Fresh Jerseys, Stale Performance

Nick Murray

It was a night of new things for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Firstly, they unveiled new uniforms. They are alternate uniforms, so you likely won't see them all that often, but they are new uniforms nonetheless. What do you think? 

They also unveiled a bunch of brand new merchandise at the Crushed Can Gift Store; new hats, shirts, mini-sticks and other assorted goods to match the new jersey.

The Calgary Hitmen were in town for a game of shinny. The Hitmen, for those who don’t know, were the team that introduced Canada to Ryan Getzlaf. This year they aren't off to a very strong start, led by a young man named Mark Kastelic, they came into Mosaic Place dead last in the Central division, with 2 wins and 8 losses. 

Either way, Calgary was hoping to do something new themselves on Saturday night and win an important hockey game on the road. 

Both teams came out strong in the first, only it was Calgary's goalie, Carl Stankowski, who kept the Warriors off the board. 

Daniil Stepanov, in fresh threads, feeding the puck to Jett Woo.

Pic: Moose Jaw Warriors

And it was Mark Kastelic who set up the only goal of the period, feeding the puck to a charging Jake Kryski, who netted his 7th of the season. The Warriors trailed 1-0 after 1.

Period two played out the same as period 1 did. Both teams had chances, but again Stankowski was a brick wall in net. The Warriors' “Slammin’ Brodan Salmond also made countless tough saves but it was the rare shot that beat him that was separating the two clubs. 

In the 14th minute Cael Zimmerman scored his first of the season to put the Hitmen up 2-0, and that's how it looked going into the third. 

That is where things officially got out of control and Calgary cranked the offence up and finished the Warriors off for good. Jett Woo and Dalton Hamaliuk put the Warriors shorthanded and Kastelic struck again, twice in short succession. His 7th and 8th of the season. 

Alek Sukunda scored his first of the season to get Moose Jaw on the board, but it was far too little and far too late. 

Josh Prokop added one more, into an empty net, to make it a 5-1 finish. But that wasn't without a bout of fisticuffs as Dalton Hamaliuk went toe-to-toe with Hunter Campbell in the dying minutes. 

Stankowski and Kastelic were the games top two stars. Sukunda was third. 

The Warriors are in Regina on Saturday night to battle the Pats.