After not losing any games since February, the U18 AAA Warriors came crashing back to earth after a pair of close losses to the Regina Pat Canadians over the weekend.

The Warriors lost 4-3 Saturday night to cap off the weekend that also saw them lose 5-3 in Regina. Inconsistency plagued the Warriors in their two losses, according to Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber.

“There’s lots of things we need to work on,” he said. “As a team, as a group, and as coaches and with this group, I think it might be a good thing for us to take a step back and see what we need to do and just be more consistent as a hockey club.”

Regina played well throughout the weekend, although the Warriors did provide a steady challenge for the last two periods Saturday. Regina jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first, outshooting the Warriors 19-10. The Warriors engaged in a back and forth battle for the next 40 minutes.

“At times, we looked really good and at times we just weren’t good enough,” Weisgerber said. “They were consistent more in both games and they made us pay when we had the opportunities and we didn’t.”

Wyatt Wilson, Maximus Wanner and Atley Calvert scored for Moose Jaw, with Ethan Peters getting a pair of assists.

There were a couple of unlucky bounces, he said, and he feels the effort is there.

“We had some serious breakdowns in both games and we’ve obviously got to shore that up and do a better job of it.”

The Warriors have added one of last year’s goaltenders, Chase Coward. Weisgerber said they have added him as an affiliate player and ‘play it by ear’ as to when he can play. The Swift Current-born Coward is considered a strong candidate to play for the Red Deer Rebels if the WHL season can get going again. 

Coward stopped 37 of 41 Regina shots in his game.

Friday, the Warriors got all their goals in the third period, with Kirk Mullen, McKale Paul and Wanner sniping for Moose Jaw. Riley Niven had two assists. Kael DePape stopped 29 of 34 Regina shots.

Next Saturday night, the Warriors’ next action is in Yorkton against the 0-6-1 Maulers.