A big overtime goal from Casey McDonald on Sunday gave the Moose Jaw Generals some positive momentum heading into the Christmas break.

The Generals knocked off the Beardy's Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime in the final game before a 19-day break in between games.

"It was good, we were on a bit of a slump in the first half, not the way that we wanted it to go, but we've been battling hard," said McDonald. "I felt like we outplayed them for most of the game, just had a little slump in the second period, but we battled hard to finish strong and get the win."

McDonald finished with five goals in Sunday's win as he powered the Generals to just their second win in the past 19 games. He said the team wanted to make sure they went into the break with a positive feeling.

"It's very important for our confidence level to get back in the win column so that we can come back hot from the break," said McDonald, who leads the Generals with 18 goals and 33 points.

Generals forward Evan Sare is stopped in tight by Beardy's goalie Tyler Peterson during Sunday's 5-4 overtime win for Moose Jaw. (Photo: Marc Smith)

The Generals split their two weekend games, losing 2-0 to the Legionnaires in a hard-fought contest in Swift Current on Saturday night before turning around to face the Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Place.

Head coach Ray Wareham said it was a good weekend for his team, "Nice way to go into the break, especially with the way that things have gone for us in the first half.

"The game in Swifty was arguably our best game of the year, just couldn't score, we hit four or five posts and [Ethan] Hein played well for them. Today we didn't have the same kind of energy, a little bit tired, got out to a 4-1 lead and then fell asleep a bit and let them back into it."

The Generals had built up a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes against Beardy's on Sunday thanks to two goals in the first from McDonald and then two power-play goals off his stick early in the second.

Beardy's found some life late in the second when Holden Knights scored a shorthanded goal with 3:30 left in the frame and then he added another mark with just 0.7 seconds remaining in the period to make it a one-goal game.

The Blackhawks were able to tie the game up 7:07 into the third period when Nolan Doell found the back of the net.

"We stayed with it, even with that bad break in the third period, the way things have gone for us, we could have easily packed it in and we didn't, found a way to win, so real happy for the boys," said Wareham.

"It's a good way to go into the break and hopefully they come back, you're fresh and excited. We've got some music going on, which we haven't heard in a while. You're never out of it until you're mathematically done, so we've just got to come with that mindset and see what happens."

The Generals go into the break with an 8-17-1-2 record. They will spend the holidays with their families and then return to game action on Jan. 5 in Prince Albert against the Mintos.