The Moose Jaw Warriors and Medicine Hat Tigers finish off 2015 with their first meeting of the season.

Both teams are coming off losses as they prepare to face-off at Mosaic Place on Thursday night. The Tribe fell 6-5 in Brandon on Tuesday, while the Tigers lost 5-2 in Lethbridge that same night.

It will make for an interesting meeting on New Year's Eve.

“We just need to play a hard game,” said defenceman Marc McNulty. “I'm not too sure about them this year, I haven't played them yet, but we just need to play hard and play our game and we'll be alright.”

The Warriors have played well in their two games back from the Christmas break as they won 4-0 on Sunday in Swift Current before losing to Brandon on Tuesday.

Over their last seven games, the Warriors have three wins and four one-goal losses, showing how tightly they've played the competition recently.

“We weren't ready to compete in the first period against Brandon on Tuesday night, where that fault lies, I don't know, but we hope it won't happen against Medicine Hat,” said head coach Tim Hunter. “We've had good starts here in our building and we've had good success here and hopefully that will happen again against Medicine Hat.”

Giving up six goals to the Wheat Kings wasn't ideal for the Warriors as it was the second straight time they've scored five goals against Brandon and lost. McNulty said playing harder in the defensive zone needs to be the focus for the team against the Tigers.

“We just need to be more competitive in our D zone,” he said. “Having some composure when we get pucks and make plays to get out of there.”

The Warriors and Tigers will hit the ice on Thursday night at 7:00pm. You can catch all the action with Western Nissan Warriors Hockey on Country 100, starting with the Pre-Game Show at 6:40pm.

There are still tickets available for the game and the New Year's Eve Bash after the game. Contact the Mosaic Place Box Office at 306-624-2050.

Injuries Continue to Hit Warriors

The Warriors will be without 16-year-old defenceman Josh Brook for an extended period of time. Brook left Tuesday's game in Brandon after a hit by Jayce Hawryluk that has seen the Wheat Kings forward with a TBD suspension.

Brook didn't practice on Wednesday and is expected to be out of the lineup for two-to-three weeks, according to Hunter.

“It all depends on how fast he heals,” said Hunter.

Brook had been playing a lot of minutes for the Warriors recently as he showed big improvements in his game since returning from the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

“When he went down, I wasn't very happy with the hit,” said McNulty. “Josh and I have created some good chemistry on the ice, we've been playing well together, so it will be a bit of an adjustment to not have him in the lineup.”

The Warriors have been hit hard by the injury bug over the past couple of months with Brayden Point missing time, Brett Howden still out with a shoulder injury and Dustin Perrillat remaining out of the lineup with an upper body injury.

Moose Jaw hasn't seen a drop in play despite the injuries however and Hunter said that's a testament to their depth.

“The good thing about our team is that we've been able to score with guys out of the lineup,” said Hunter. “Having Josh out will be a loss for us, but we'll have someone else slide in and takeover.”

There is some good news on the injury front however as Howden was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and is listed as day-to-day heading into Thursday's game. Perrillat was also on the ice after practice to get some on-ice work in as he works his way back to action.

“Dusty has come a long way, he's doing really well, he's skating hard, he's riding the bike and we're just going to keep working with him to get him back in game shape and hopefully get him in the lineup as soon as possible,” said Hunter.