The Moose Jaw Midget AA Warriors had an upset brewing on Thursday night, but third period penalty trouble ended up catching up to them.

Moose Jaw ended up losing 7-5 to the first place Notre Dame Bantam AAA Hounds in the South Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League on Thursday at the Bert Hunt Arena.

“It was a good game, they're obviously first place for a reason, it was back-and-forth for a while, we had the lead, but penalties will kill any team and they really hurt us today,” said Head Coach Scott Tuck after the game.

Dylan Jones scored the first four goals for Moose Jaw, giving them a 2-1 lead after one and helping them take a 4-3 lead midway through the second period. Notre Dame mounted the comeback and held a 6-5 advantage by the end of the second and didn't surrender that lead.

“We had them on the run the first period, they were scrambling and we were all contributing in every way,” said Jones. “The boys should be proud of how we played in this game, no hanging our heads, we took the first place team right down to the wire.”

Payton Fisher had the other goal for Moose Jaw and finished the night with two points. Joey Prebushewski chipped in with three assists in the loss.

Brodie Jarton got the start in goal for the Warriors, making 21 saves over the first two periods. Garrett Goy took over in the third period and allowed one goal on 15 shots.

Moose Jaw chased Notre Dame starting goalie Aaron Mercer midway through the second period. He allowed four goals on 17 shots, while Joe MacDonald gave up one goal on 13 shots.

Matthew Culling had two goals in the win for Notre Dame, while Luke Mylymok had a goal and two points. Moose Jaw's Reece Newkirk, who plays for the Hounds, was held without a point against his hometown team.

Josh Bear, Jaydon Dureau, Edge Lambert and Damian Hartt also scored in the win for the Hounds.

Moose Jaw took ten penalties in the third period alone and gave the Hounds 15 power play opportunities in total, however gave up just one power play goal in the loss. Having to kill off ten penalties while trying to come back in the third did take it's toll on the Warriors though.

“Discipline is huge and it did hurt us, but the guys did a great job killing those penalties,” said Tuck.

The Hounds entered the game with just two loss on the year and the Warriors were able to pressure them throughout the game. Tuck said he's coming away encouraged with how the team played.

“We can compete with any team in the top-five,” he said. “You look at where we are in the standings, we shouldn't be there, but we are and that's due to undisciplined play or not showing up, but when the boys show up like they did tonight, there's no reason we can't be in the top-five.

“The score says one thing, but I'm pretty proud of the boys and the way that they played. It's unfortunate that we took some penalties and they got some goals, but top to bottom our team played very well.”

The Warriors have had a busy stretch of games to start 2016 with Thursday being their fourth game in six nights. They will be back on the ice again on Saturday when they travel to Weyburn to take on the Wings.

Atom A Warriors Win Big... the Moose Jaw Atom A Warriors won 15-3 over the Regina Royals in the Queen City on Thursday night. The win moves them into a tie for first place in the Hockey Regina Atom A League.