The Moose Jaw Warriors are heading into the homestretch of their seven-game road trip with the B.C. Division portion of the trek in the books.

For the 11 rookies on this year's Warriors team, this was the first long road trip of their WHL careers. Defenceman Drae Gardiner said it has been a really good experience for them.

"It's good to bond with the boys for sure," he said. "It's a lot of games in a short period of time, so you've got to keep healthy, keep your body going, but the biggest thing is bonding with the team and that's been a great experience."

For Gardiner, this trip will have some special meaning as he scored his first WHL goal last week in Kelowna. The 17-year-old rearguard now has one goal and three points in 26 games this season.

"That was a pretty good moment, wish I could have had my family there, but they were all watching, so it was a pretty good moment," said Gardiner.

"With every game comes experience and I'm feeling more experience with Jett [Woo] helping me out on the back a lot, and I'm feeling way better [about my game] right now."

As a team, the Warriors have been finding success on their road swing as well, posting a 4-0-1-0 record in their five games against the B.C. Division. They will now shift into the Central Division for games against Edmonton and Medicine Hat this weekend.

Gardiner said they need to continue pushing themselves, "These last two games will be a test to get us ready for playoffs, games are getting harder and we need to be ready every night," he said.

"We're all here for each other and that’s how we're going to get through [the end of the road trip]."

The Warriors and Oil Kings meet at Roger Place in Edmonton on Friday night and then Moose Jaw finishes the road trip against the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday.