Three third-period goals lifted the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 3-2 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors in a Valentine's Day battle at Mosaic Place.

"I don't think we worked without the puck," said Warriors associate coach Mark O'Leary, "whether it was pressuring pucks or working to support your partner, we were a tad bit slow. We were late to the party here tonight in terms of our work ethic."

Former Warrior Vince Loschiavo had a big night against his former team, as he scored two of Edmonton's three goals, including the game-winner with just over six minutes to play.

"After a tough loss last night, we haven't beaten Moose Jaw yet this year, so we knew this was a real important game and we were down one but we stuck with it through the whole sixty minutes and it was nice to get the two points," said Loschiavo, who was dealt to Edmonton over the offseason.

Carson Denomie potted his first goal in Moose Jaw since joining the Warriors, while Josh Brook picked up his 14th of the season in the loss.

"We wanted to start the third period and really lock up our defensive zone, not give too many shots, not have too many lanes, but I couldn't even tell you what happened," said Denomie.

Throughout the first period, there were times where both teams came up with speed; then there were times where the puck was stuck along the wall and they were forced to dig in and battle.

The Oil Kings' best opportunity to take control of the game came six minutes in when they were handed 1:15 of a two-man advantage. The Warriors penalty killers dug in and they got some key saves from goalie Adam Evanoff to keep the Oil Kings’ power play off the scoreboard.

Edmonton outshot the Warriors, 15-9, in the opening period but the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes.

The second period was tight as the battles continued in all three zones.

With seven minutes left in the frame, the Warriors fought to keep the puck inside the Edmonton line, Brook played the puck from the right point to the top of the left circle for Luke Ormsby, who then played it towards the Edmonton net where Denomie deflected in his third of the season.

Two minutes into the third period, the Oil Kings tied the game at one when Loschiavo put in a rebound on the right side of the Moose Jaw net. 

Edmonton went up 2-1 at the midway point on a goal from Andrew Fyten.

On the power play with seven minutes left in the game, the Warriors slung the puck around the Edmonton zone with precision passing and eventually set up Brook in the bottom left circle to tie the game at 2-2.

Only 39 seconds later, the Oil Kings forced the puck to the left side of the Warriors' net where Loschiavo tipped in his second of the game to give Edmonton the lead.

Moose Jaw had their opportunities in the final moments for an equalizer but they weren't able to convert and were dealt the narrow loss.

Brook had a goal and two points, while Evanoff made 36 saves.  

Moose Jaw was 1-for-5 on the power-play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

"We were late to the party, we let them feel good about themselves early on, whether it was their physicality or puck possession, I don't think we were all in right from the get-go," said O’Leary. "Hopefully it will be better here on Saturday."

Coming up on Friday is the 2018 Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame Banquet, which is being held at Mosaic Place. This year's inductees are Brian Sutherby and Shawn Limpright. Tickets are available at the Warriors Office located inside Mosaic Place.

The guys return to the ice on Saturday when they battle the Regina Pats at Mosaic Place. Tickets are available at www.mjwarriors.com.  You can catch all the action on Country 100 starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:40 p.m.