on the Swift Current Legionnaires for second.
As the score would indicate, goals were hard to come by for both teams as they settled into a tight-checking contest, but Regina would get on the board first. Jonah Sivertson opened scoring with 7:41 remaining in the period, getting off a shot from the left face-off circle that snuck past a defender in front and found the back of the net.
There things sat until the final minute of the second, when Logan Mehl extended the lead to 2-0 with 58 seconds remaining. A great backdoor pass from Sivertson gave Mehl a couple cracks at the side of the net and he’d bang home his own rebound for his 19th of the season.
Sivertson struck for Regina’s third power play goal and his 29th of the campaign 4:52 into the third, carrying the puck down his wing and scoring on a shot in close, giving the Pat Canadians what would turn out to be an important insurance goal.
The Warriors snapped Taylor Tabashniuk’s shut out bid with 6:50 to play when Marek McIvor took a pass off the boards from Jonah Pinel and worked his way into the hgh slot before ripping a shot top shelf, making it a two-goal game.
Ryan Gibbs then made things very interesting down the stretch, scoring his 34th of the season after Kierin Osberg found the SMAAAHL’s second-highest goal-scorer with a pass from behind the net for the quick one-timer. The goal came with 2:54 remaining in the contest.
The Warriors pulled goaltender Luke McKechnie for the extra attacker with just over two minutes remaining, but they would only manage a few scoring chances, and Regina had their one-goal win.
Tabashniuk finished with 26 saves on the night, while McKechnie stopped 40.
Special teams were the difference, as Regina scored on three of seven power plays and Moose Jaw went scoreless on all six of their opportunities.
The WINMAR Warriors are back in action Saturday and Sunday when they travel to Battlefords to face the Stars. The Pat Canadians are back on the ice Tuesday when they host the Saskatoon Contacts. Game time is 8 p.m. at the Co-Operators Arena.
