The Moose Jaw Generals have been holding their own and then some so far at the 2015 Mac's Midget AAA Tournament in Calgary, Alberta.

Moose Jaw opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over the California Wave on Boxing Day and then dropped a 3-1 game against the Calgary Flames, one of the host teams, on Sunday.

“Considering we had six days off before we came out here, no ice time, and to jump in and play right away, we've been pretty good,” said head coach Ray Wareham.

Opening the tournament against the Wave, the Generals started the game strong with two first period goals, slowed down in the second period before finishing with a solid effort in the win.

The Sunday game saw the Generals and Flames in the feature game for the night, which led to some nerves early in the contest for Moose Jaw, but Wareham said the team adjusted and played well as the game moved on.

“We were a little hesitant, playing the feature game against a host team, bigger crowd and little things that our guys had to adjust to,” said Wareham. “After the first period, I felt like we were the better team, and outplayed them, but we just couldn't score.”

Sitting at 1-1-0 through the first two games of round robin play has the Generals still in playoff contention and Wareham said getting the experience of playing in the “big game atmosphere” against the Flames is something they will look to build off moving forward in the tournament.

“You get to see how guys respond to pressure situations, so it was nice to see them in different situations like that and some guys responded pretty good and other guys not so good, but it's a learning experience and that's what this is all about,” said Wareham.

“We did have a chance to win on Sunday, but our power play let us down and we're going to have to clean that up moving forward if we want a chance to advance to the playoff round.”

The Mac's Tournament features many of the top teams from across Western Canada, as well as some teams from the United States and international squads. Wareham said that he's felt the team has fit in very well at the tournament thus far.

“I wasn't sure what to expect with us being so young, but the kids have responded and there's been lots of talk around the tournament about our team and our work ethic,” Wareham said. “We're right in the thick of things and we can compete with the best of them.”

Wareham again pointed to the power play being the key difference for them right now, “If we can get one or two on there, it could change the outcome of a game, so it's going to be important for us to capitalize when we do get those opportunities moving forward,” he said.

The Generals are back on the ice on Tuesday afternoon when they face the Edmonton SSAC Athletics at 12:45pm.