The Moose Jaw Midget AAA Warriors season has come to an abrupt end.

The league announced the cancellation of the rest of the season Friday afternoon in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” said Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber. “We were hoping they would at least let us be able to finish our league, but they came out and they know more than we do. At the end of the day, obviously health is more important than a game, but it’s just disappointing.”

This was the first Moose Jaw midget AAA team to have qualified for the league final. Weisgerber said expectations were high and that the team may have been able to win the league and regionals, and move on to the nationals in Quebec.

“I feel bad for the guys because they’ve worked so hard all year and it’s just disappointing.”

Weisgerber broke training camp in September as a first year head coach with only one veteran and 19 rookies.

“They’ve done a great job,” he said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids, with just how hard they work and came together. You just never know, you may never have a team like this again. So it’s just one of those things that’s crazy about how it came down.”

After a 30-13-1-0 regular season that put the Warriors in fourth place – including points taken away by the league for a clerical error regarding affiliate players – the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, going back to when they were the Generals.

The Warriors swept the Notre Dame Hounds in the first round and defeated the Saskatoon Contacts, also in a three game sweep.

“I just can’t give these guys enough credit for how well they’ve done and everything that they’ve done even for the city, and how they’ve conducted themselves in town,” Weisgerber said. “It’s too bad how this came to an end.”

Planning for the 2020-2021 season is already underway. Weisgerber said he’s not sure if the coaching staff will be back, or how many players will be back in the fold next year.