Four-goal third sees AAA Warriors fall to Hounds Notre Dame overcomes 3-1 deficit to take 5-3 victory in Wilcox

If you’re a top-ranked team and you have to find a time to lose a few games, better late in the regular season than in the playoffs.

That’s something the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors are looking to take to heart after dropping their third game in their last four outings on Wednesday night, falling 5-3 to the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox.

Making things all the tougher was the way they lost: the Warriors took a 3-1 lead into the third period, normally as safe an edge as can be for a team that spent the entire month of January in first place in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

But the Hounds would rally quickly, with goals from

Brendan Kerr and Jhett Larson tying the game before the period was six minutes old.

Larson then scored his second of the period with 8:27 to play to give Notre Dame a 4-3 lead, and Josselin Dufey closed out scoring with an empty net goal with 26 seconds to play.

Trey Funk gave the Hounds a 1-0 lead out of the first period, but Atley Calvert, Connor McGrath and Max Wanner all scored second-period goals – the latter two on the power play – to give the Warriors their edge heading into the third.

The Warriors were taking the ice for the fourth-straight game without head coach Trevor Weisgerber behind the bench as he recovers from kidney transplant surgery (see related story).

Chase Coward made 28 saves for Moose Jaw, Marcus Bjorn had 25 stops for Notre Dame.

The Warriors now hold a 29-11-1-0 record and sit in second place in the SMAAAHL, six points back of the Regina Pat Canadians with a game in hand and three remaining. Moose Jaw sits two points up on third-place Notre Dame and three points ahead of the Saskatoon Blazes and Contacts – meaning a finish anywhere from first to fifth is possible in the last few weeks.

The Warriors are back in action Friday when they travel to Swift Current to face the Legionnaires.