BY Jonathan Huntington
REGINA – The Regina Pat Canadians – the #1 ranked U18AAA team in the nation – are now in must-win territory.
The Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors put their arch-rival in that spot at the Telus Cup Western Regional tournament on Friday night by beating them 6-2 in their second game of the round robin.
The Warriors are now heading to the championship final on Sunday afternoon at Co-operators Centre – while Regina has to defeat the Winnipeg Bruins tomorrow afternoon to keep their season alive and advance to the final.
“We have to take care of business (on Saturday). Nobody likes losing… it’s how we are going to respond (now),” said Regina head coach Ryan Hodgins.
Playing six days after Regina defeated Moose Jaw for the provincial title, the Warriors’ leaders stepped-up in the face of adversity. Captain Ryan Gibbs beat Adam Muntain high on the blocker side just 50 seconds into the third period to give his team a critical two-goal lead. And then he delivered a beautiful cross-ice feed to Maxx Fuessel 10 minutes later for a 5-2 advantage.
Regina came in waves for the rest of the period but Moose Jaw stood firm – even though they were missing top defender Hudson Sayers, which forced prominent forward Ryder Gilroy to play defence.
“It’s awesome,” said Gilroy. “It feels good to beat these guys. Our work ethic was there tonight and our goalie stood on his head.”
Steven Wawryk made 29 saves for the victory and likely receives the day-off tomorrow (Saturday) when Moose Jaw plays Thunder Bay at 11:15 a.m. in a game that is meaningless to the tournament standings. Thunder Bay has been out-scored 20-3 in two games in the regional event.
Regina battles Winnipeg at 2:15 p.m. Saturday with the winner meeting Moose Jaw in the final Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The Telus Cup Western Regional champ advances to the national tournament in Ontario.
