PREVIEW | Warriors look to finish season series strong against the Pats

Moose Jaw, SK – After an overtime loss to the Swift Current Broncos on Friday and a decisive win over the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday, the Warriors look to keep the momentum rolling in this weekend’s home-and-home against the Regina Pats.

“They earned a real good weekend,” said head coach Mark O’Leary. “Our practices have been really good, and again, it’s the individual development of the players and playing to their identity as individuals and collectively coming together.”

On Saturday, 20-year-old Krzysztof Macias scored his second WHL hat-trick to propel the Warriors to a 6-2 final. “I’m happy to be here, and I think that I’m an asset to this young group,” said Macias. “I’m happy that I can help those young guys and kind of lead the way, showing them that hard style of hockey that I’m playing.”

The Warriors lead the Pats 4-2 through six games this season. Both Pats wins were in overtime.

The Pats are coming into tonight with a 1-7-1-1 record in their last 10 games. Their last game on Tuesday was a shootout loss to the Prince Albert Raiders.

“We’ve got to be better than them, we’ve got to want it more than them,” Macias said about this weekend’s games. “We’ve gotta outwork them to win, so that’s our plan.”

“Regardless of where the teams are in the standings, whether they’re at the top or the bottom, these games mean something a little bit more”, said O’Leary about the rivalry with Regina. “There’s more juice in the building, the players can feel that, the staff can feel that, and we’re excited for the weekend.”

Tickets are available online and at the Moose Jaw Events Centre Box Office.

If you can’t make it to the game, tune in on CHL TV and Country 100. The pre-game show with James Gallo starts at 6:40 on Country 100.

Hear more from head coach Mark O’Leary here or from forward Krzysztof Macias here.