MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Warriors got off to a great start against the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday night.
It was the later part of the game that proved to be a problem.
After the Warriors took a 2-0 lead early in the contest, the Tigers would go on to score five straight goals in the second and third periods, taking an 8-4 victory in Western Hockey League action in Medicine Hat.
Moose Jaw fell to 4-12-2-0 with their ninth loss in their last 10 games and remain in last place in the Eastern Conference. Medicine Hat improved to 10-9-0-0 and moved into fifth place in the Conference.
After the first 10 minutes of the game, it looked like it was going to be a good night for the Warriors.
Lynden Lakovic got Moose Jaw on the board at the 8:15 mark, as he was the last Warrior to touch the puck before it popped into the air and dropped into the net behind Medicine Hat goaltender Jordan Switzer.
Only 1:36 later, Rilen Kovacevic made it a 2-0 game, outracing the Tigers defence and going in alone on Switzer before tucking the puck home between the goaltender’s skate and the post.
The lead wouldn’t last the period.
Marcus Pacheco made it a one-goal game with 4:40 to play in the frame, and Hunter St. Martin tied things up 1:23 later to kick off what would be a solid night for the 19-year-old veteran.
Kovacevic restored the Warriors’ lead at the 9:39 mark of the second period, scoring his sixth of the season on a breakaway. The overager fanned on his initial shot, but stuck with it and put home the second effort for the 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately for the visitors, that would be the last good news until late in the third period.
Bryce Pickford, Oasiz Weisblatt and Brayden Ryan-McKay -- with his first career WHL goal -- all scored in a six-minute span late in the second to give Medicine Hat a 5-3 lead through two.
St. Martin went back to work early in the third, scoring back-to-back goals before the period was 10 minutes old to finish off his second hat trick of the season and giving him 17 goals on the season, second most in the WHL.
Gavin McKenna drew an assist on St. Martin’s third goal and would have four helpers on the night, giving the 16-year-old phenom 11 goals and 37 points on the campaign and the WHL scoring lead.
Lakovic gave the Tigers fans a look at why he’s considered a likely first-round pick in the NHL Draft this summer when he scored the Warriors’ fourth goal, breaking down his wing and cutting into the high slot before putting a rifle of a shot top shelf blocker side with 6:10 to play.
Weisblatt then finished off scoring, notching his second of the game with 4:51 remaining.
Dimitri Fortin finished the game with 33 saves in the Warriors goal, while Switzer capped his showing with 20 stops.
The Warriors are back in action on Tuesday night when the Swift Current Broncos are in town. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
