PREVIEW | Warriors set for weekend home-and-home with Broncos
Moose Jaw, Sask. – The Moose Jaw Warriors will hit the ice this weekend looking to continue fine tuning their game for the start of the regular season.
“We’re just making sure that we’re real crisp in our details, our structure and those work habits that we need to be diligent at,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said.
The Warriors will square off with the Swift Current Broncos in a home-and-home set on Friday and Saturday to close out the preseason.
Moose Jaw sits at 0-2 on the exhibition season after dropping a pair of neutral site games to the Regina Pats last week.
O’Leary said the team isn’t worried about the results right now, but more focused on the process.
“I love the effort, I love the compete and we had a really good week here and looking forward to getting back into some game action,” he said.
“More than anything [last weekend] was getting out some of the kinks and getting back into playing with a little bit of structure.”
The Warriors will be without four veterans with Rilen Kovacevic, Kalem Parker, Vojtech Port and Brayden Yager away at NHL camps this week.
That opens up different roles for players heading into the two games against the Broncos.
17-year-old forward Max Finley scored last Friday against the Pats in Estevan.
Heading into his second season with in the Western Hockey League, he’s looking to expand his role with the team.
“Coming into this season, [the experience last year] helps with confidence, can’t get too comfortable, but just helps playing more, more ice time, different opportunities,” Finley said.
“If I can play the way I know I can play, then I can help the team in different parts of the game.”
O’Leary said seeing what players can do in different roles is what the preseason is all about.
“Whether you’re 15, 16 or 17 years old, there’s more opportunity, but at the same time, if you’re looking for opportunity, you have to make sure you prove that you can handle the responsibility that comes with it,” he said.
Going into the final weekend of the preseason, Finley said the Warriors need to stay focused on themselves.
“Just play our game,” he said. “Everyone’s got their own skills and just if everyone plays their game, we’ve got a good team to beat teams.”
The Warriors and Broncos meet on Friday in Swift Current and then finish up the preseason on Saturday at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Tune into both games on Country 100 as James Gallo returns to the airwaves as the Voice of the Warriors for the 2024-25 season.
