Kovacevic’s hat trick pushes Warriors past Broncos on Tuesday

Moose Jaw, SK – Rilen Kovacevic remained red hot for the Moose Jaw Warriors as he picked up his first WHL hat trick in a 7-4 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday night.

“Obviously the dynamic of the team has changed a little bit here and as things keep getting moved around, more guys need to step up and I’m trying my best,” Kovacevic said after the game.

The 20-year-old forward now has nine goals in his last six games after picking up the trio in Tuesday’s win.

The Warriors also improved to 2-1-1-1 over their last five games with the win.

“I thought it was a pretty solid game,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said. “There was a stretch in the third period there where we got a little bit loose with the puck… but for the most part, I just really liked our game.”

The Warriors received contributions from across the lineup in the win, including a four-assist night for Captain Brayden Yager.

Pavel McKenzie added two goals and three points, while Aiden Ziprick had a goal and two points, and Max Finley picked up two assists.

“Not a lot of teams can win with just their top guys, you see most of the teams, they’re scoring up and down the lineup and those teams are at the top of the league,” Kovacevic said.

O’Leary added that games are more fun when everyone is getting involved.

“When everyone finds an opportunity within the game to contribute, maybe that’s a penalty kill, maybe that’s a big moment on the power play, maybe it’s just a hard play along the wall, these things add up over the course of 60 minutes that lead to coming out with wins,” he said.

The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Aiden Ziprick snapped home his fifth of the season midway through the first period.

Kovacevic sniped his first of the night just 1:06 into the second period to put the Warriors up by two.

The Warriors extended their lead to 3-0 when Connor Schmidt finished off a give-and-go with McKenzie for his fifth of the season with 5:38 gone in the frame.

Just over a minute later, Swift Current answered back on a goal from Carlin Dezainde.

The Warriors would restore their three-goal lead in the final minute of the second period when McKenzie buried his fourth of the season to make it 4-1 after two.

The Broncos started the third period strong with goals from Rylan Gould and Grayson Burzynski to make it a one-goal game with just 12:55 to play.

The Warriors answered back, however, as Kovacevic scored his second of the night on the power play just before the midway point of the period.

Then, McKenzie picked up his second of the game just under two minutes later to restore the three-goal advantage for the Warriors.

Swift Current cut the lead back down to two with a goal from Jaxen Gauchier and then Kovacevic iced the game with his hat trick goal with 2:52 remaining in the third.

The Warriors outshot the Broncos 39-35 in the game, while finishing 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Moose Jaw will be back in action coming up on Sunday when they head into Calgary to take on the Hitmen to open a two-game Alberta road trip.