A well rested Moose Jaw Warriors squad will have a tough test in front of them on Wednesday night as they welcome in the defending WHL champion Kelowna Rockets to Mosaic Place.

The Rockets have shot up to the top of the WHL standings with some hot play over the past couple months and they've kept that going on their current six-game East Division road trip, going 2-1-0-0 so far after a 6-3 win over Swift Current on Tuesday.

Moose Jaw has been off since toppling the Calgary Hitmen, 4-3, last Friday, so they're heading into their only meeting with the Rockets well prepared.

“It was good to get that rest and hopefully we can be good and fresh to try and capture the six points in front of us before the Christmas break,” said 20-year-old forward Dryden Hunt.

The Warriors will face the Rockets on Wednesday, the Kamloops Blazers on Friday and head to Regina on Saturday to finish off the first half of the WHL season. They know the importance of staying focused over the next four days to finish strong.

“It's understandable for the younger guys to lose focus because they're not use to being away from home this long, so it's up to us older guys to put their heads on straight and make sure that they're ready for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday because those points can come back to bite you at the end of the season,” said Hunt.

Kelowna enters Wednesday's game with an 8-2-0-0 record over their past ten games and lead the BC Division with a 24-7-1-0 record, while the Warriors have gone 5-3-2-0 and currently sit third in the East Division, two points back of Prince Albert.

Moose Jaw has been able to pick up wins over some highly ranked teams this season, posting a 3-0 mark against Calgary, while winning in Seattle during their U.S. Division road trip.

They'll now look to add the Rockets to that list.

“We've been doing great this year, it would be great to get another big win against a good team like Kelowna,” said Hunt. “They're missing some guys, but so are we, so it will be a huge test for us and hopefully we're ready for it.”

The Warriors' biggest problem so far this year has been shots against. They gave up 55 shots against Brandon last Wednesday and were out-shot 40-15 in their win over the Hitmen last Friday.

Moose Jaw has averaged 35 shots against per game this season. Bringing that total down against the Rockets and moving forward will be a focus.

“It's a credit to our goalies, it's tough when they're getting that many shots,” said Hunt. “We just need to focus on our defensive zone, guys back checking hard, getting pucks out at the right time, us wingers need to get in lanes and just figure that part of the game out.”

The Warriors and Rockets meet at 7:00pm on Wednesday night. You can catch all the action with Western Nissan Warriors Hockey on Country 100, the Pre-Game Show kicks things off at 6:40pm.