PREVIEW | Warriors set to fight off elimination in Game 6 Sunday
Moose Jaw, SK – For the first time in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, the Moose Jaw Warriors are facing elimination on Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors head into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Championship, presented by Nutrien, trailing the Saskatoon Blades 3-2 after falling in overtime in Game 5 on Friday.
“We’re do or die right now,” Warriors forward Brayden Schuurman said. “Everyone has come to the rink with the mindset of knowing we need to win these next two.
“There’s a lot readiness, it’s almost unfinished business as far as losing that tough overtime game, a lot of us have a little piss and vinegar in our attitude in what we want to do moving forward.”
Moose Jaw mounted a massive comeback in Game 5, erasing a 4-0 deficit heading into the third period to force overtime.
The Warriors feel they were a bounce away from securing a big road win in Saskatoon on Friday.
“We’re coming home and we’re playing good hockey,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said after Friday’s game. “We give an effort like that again, we’ll be fine.”
Through five games, the Warriors have been able to produce offence against the Blades’ stingy defence.
Schuurman said they will need to continue to focus on the details in the offensive end.
“We need to continue to get traffic in front of their goalie, obviously our starts need to be better – the start of each period, the start of the game – that could be huge for us going forward,” he said.
Heading into Game 6, Schuurman said the Warriors will need to play a simple game to find success.
“We’re not over complicating our game, we know to stick to the things that we know helps us win hockey games, that’s going to be us playing below the dots,” he said.
“We have a team that’s really good at puck protection, we’re really hard to check down low, we can really overpower in our strength as a group.”
The Warriors and Blades meet for Game 6 at 2 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.