PREVIEW – Weekend homestand opens with battle against Raiders
LAST GAME… Rilen Kovacevic scored with 37 seconds left in regulation on Wednesday to lift the Warriors to a 4-3 win in Regina. Kovacevic finished with a goal and three points, Brayden Schuurman and Landen McFadden had a goal and two points each, Aiden Ziprick picked up two assists, and Brady Smith made 33 saves. Moose Jaw was 2-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Career year for Kov… 20-year-old Rilen Kovacevic is saving his best for last. In his final year in the WHL, he has 21 goals, 19 assists, and 40 points in 30 games. He has already posted career highs in goals, assists, and points. Since November 2, Kovacevic has 19 goals and 29 points in 19 games.
Career year for Ziprick… 19-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick has 7 goals, 18 assists, and 25 points in 35 games, setting new single-season career highs in all three categories. Last year with Lethbridge and Moose Jaw, Ziprick had one goal, eight assists, and nine points in 54 games.
Close Encounters… In 35 games this season, the Warriors have gone into the third period tied 11 times, the second most in the WHL. In these games, Moose Jaw has posted a record of 2-7-1-1.
Shots… In 35 games this season, the Warriors have been outshot by the opponent 26 times, the most in the WHL. Their record is 5-19-1-1. Moose Jaw has outshot its opponents in seven games; their record is 3-2-2.
Opposition Preview… The Prince Albert Raiders go into the weekend second in the East Division with a record of 18-12-3. They are 7-3 in their last ten games and coming off a 6-3 win in Saskatoon on Wednesday. Aiden Oiring leads the Raiders with 34 assists and 49 points, Tomas Mrsic has 21 goals and 47 points, and Lukas Dragicevic has 34 assists and 40 points.
2024 – 2025 vs. Prince Albert… This is the third of six meetings this season between the Warriors and Raiders and their second in the Friendly City. Moose Jaw is 0-2 against Prince Albert, they are 0-1 at home and 0-1 on the road. Moose Jaw is 4-for-11 on the power play (45.5%) and has allowed three goals on seven penalty kills (57.1%).
Rilen Kovacevic and Pavel McKenzie lead the Warriors with two goals and four points each against the Raiders, Lynden Lakovic has four assists, Aiden Ziprick has one goal and three points, and Owen Berge has one goal and two points. Josh Banini is 0-1 with a 4.02gaa and a .915sv%.
Niall Crocker leads the Raiders with five assists and five points against the Warriors, Harrison Lodewyk has three goals, Oli Chenier has two goals and three points, Lukas Dragicevic and Aiden Oiring have one goal and three points each, and Brayden Dube has one goal and two points. Max Hildebrand is 2-0 with a 3.50gaa and an .883sv%.
O’Leary moving up… Mark O’Leary is entering his fourth full season as the Warriors Head Coach. O’Leary took over the reins in January 2020, in 313 games on the bench he has a record of 160-127-15-11. He is third in games coached in franchise history; Tim Hunter is second with 356. His 160 wins rank second on the team’s all-time list.
Streaking
- Ethan Semeniuk has 4-1-5pts in the last five games
- Lynden Lakovic has 10-9-19pts in the last 14 games
- Pavel McKenzie has 7-5-12pts in the last 13 games
- Aiden Ziprick is on an 8-game point streak (2-10-12pts)
- Rilen Kovacevic is on a 10-game point streak (8-10-18pts)
Milestone Watch
- Brady Ness is four games away from 100 for his career
- Pavel McKenzie is two games away from 100 for his career
- Landen Ward is five games away from 100 for his career
- Owen Berge is four games away from 100 for his career
- Rilen Kovacevic is four games away from 200 for his career
