Two third penalties proved to be costly for the Moose Jaw WINMAR AAA Warriors as they lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to the hands of the Prince Albert Mintos on Saturday afternoon at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Prince Albert’s Carson Olsen’s third period powerplay goal was the game winner with 4:25 left to secure the win.

In the last 1:30 of the game Moose Jaw increased the pressure but couldn’t beat Mintos starter Jayden Kraus who made 36 saves for his third win of the season.

Moose Jaw’s Connor Miller and Liam Fitzpatrick extended their point streaks to five games. Miller scored the only two goals for the Warriors to put him up to nine points on the season. Fitzpatrick added an assist on both goals to give him 10 points through five games.

Caleb Potter and Ryder Knutson would each pick up assists in the loss.

Warrior’s head coach, Trevor Weisgerber said post-game that the third period penalties were costly but there were many positives.

“I thought the guys played well and worked hard,” says Weisgerber. “For the most part we were moving pucks all the time. We had lots of shots and lots of opportunities. We just have to bear down at those times where its 2-1 and make it 3-1. We had plenty of opportunities to take a bigger lead.”

Moose Jaw heavily outshot the Mintos 38-23 in Saturday’s game.

For most of the first period it was a back and fourth affair with both teams trading chances, but both goalies were up to the challenge.

Connor Miller got the scoring started for Moose Jaw with just under three minutes left in the first period. A Ryder Knutson point shot would create a juicy rebound for Liam Fitzpatrick who got it to Connor Miller and he buried it in the wide-open net.

Moose Jaw would take that 1-0 lead into the first intermission, outshooting Prince Albert 12-10 in the frame.

The second period was all Moose Jaw as they controlled the tempo on the offensive and defensive side of the ice. They limited the Mintos to zero shots through the first 10 minutes of the period.

Prince Albert would tie the game late in the second period with one of their three powerplay goals on the afternoon. Owen Nelson would be able to beat Bain to make it 1-1.

A late penalty by Prince Albert would prove to be costly with under two minutes left in the period. Liam Fitzpatrick would one-time it wide and it would come straight off the boards to Connor Miller who wouldn’t miss, picking up his second goal of the game and third of the season with 46 seconds left in the second period. 

A Warriors 2-1 lead after 40 minutes would set up an exciting third period. Shots were 22-18 after the second period for Moose Jaw.

It wouldn’t take Prince Albert long into the third period to tie the game at 2-2. With six seconds left on their powerplay, Logan Beebe would fire a one-timer off the post and in beating Bain and tying the game at 2-2.

Though Moose Jaw outshot the Mintos 15-6 in the final frame, it would be Prince Albert to take advantage. A late penalty by Rhett Perrin would put the Mintos on the powerplay with just over five minutes left in the game.

Carson Olson would take a pass from Kraus and weave his way through the Warriors and slide a backhand under the pad of Bain to take the lead 3-2.

After pulling the goal late in the third period, Moose Jaw came close to tying it but couldn’t beat Kraus.

The loss extends Moose Jaw’s losing streak to three games and Prince Albert picks up their third straight win and remain a perfect 3-0 to start the season.

Moose Jaw’s Miller was named the first star of the game with two goals.

The Warriors will be back on the ice for practice on Monday and prepare for their first weekday game on Wednesday, as they host the Estevan Bears at the Moose Jaw Events Centre with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.

Tickets for Wednesday’s game can be bought at Sasktix.ca, or the Moose Jaw Events Centre box office.

Those who can’t make it can catch the game on IKSLive.ca